Kids love to dig in the dirt! They love to see new things happening and be a part of it! What are you planting in your garden this summer?
Gardening teaches kids countless lessons. When gardening, children learn how to care for something and about balance in life. Too much water can drown a plant yet without it the plant will die. There is an inherent balance in nature.
Nurturing skills will abound as children learn how to care differently for each type of plant. The excitement and patience that comes with watching a plant grow is the perfect combination!
Nature is our perfect teacher. Nature teaches about care and nurturing, life and death, triumphs and struggles, blooming and growing.
Most importantly, kids gardening creates a direct connection for them to their food. They get to see firsthand where it comes from, how it grows, how long it takes, how much water and sun it needs, what plants it thrives next to and ultimately how it tastes. In fact, they can hardly wait to harvest it to eat it.
Here we are arriving home last
fall with a car plum full of plants.
You can see from their beaming faces how excited they are!
The planting season had already been missed (the plants were on super clearance at the end of the season) so we tried a few options.
We planted 2 trees just to see if they would make it even though it was past the prime tree planting season. Others stayed outside protected in big pots while the rest spent the winter in our basement. The trees and blueberry bushes ranged from $7.95 to $12.00 a piece so we figured we could try different options to learn more about the trees since we did not invest a ton. We want to create an abundance of food in our back and front yard and are learning as we go.
The nectarine and peach we planted too late outside turned out fine and are blossoming already! The apricot and 4 others in pots outside also fared well and are full of leaves. The only ones that were weak were the ones we brought inside to shelter them from the below zero weather. Go figure! Apparently our basement was too warm and did not let them go dormant. When we placed them outside again, they were way too confused and most died.
You can create rich experiences with your kids in the garden, you don’t even have to plant much. One family recently mentioned that they threw in some pumpkin seeds last spring and by fall they had so many the squirrels thought they had quite the feast!
Do you want your kids to try a new veggie? Plant it with them!
The best way to engage kids is to start plants indoors so they can closely watch them grow.
- Have your kids pick their favorite flower or vegetable seeds
- Purchase small starter pots
- Fill them with seed starter
- Plant
- Care for them
- Watch them grow
The hardest part we have found with kids is not waiting for the seeds to come up, but overwatering. They are now learning to test the soil by feeling first and not just assume it needs watering (another life lesson – experience not assumption is key). Kids love gardening tools and will love to rake and dig so be prepared!
As my husband and I were returning from a walk this morning, he marveled, “just think, each plant is taking carbon dioxide from the air, enabling us to breath.” When you stop to think about it, that is a pretty powerful lesson into how we are all connected in life to each other and the land that supports us.
There are countless lessons learned from nature that can be learned through quiet discovery. I encourage you to plant a seed with your family today.
Share what you are planting with us by leaving a comment below.
Let us know your favorite family fruits and veggies!
In health,
Summer Joy
p.s. Thank you to all of the regular facebook fans. I hope to integrate your thoughtful comments to this blog soon!
Leave A Response