Every Nursery Needs a Garden

A Step-by-step Guide to Creating and Using a Garden with Young Children

Ann Watts

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781136736544
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

'If outdoor activities with young children have always baffled you, then this is the book for you. Practical in style and structure, it has an accessible approach which is based in the best early years practice and provides plenty of challenges and new ideas. It is a must have for your early years setting.' - Kathryn Solly, Headteacher at Chelsea Open Air Nursery School and Children's Centre, UK

A garden can be a magical place for young children and offers them rich and engaging learning experiences as they interact with a variety of plants and wildlife throughout the year. This book guides you through the process of creating a garden, however small, for young children. It looks at the impact a garden area can have on children's overall development and the benefits of using natural materials as learning tools.

Full of practical advice on how to design, develop resource and use a garden area, this book brings together:

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• advice on planning a garden and how to get children, parents and the local community involved
• ideas for settings with limited space
• ideas for different spaces including a wildlife space, a woodland space, a digging area, sand and water spaces and a growing area
• suggestions of plants, flowers and crops to grow with very young children
• information about the wildlife children may discover
• a calendar guide to activities and garden planning throughout the year
• ways to encourage children to develop a sense of awareness of the importance of conservation and sustainability
• guidance on health and safety
• clear links with EYFS to show how a garden supports the areas of learning and development.

Written for all early years practitioners, this book is the definitive guide for those looking to further enhance their outdoor environment and fulfil the potential learning opportunities that a garden can provide.

1
	Why do young children need gardens?

Introduction

Today, there is an ever-growing trend towards living and working in garden environments. ‘Grow your own’ is a common catchphrase, and many popular television programmes feature gardening, wildlife and food.

What is so special about a garden? It is essentially a living, growing environment that responds, as we do, to the seasons, and it can offer a place for increasing knowledge; for work and relaxation; and developing a sense of awe and spiritual awareness. The Oxford English Dictionary definition of a garden is an ‘enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables’. A wider use of the term, however, would also include the growing trend for wild gardens and meadow areas, as well as the relationship between the land and owner. If we see our children as ‘owners’ of the land they occupy on a daily basis, we will be able to observe this relationship and understand its significance.

Many primary and secondary schools now offer gardening clubs and time for children to be outdoors. Therefore, it seems natural that we should be looking at ways of setting up garden spaces for our younger children. I believe if we are to do this successfully, we need to understand some of the historical background of gardens for young children and also the current thinking that may define our approach.

Historical background

The importance of a garden for young children was first recognized by Friedrich Froebel in 1899. He devised the word ‘kindergarten’, which is still very much in use today. Literally translated it means ‘children’s garden’. He believed that, through tending to plants, a child came to an awareness of the needs of others. Children should be very much in union with nature, and working in the garden was an important part of the daily pattern. Children learnt how to write their names as they labelled their garden plots. They learnt how to count and measure, as they cut out uniform flower and vegetable beds, sowed seeds in rows and collected crops. There appears to be a large gap in any recorded practice of children learning in gardens after that. Similar mathematical learning was not recorded in the UK until the middle of the 1970s. Parry and Archer (1975) wrote about a group of children who wanted to establish their own garden and carefully measured the rows, spaced the seeds and counted the number of days it took for the seeds to appear and then develop.

Margaret McMillan (1923) established open air nursery schools in the UK and described in detail the classroom ‘roofed only by the sky’. She was keen to develop the children’s senses. She planted herbs, trees and flowers in profusion. She realized the garden was an instructive environment and devised a curriculum of relevance. She used the design features of the garden to provide opportunities for physical development, low walls, tree trunks, logs and stepping stones so that ‘children were encouraged to play bravely and adventurously’ (McMillan 1919: 23). Her garden could also be used as a place for telling stories and performing plays. She advocated the use of clay and paint outside and the illustrations in her book contained images of children dancing and making music in the garden (McMillan 1930).

Scientific and technological development also seemed to occur naturally in the garden environment of the pioneers. Froebel (1899), McMillan (1919) and Isaacs (1954) describe how children should use tools. The planting of seeds, observation of growth and looking for mini-beasts were all an important part of the curriculum. The pioneers noticed how children were naturally attracted to the outdoors and Tizard (1976) noticed that in a free play situation children would choose to spend 75 per cent of their time outside. Their level of play was more complex and mature than when indoors.

