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Along with the fun of getting dirty, gardening helps children learn valuable lessons about patience as they wait for vegetables to grow, responsibility as they see how necessary their care is to the garden, and even loss when flowers die at the end of a season. “They learn about nurturing a life and what it takes to keep something alive,” says Amy Gifford, an education associate for the National Gardening Association. Gifford extols the value of exercise as children physically work in the garden, that families learn to work together and share, and that gardening helps build a child’s senses.

“One of the most important things about [vegetable] gardening is understanding where food comes from,” says Gifford. She says young children are fascinated in seeing food when it’s pulled from the ground, and they notice the similarities and differences from their garden vegetables and produce from the grocery store.