Helping Your Kid's Grow a Garden


Start some gardening traditions with your kids. Give them their own garden patch and a spot to dig. Children love getting their hands dirty and watching things grow.

Be sure to buy good quality, child sized gardening tools. Plastic toy versions just won't hold up to the task. You will also need children's gloves and a watering can.

Mark off the garden area and turn the soil. Kids can help break up any lumps with their hands. Work in some organic compost.

Choose seeds that will grow quickly. Small children get impatient if their plants take too long to sprout. Radishes, Snapdragons, Cosmos, and Sunflowers will all germinate quickly. Carrots and strawberries are also easy to grow-- and yummy to eat.

Large seeds like beans and Morning Glories are easy for small fingers to push into the ground. You can start your seeds indoors in an eggshell carton. When the seedlings are an inch high, tear off the egg carton, and leaving the soil intact, transplant the seedlings outside.

Or, try placing beans on a wet paper towel inside a zip top bag. Tape the bag to a sunny window and wait for the seeds to germinate. I can remember, as a child, checking my beans every morning before school. The first shoots appeared to my delight and we carefully transplanted the beans outdoors.

Make garden markers by painting small rocks. This will help kids keep track of their selections.

Make it fun! Grow a sunflower house by planting the sunflowers in a circle with a space in the middle big enough for your kids to hide. Be sure to leave room for a door.

Grow a spaghetti garden. Plant herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, and parsley. My kids love to snip fresh herbs. They stuff their pockets full of scented "spaghetti" herbs.

Share your garden with butterflies and hummingbirds. Zinnias, Verbena, and Cosmos are butterfly favorites. Hummingbirds love the nectar from Nasturtium and Lantana, and Hollyhocks.

Children love to pick up bugs and worms. Poke holes in the top of an old jar. Add some dirt and a few, new found specimens. Be sure to release the critters back into nature after a few hours.

Arm your kids with cameras to take photos throughout the summer. They will enjoy remembering the fruits of their labor. And, the pictures will help your budding gardener plan for next year.

Happy planting. And, don't forget to pick a few bouquets for mom.

You have permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, free of charge, provided that each article is:

1. Printed in its full form with no changes

2. Includes an active link

3. And the following byline appears at the bottom of each article: About the Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit http://www.togetherparenting.com

To subscribe to her online newsletter, go to http://www.togetherparenting.com/feedback.asp

Please send us a courtesy copy of your publication to the above contact

Contact: info@togetherparenting.com
Copyright Nine Twenty Press

About the Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit http://www.togetherparenting.com

MORE RESOURCES:
RELATED ARTICLES
Navigating in the New World: Parents and Teenagers Growing Together
One of the most prevalent myths of our modern culture is the one that says, "Adolescence is a time of inevitable conflict." You will hear doctors say it, and teachers, and therapists, and pastors, and even parents.
10 Things You Can Do To Help A Shy Child
There are a few points about shyness in children which will help you better understand the best approach in dealing with your child. You will need to identify the nature of your child's shyness.
Want To Further Your Childrens Studies?
Being in a competitive world, the lowest qualification to secure a good job is a degree. However, a degree subject may be perceived as too general and the acquisition of a specialist skill through professional courses or a post graduate program may help improve employment prospects.
Stay at Home Mom You Need to Raise Cowboys
Now I know that is not how the song goes, I have had cousins from central Texas drag me to Gilley's to listen to that song live and they sang every word without missing a beat. So no emails about the title, please.
Is it ADHD or Bi-Polar Disorder?
Bi-Polar Disorder, or Manic Depression, is characterized by mood swings, sometimes extreme, ranging from depressed to normal moods, or from depressed to manic episodes. Manic behaviors are often very similar to "hyperactive" behaviors, including motor restlessness, irritability, temper outbursts, sleeping less, or having higher levels of energy.
Teach Your Children How To Resolve Conflict Without Using Anger Or Power
Teaching kids to deal with conflict effectively and peacefully is perhaps the biggest challenge facing adults today. Children's disagreements both at home and at school can be noisy, physical and psychologically hurtful.
Sanity Savers For Busy Mums Page
Question 1 "How do I get more time to play?" Answer: Schedule it in. Why? Because if you don't schedule it you will generally let other things have a higher priority and put yourself and a life further down the list.
Selecting A Quality Day Care Center
Many working families choose a commercial or individual day care center to care for their child during the workday. We've listed important aspects of a daycare center's environment to evaluate when making your choice: Staff to Child Ratio.
Develop Your Childs Genius: The King of Games - the Game of Kings
Many people still think that the game of chess is appropriate for old people. In their mind's eye, they see 2 elderly people sitting across from each other in the park, playing a game of chess.
How To Entertain A Child While Working From A Home Office
There is no doubt that the benefits of being a work-at-home parent outweigh the drawbacks. However, some days can prove to be difficult when your two year-old is determined to climb on top of your filing cabinet while you're trying to participate in an important conference call.
Your Company Vehicle is a Portable Bill Board; A word of advice on children passengers
Child Safety Restraints and children in work vehiclesIf you take your child in your work car, van, SUV or work truck, you should determine the type of safety seat that's appropriate to your child's age or weight and will allow you full control of the vehicle including use of the stick shift.If your child is newborn to nine months or twenty pounds, use an infant safety seat.
Vouchers --- Parents, Dont Depend On Them
Vouchers, which give tax money to parents to pay for tuition in private schools, sound good in theory. The problem is that voucher programs are few and very far between.
Parenting Your Teenager: Self-Decorating or Self-Harm - How to Tell the Difference
Q. I need your help with a question about my teen-age daughter.
Guide to Choosing a Computer System for Your Child
Before going further into choosing computers for children, I believe that you would like to know the answer to the following question:Why do children need computers?The easiest answer for this one is: "A child needs a computer so that he can play computer games". Everybody agrees.
The Ten Things That Successful Parents Do
1. They are leaders as well as parents.
Ten Ways To Become Your Teenagers Best Friend
Best friends! It may seem impossible to believe, but today's teens do want to consider their parents as friends, even though they think we could never understand the realities of their world. They are also interested in what it was like being a teenager during the Stone Age.
Quality Time?
There's a phrase that's become popular over the past few years that fills me with wonder. That phrase is "quality time.
Family Meals: When Dinner Schedules Dont Match
Mealtimes together deserve an important place in any family. Around the table, family members connect, children learn the art of conversation, and a spirit of peace and thankfulness can flourish.
Alias: Aptitude
Be aware. You may become totally overwhelmed when you get the results of the special education  testing on your child.
The Mystery of Child Beliefs, Spirit in Children, Understanding Spirtuality in Children
In the wonderment of childhood, it is easier for a child to find Spirit and belief than it is for adults! Tainted with the experiences of the mundane world, sadly a downhill experience of late, adults can become jaded, defensive, argumentative and nonbelievers. Not so with the purity and innocence of childhood.