During the 1980s, although there was an increase in provision for children under five, gardening in our schools and nurseries was, at best, an indoor ‘planting in yogurt pots’ experience. Outdoor play focused on physical activity and provision often consisted of a climbing frame, a sandpit and a few bikes. The word ‘garden’ so frequently used by Froebel, McMillan and other Early Years educators disappeared as the nursery school movement extended and was replaced by terms such as playground, outdoor play space or ‘outside area’.

Benefits of a garden for young children

Educationalists are now realizing once more how important it is for children to spend as much time as possible outside, particularly in their early years.

Richard Louv (2005) believes that children today are suffering from what he calls ‘nature deficit disorder’. He presents a compelling argument that regular contact with nature is important for physical and mental health. He cites examples of some of the nature-based childhood activities of some of the greatest creative thinkers of our times. He believes that when children have hands-on experiences with nature, they reap the benefits. He has found that researchers cite diminishment in levels of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fewer incidents of anxiety and depression, improved self-esteem, enhanced brain development, higher levels of curiosity and creativity, and a sense of connectedness to the community and the environment. In his book, Last Child in the Woods, he interviews children, teachers and parents. His plea for allowing children access to the outdoors has kick-started a movement in America called ‘Leave No Child Inside’.

Children in the UK, too, are growing up in a society where they spend less time outdoors. Many live in urban housing and do not have access to any outdoor play space. Some may go to a park and play on swings, but they do not have that special place where they have ownership, where they can pick up sticks, explore the mud, stand under trees, listen to wavy grasses rustling and feel the breeze on their skin. They are not able to splash in mud or dig in soil. There is a higher incidence of asthma in young children, and Michie and Bangalor (2010) report that some children now suffer vitamin D deficiency as a result of lack of exposure to sunshine.

Marjorie Ouvry (2005) emphasizes the importance of children spending as much time as possible outside. In ‘Outdoors for Everyone’ (Ouvry 2009) she describes ‘the special nature’ of the outdoors. We need to consider in more detail what is meant by this. Outdoor play should include some interaction with the natural environment, and enable adults and children to become deeply involved with the environment itself, as well as the artefacts within it. Ferre Leavers et al. (2005) have been studying the relationship between children’s involvement and their well-being. They have devised a scale that clearly shows how children’s well-being depends on self-esteem and confidence and is linked to their ability to become involved in activities at a deeper level.

Involvement means that you are completely open to experiences: the impressions you get are very strong. Bodily sensations and movements, colours and sounds, smells and tastes have a certain range and depth that is not there otherwise. You fully address your fantasy and mental capabilities. When involvement is low the sensations are not really lived through and remain superficial (2005: 10).

A garden will provide the chance for children to find themselves, to enjoy physical and mental challenge, but also be able to be calm, have personal space and interact with nature.

White and Stoeklin (1998) argue that it is essential that young children are allowed to develop empathy with nature by playing in a natural environment on a regular basis. They develop a love of nature or biophilia, which, in time, will enable them to be in tune with wider issues of conservation on a global basis. They argue that if children have not experienced this empathy at an early age, they cannot then understand or cope with these wider issues and may even develop a phobia about issues concerning the natural world.

Current thinking

White and Stoeklin (1998) go on to suggest that some of the most developmentally appropriate environments are seen in the forest schools of Scandinavia, where young children spend almost all of their time outdoors. In Scotland, there is one nursery that operates within an outdoor forest setting all the time. Forest schools are now being set up across the UK and children will be able to attend, usually for a prescribed block of time. During this time, they work with specially trained adults to learn skills of survival and are able to interact with the natural environment in a deeper and meaningful way. Sara Knight (2009) writes about this in detail and also suggests that, although we cannot create forests in our settings, we may be able to introduce the ethos of forest school into our work.

Many children in primary schools are reaping the benefits of carefully planned spaces supervised by adults who can support their learning. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has set up a very successful national campaign for school gardens. Children are encouraged to work outdoors and grow plants and vegetables as part of a healthier lifestyle. They are taught about the benefits of a good diet and this will go some way to combating the problems of obesity in children. However, this learning needs to start with our youngest children. Garden spaces for babies and toddlers, as well as children in nursery and reception classes, need to be carefully planned.

When practitioners attend training to consider outdoor spaces, I often ask them to talk about what they would like outside for the children if there were no financial constraints or problems of space. Without exception, they present plans of what can only be termed as a ‘children’s garden’. They think of winding tracks and paths, different textures and levels, grass, hillocks and secret corners. There are stepping stones, splash areas, rocks, waterfalls, safe pools and sand areas. There is usually a growing area and a separate space for children to just dig, turn over logs and explore. One group listed herbs and plants they would include. Species can be chosen for their sensuous appeal and their attraction to birds and insects. There are spaces set aside for music, for telling stories, acting out plays, reading books and painting. There is room to run and shout, to watch the clouds and listen to birdsong. There are also natural and man-made materials and objects that can be used to recreate and represent children’s own ideas and imaginary situations.

