Creating Connections: Embrace Joyful Gardening with Your Kids and Nurture Meaningful Bonds
In this blog post:
I will tell you about my mission and why I believe so strongly in the power of gardens and I will explore the incredible benefits of embracing joyful gardening with your little ones, and how doing less can help you create lasting memories and deepen your connections.
My mission is:
I help mothers go from feeling disconnected and overwhelmed to fostering stronger, more meaningful relationships with their kids and themselves, by creating a joyful garden where they can bond, play, and grow together.
Together, we'll transform your outdoor oasis into a haven of joy and connection, so you can cherish every moment with your children and create lasting memories.
Are you ready to nurture beautiful relationships and make your garden a beacon of love?”
Gardening is not just about growing plants—it's about cultivating connections, fostering stronger bonds, and nurturing meaningful relationships.
As a mother, you have the power to transform your garden into a space of joy and growth, where you can connect with your kids and nurture their love for nature.
Cultivating Curiosity:
When your kids step into the garden, their eyes light up with curiosity. Each flower, insect, and blade of grass becomes a small wonder waiting to be explored. Or do they?
We feel they should but that doesn’t always happen, does it?
So how can we spark our children’s passions for the garden AND get them to VOLUNTARILY get off that screen?!?
Kids that want to be in the garden?!?
Yes, I promise you that it is possible! This is how to do it!
I’ve explained more ⬇️
Give them freedom- the outside space can be great to give our kids more freedom. Let them climb trees, dig in the mud, be silly, be free. Let the outside space be somewhere where they can discover the deeper truths about themselves and nature. Let them be free from adult interference and instruction. Let them explore the world at their pace.
Let them get messy - gloriously and horribly messy. Let them play in the mud, throw water balloons at each other in the middle of winter. Just let them get as messy as they want! Let them explore the freedom that comes from mess and (dare I say it?) a bit of chaos!
Let them learn mastery - how? Through manipulations and experimentation. Let them ask: “What happens if…” and let them try out their thoughts. Let them learn about their world. What happens if I smash a conker with a stone? What happens if I throw a leaf from a tree? What happens if I…
Let them take part - Are you doing something in the garden and they want to be involved? I know it isn’t always convenient and it will be messier if they get involved AND it will take A LOT LONGER but you know what I am going to say? If you can (and it won’t make you feel too stressed) let them take part!
Let them destroy - I know it’s hard for us to watch our precious darlings destroy things BUT DESTROYING THINGS IS IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTALLY! This goes back to the mastery but also to learning consequences. “If I break this twig it remains broken” is a great lesson to learn. And sometimes your kids just needs to let off steam and that’s better done on a stick, right?
Let them fall- if your kid climbs a tree they might fall. Yes, that’s true. But do you know? It is also necessary? Kids learn risk by trying things out and seeing what works and what doesnt. This is how they truly learn about themselves. The garden is the perfect place for that
Bonding through Just Being:
The garden is the perfect place just to be. We are all so busy doing! DOING ALL THE TIME! When do any of us ever just ‘be’ instead of ‘do’. Our kids do hundreds of after-school activities and we are run off our feet. But the garden is the PERFECT place just to sit and just to be. Watch the changing leaves together, have after-school snacks in the garden. Just be. It’s medicine for the soul-yours and theirs!
Fostering Life Skills:
And I don’t mean growing your own vegetables - although that’s great too!
I mean:
learn to be slow
learn to be still
learn just to be
learn you are ok just as you are
That goes for you and your child. You are ok just as you are.
Embracing joyful gardening with your kids is not just about growing beautiful flowers or delicious vegetables—it's about creating lasting memories and nurturing meaningful bonds. And sometimes the best way to do that is to step back, do less, and just be.
Let the garden be the background for doing less, exploring more and learning on the deepest level what makes you and your kids happy and joyful.
