Growing bonsais with children can be an incredible experience. Since these small trees can live for more than a hundred years, there’s a good chance they can hand the miniature landscapes to their children one day. It’s a gift that keeps on giving for several generations.
While they’re undoubtedly beautiful to behold, bonsais carry life lessons that will be invaluable to you and your children. We’ll show you what these lessons are in this short guide:
5 Life Lessons Your Children Will Learn From Bonsais
1. Patience
The time it takes for a bonsai to grow teaches children patience. There’s the knowledge that spring will come again when new leaves and flowers will arrive for their small eyes to feast on. With every season that passes, they learn the value of waiting for the right time and taking things slowly when appropriate.
2. Creativity
Once your child gets the hang of growing a bonsai, you can teach them the various styles available. The most essential aspect is that your child learns to be creative. They shouldn’t be restricted to only cultivating the tree in one way. Show them some photos you find online for inspiration, but let them decide how they would like to shape the bonsai. Aside from caring the bonsai, you might also want to take a look at your garden as a whole.
3. Beauty and Design
Art, in every form you can think of, shows us the beauty of design. When it comes to bonsais, your children will see how proper care can lead to beauty, especially flowers and fruit appear. In the case of conifers, they’ll see cones instead of edible berries or round citrus fruits.
4. Caring for Others
If you’re aiming to teach your child the value of caring for others, you can do so with a bonsai. They’ll see the results of caring or neglect, something that will sink deep into their psyche. It’s not a great feeling seeing your small tree die due to not caring enough for it. This lesson carries through to other aspects of life. They’ll see that relationships with others grow and die in the same way.
5. Symbolism and Respect
The bonsai tree will take on a special meaning to them. You can also show them the specific symbolism that’s attached to the species. Secondly, they’ll start to respect other cultures and beliefs. It may even make them curious about the country where the tree grows natively if you want to plant a vast variety.
Education Through Small Trees
As you can see, both you and your child can learn loads by growing a bonsai at home. You’ll develop with your small tree while sharing energy with it, which is essential to both of you. If you want to spend more quality time with your son or daughter, invest in a bonsai tree that both of you can care for in the years to come.
Last Updated on June 25, 2023 by Lucy Clarke
