Garden for better grades
Parents and teachers who garden with kids often allude to the benefits that gardening offers for kids, as I did in yesterday’s post. But fortunately, the evidence is not just anecdotal. While research on the benefits of gardening for children is limited, the field is growing, according to the National Gardening Association (NGA). And results look promising so far.
“No activity holds more value for young people than the gardening experience,” Mike Metallo, president of the NGA, told the Staten Island Advance in this article.
The NGA offers an online synopsis of some of the research studies that have shown the benefits of school gardens for children. I’d argue that whether the gardening is happening at school, at home, or in a community garden, many of the benefits are the same. This isn’t a complete list, but here are five of the benefits researchers have discovered that children gain through the experience of gardening (To read more about the studies that found these results, click here):
1. Significantly increase science achievement scores.
2. Improve social skills and behavior.
3. Increase interest in eating fruits and vegetables and improve attitude toward
fruits and vegetables.
4. Instill appreciation and respect for nature that lasts into adulthood.
5. Contribute to communication of knowledge and emotions.
Wow, the research really makes it all seem worthwhile, doesn’t it?