Conclusion

Our educational thinking has moved forward and many settings are successfully managing free-flow situations. Practitioners are beginning to see the indoors and outdoors as linked areas and make appropriate provision for learning. Staff can feel under additional pressure as they have to move more equipment and apparatus outside on a daily basis. A well-designed and established garden presents a readymade ‘classroom’ and reduces the need for this. Children can access the area for short or long periods of time as they wish and have the freedom to play, explore and develop their own interests.

If we really believe that children need to be outside, we need to examine what we are offering in our schools and early years settings. We must make the most of the opportunities and the spaces that we have. Children need to develop an awareness of the seasons, a concern for the natural environment and knowledge of plant growth. These things can only be done if the outdoor space is carefully planned and adults are willing to respond to the children’s interests and experiences. Once this development and transformation of your outdoor space begins, children and staff will enjoy the garden together and benefit from the learning opportunities it provides.

2
	How do we make a garden?

Introduction

In this chapter, I will attempt to answer some of the most common questions asked by practitioners and hope that even the faint-hearted among you become inspired to meet this challenge. There is no one answer, for every single nursery and reception space is different. The focus is on setting up and managing a project over time, which will enhance your outdoor space. It includes some of the problems common to many settings and sets out some ideas and practical solutions that can be adapted to your own environment. In the following chapter, there will be more detailed suggestions for the types of spaces you might wish to include.

The essential element to any major development in any setting is, from the start, to involve the staff, the children, the parents, any external managers or stake holders, and members of the local community.

Getting started

It is important to plan in stages, and work towards a long-term vision. A garden does not happen overnight – except maybe on Groundforce. Even then, many hours of planning and preparation will have taken place before they start. It is important to think big. Many settings have embarked on improving a small patch of ground without thinking of the area as a whole and then have had to move it or change it as other ideas emerged. Thinking about costs can be a great inhibitor to creativity, so it is important to encourage staff to think about ideals and risk-taking. Very often, if there is a large-scale plan carefully worked out, it can be achieved in small stages. Careful planning and inspired thinking will attract funding. Children and adults can become very adept at encouraging people to give when it is needed. It is worth thinking whether a parent could help by making phone calls and visits to ask for support in different places in the local community. If possible, find out whether there are any other settings in your area that have developed their garden space. Arrange to visit if possible, and ask about any difficulties they encountered as well as learning about their success.

Managing a project

Try to establish a small group to act as a management team. It should represent different sections of your staffing profile, parents, community link person, committee member or governors. This means that workload can be shared and any long-term plans are not affected by a change in personnel. Identify key roles, e.g. project leader, fund raiser, project finance and project information coordinator. Try to meet regularly to ensure momentum is not lost. Set timescales. You will need a long-term scale and within that, work out short-term scales, i.e. what can you do in the next six months, the next year, etc. It may be that some goals will only be achieved if there is sufficient funding, but timescales can always be adapted to meet needs.

Involving the children

From the very beginning of any development, however small, it is essential that the children feel that they are involved in planning the garden. This ensures that they feel it is a special place for them. A short film about gardens can be shown to encourage their thinking. Some children may have gardens at home and be able to describe what they like doing in the garden. A nursery visit to any nearby gardens, garden centre or allotments would give an excellent starting point for their thinking. Library books or gardening magazines provide lots of coloured pictures. It is usually possible to get a group ticket from a library, which allows you to borrow a greater number of books. Raid the gardening section and try putting these books out for a day in the children’s book boxes and shelves. Plan to have one or two adults available to observe and interact with children. Record their conversations and note what elements appeal to them. Discussion can focus on what plants appeal to them, which vegetables and why we grow them. Children will look closely at elements of design, textured paving, ponds, wildlife areas and water features. Ask parents or grandparents to save flower catalogues and ga...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Garden calendar
• Introduction
• 1. Why do young children need gardens?
• 2. How do we make a garden?
• 3. Garden spaces for children
• 4. What should we plant in our garden?
• 5. Growing flowers and bulbs with young children
• 6. Growing fruit and vegetables with young children
• 7. How do we use the garden?
• 8. What will we find in the garden?
• 9. How can the garden support the themes and commitments of the Early Years Foundation Stage?
• 10. How can the garden support the six areas of learning and development?
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index of plants