Autumn is a time when the sun is losing its heat and the days are getting colder. It's no wonder some children can seem less than enthusiastic about wanting to play outdoors. Finding outdoor activities that are exciting and interesting when the weather is less than inviting, can be somewhat of a challenge. However, some of the most enjoyable accessible things to explore, can be right on your doorstep.
Gardens and outdoor spaces can be so interesting during the autumn because of the natural changes taking place. It's a great time for children to explore the outdoors and have fun, while at the same time learn about how the natural world adapts and gets ready for the winter.
For those children who are slightly less inclined to venture out in the more inclement weather, we’ve put together a few ideas to spark enthusiasm.
Getting Prepared For The Great Outdoors
Children love to get mucky and enjoy the freedom of playing outside and although every encouragement should be made to get children active and playing outdoors, bear in mind the natural environment comes with a few risks. The last thing you want to do is create a negative experience. That’s why it’s always beneficial to provide a good pair of gardening gloves.
Children’s gardening gloves are not only warm, lightweight and waterproof, they can help protect young hands against such things as nettle stings, injuries from thorns, brambles and bacteria.
Make Gardening Gloves Part Of The Overall Experience
- Young children like to copy and mimic adults, if you wear gardening gloves, they will want to wear them too.
- Make the gloves seem special. There’s nothing like having your own pair of new gardening gloves to look after and care for. Here are examples of our gloves for the young gardener Buds Gardening Gloves and the SHOWA 370.
Uses For Children’s Gardening Gloves
Here are a few gardening and outdoor activities that children will enjoy and where gardening gloves will be beneficial.
1. Planting Seeds and Quick Results Gardening
Children don’t like to wait around too much, so it’s beneficial to plant quick sprouting seeds such as winter salad. Rocket for example is a great cut and come again crop, which can be planted in containers if space is limited.
2. Garden To Plate
There’s something rewarding about eating what you’ve grown. Food always seems to taste better if it’s your own produce. Below are some benefits children will gain from growing their own food.
It will help them to:
- Understand the growing process and where food comes from.
- Get enjoyment and a sense of pride from something they have created.
- Make food more interesting, which is good for fussy eaters.
- Try new foods and increase variety in their diet.
Most importantly nurturing plants and watching them grow gives children a sense of responsibility and accomplishment. It can also help develop a long term interest.
Preparing For The Winter
There are lots of little jobs that children can do to help you get prepared for the winter and these are where gardening gloves can come in most useful. There aren’t many young children who would refuse the opportunity to play in the dirt, especially if they are given a bucket and spade. So why not direct their natural tactile inclination into something that's both task related and fun. They could for example help prepare the soil for the new growing season, by pulling out weeds and old plants, plus turn the soil as they dig.
Leaves Are Great For Sensory Stimulation
The vibrant colours of autumn leaves, rich russets, reds and vibrant shades of orange make them ideal for creating collages. Children can also have lots of fun sweeping them into piles, scrunching them in their hands or collecting and putting them into bags or the composter.
Remember don’t let the autumn and emerging winter act as barrier for children getting outside and having fun, it doesn’t have to symbolise the end of all things outdoors.
You can find out more about our range of gardening gloves to suit most outdoor situations here.