|
     
|
|  |
Build A Garden Of Memories With Your Kids
by Dominic Weidman
http://www.iamgardening.com
Gardening is an activity that your whole family can join in
and enjoy. It's not at all difficult to make allowances and
modifications that will let even the youngest child in your
family feel like they're an active, important part of the
fun.
By bringing your children into the garden, you'll be
starting them on a lifelong love of nature and helping
things grow. Gardening is full of 'teachable moments'. The
slow pace of working the earth invites conversation and
introspection, and offers opportunities for imparting your
beliefs and philosophies and knowledge in a natural, matter-
of-fact way that will do far more than all the lectures in
the world.
One spring morning, I looked out my window and couldn't bear
the sight of that trash strewn, weed-choked lot another day.
I tackled it with a pair of gloves and a new box of trash
bags. In less than an hour, I had a garden full of kids
begging to help.
It was an accidental beginning to my community gardening
adventures. By the end of that day, the dirty, rubble-choked
lot boasted three separate gardens, each bordered with hand
built rock walls. By summer's end, the 'hood had melded into
a community, and the garden was thriving. In the process, I
learned some important how-tos about gardening with kids.
On a spring afternoon, when they get home from school, be
out in the garden with spade and pitchfork. Pick out a patch
of ground with a 5 year old and help him mark it off with
twigs and string. Give your two year old a plastic shovel
and a corner of his own to dig. Ignore the dirt. The nice
thing about kids is - they wash up pretty.
Besides those, there are a few plants that are ever popular
with kids. There's not a child alive who hasn't imagined
planting Jack's beanstalk, or growing a huge pumpkin like
Cinderella's. Pumpkins, beans and squash are prolific
growers in almost any region of the United States, so let
them go for it. Their early success will encourage them to
stick with it.
One afternoon just after the seeds sprout, pull out the
aluminum pie tins and string and a threaded needle. Let them
cut and shape, poke holes and string the diamonds and
circles and squares on garden twine. When they're done, let
them help you string it while you explain how the sparkly
fluttering brightness discourages the birds from eating
their seedlings.
On a sunny, sticky summer afternoon, pick the ripest, most
beautiful tomato you can find. Take it and sit on the bottom
step of the porch and as they gather round (because they
will, trust me on this), slice off bite size chunks with a
pocketknife and share the bounty.
All summer and into the fall, take them with you when you
harvest and pick. At first, just tell them what you're doing
- why this bean, why not that rose just yet. After a while,
let them point out the ones to pick, and then, still later,
just give them a nod and let them twist the tomato off the
stem. Be sure you tell everyone at the dinner table who
picked the salad tonight.
When you plant and garden with your kids, you share with a
love of the earth, a reverence for nature, and the seeds of
a hobby that will last a lifetime. Gardening together is a
gift that will build memories to treasure forever.
Submit An Article
|
©
COPYRIGHT 2005 ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED abusinessfix.com
|
Get Exposure For Your Site! Advertise with us.
Click
Here For Details
on a Great Deal! |
|
|
Would you like
more information on business?
Sign up here for our mailing list. You will get great information
before it becomes available on our website!
|
|
