Gardening 101 – You *Can* Teach Your Children!!
Posted By Jacque on April 18, 2008
Repost from March 2007
It’s March!! Can you believe it?? The first ‘official’ Day of Spring is almost here! Now is the perfect time to start a little garden with your children! If you haven’t already, consider doing some type of garden. You can do a little one outside, a huge one outside or even a little container-type one inside.
Consider: ~Vegetable Garden~Flower Garden~Herb Garden~
Now is the time to start with seedlings. If you do that, you will be allowing your children to do something with so many object lessons, both educational and Biblical. They will be thrilled to watch as the little plant pokes its green up out of the soil after only a few days – or weeks. You will be teaching them to care for something and be responsible for something that will grow into something they can be proud of! When you garden, there is something for every age. you can make a lesson as elaborate or as simple as you wish. Here are some ideas you can use with different levels of children.
1. Planning Your Garden
Make a list of the different plants you would like to plant according to the different vegetables you enjoy and how much you want to harvest. Your children – especially the Littles will probably love brainstorming on this one!
This is a great opportunity to spend some time outside! Look at your land and see where would be a good location to plant where there is adequate sunlight and access to water. Talk to your chidlren and let them give ideas why this is a good location or if there may be another spot.
2. Order/Purchase Your Seeds With list in hand, call and order your seeds or go pick some up at your local store. This is something an older child can do and practice communication skills. There are many places you can call and order seeds from. Most seed companies have websites you can check out. We ordered ours this year from Seeds of Change. Read about what we have done and get some links to heirloom and organic seed companies at Seeking Rest on the Homestead. You can also read about the benefits of receiving the Organic Gardening online newsletter.
**Also – visit HomesteadBlogger. Go to the Front Porch Homestead Garden and Farm page and read their ideas. Look at the 100 most recent entries and take a look at any that pertain to gardening. I have found it a great site for information on gardening and animal husbandry! Even the Newbies (like us) have some good ideas!!**
Unlikely Homesteader Kitty Homesteadblog Front Porch The Sojourner Rachel’s Reasoning The Funny Farm Diary Of One Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths The Daily Planet Lighter Side Grandma Rosie’s Texas Home Of course, you can visit *our* Homestead blog, too: Seeking Rest on the Homestead
3. Plotting PlantTimes Different seeds need to be started indoors andothers direct-seeded into your garden outside. Call your local extansion office and find out your last frost date and work backwards from there. Use a calendar to write down and keep track of when to plant certain seeds. 4. Time to plant seedlings Children of all ages love to work in the dirt and plant seeds. Of course, my Littles loved filling our seed trays with dirt. I just put down some newspaper, put the potting soil in the middle of the table and gave them each access to a tray and a spoon. I had 5 children, 22m, 3 1/2, 7, 9 and 13 filling trays, having fun!
Have a reading child read how many seeds and such to put and how to plant them. Help the Littles and they really can’t do it wrong.
Other Lessons – Ideas to teach:
1. Littles can match seed packets and separate them into baggies.
2. Study seasons – why God made created each time.
3. Science -Botany of Seed to Plant
4. Schedule – watering, sunlight, and heat lamp.
5. Measuring and graphing the garden spot, the times to plant, the days of growth to germination.
6. Determinate/Inderterminate Seeds/Plants
7. Study Different Types of Soil – Nutrents in Soil.
8. Research Companies – Pick out and order seeds from Seed Co.
9. Weeding and reasons for it.
10. Organic gardening and the use of harmful pesticides on our soil and in our foods.
11. Bible Lessons: Diligence, Bounty
12. Biblical Planting, Watering, Harvesting can be shown in a physical, tangible way.
13. Do an indoor greenhouse.
Other benefits of planting a garden: Fresh Air & Exercise As you can see, there is ample opportunity for you as the homeschool teacher to incorporate math and science into your learning. They can also incorporate english/writing as they write about their experiences. Reading can include any books on gardening, reading seed packets or the science books you already have that give information on what you are teaching.
The *best* part about gardening is all of the lessons from the Bible you can incorporate!! Search online for bible references to planting, harvesting, and the like and read your children a story each day, before you start. *Always* incorporate God’s Word into your lessons. It makes your lessons more real and makes God more real!
Be Blessed!!
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Thursday, March 8, 2007 – Thanks!
Thanks for adding me to your friends list! I am a big fan of Jocelyn and Amanda’s blogs. They always post such neat stuff!
I have been hoping my Mom starts her garden soon. Last year she started it inside about this time in March. But I don’t know if she will this year.
~Nikki
Saturday, March 10, 2007 – Untitled Comment
Oh, I want a garden so bad! I can probably garden with my cousin again, but I just want my own at my own house so it’s not so hard to work in it and harvest! Maybe something will come up and we can move.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 – Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I just found your sight through Canada girl, and I wanted to say, “Thank you for some great ideas for science, etc.!!!!”
I am on my way to being mommy to 7, my oldest being 9, I am quite stretched when it comes to homeschooling. Your ideas are fantastic! I will be back to visit, you can count on that!
Blessing!
Heather
http://runningtothecross.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 – Untitled Comment
this is a great post! our kids have learned so much about life and about their Creator with ‘farm life’. I think they have learned more this last year about life (and death) than they have in their whole schooling careers.
Education was most definitely meant to be “lived”
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 – Hi there!
Last summer I had thoughts very similar to this as well-and one extra thing I thought about was doing a water garden. Very simply-get a bucket-the larger the better but anything would work. Then research with your children water-loving plants and get working. I plan to do this with my three year old this year.
Great ideas! We are gardeners over here, so they learn young! Love, Rebecca from http://www.zeahrenaissance.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 15, 2007 – Where’s the shovel?
I am SO inspired!
I have four…yes, four tomato plants.
I am going to expand my garden!
Thursday, March 15, 2007 – Thanks for sharing…….
we enjoy your blog so much! It is so refreshing and encouraging. We especially enjoyed the post on gardening. So much that I mentioned it on my blog and placed a link. Blessing to You!
Friday, March 16, 2007 – Untitled Comment
I REALLY needed this! I’m DYING to start a garden here and have just never done it~*THANK YOU!* for such timely encouragement! (((((HUGS))))) sandi
Thursday, April 10, 2008 – Oh yeah–
We are definitly in gardening mode here!!
I am currently reading a GREAT book- Animal Vegetable Miracle and blogging about it– how inspiring!!!
How could you NOT garden and eat local/healthy after such a book?
Thursday, April 10, 2008 – Untitled Comment
What a great post! I am looking forward to getting out there soon. Last year was my first “real” garden, and I am hooked now. Nothing like going out there in the early morning hours, sitting and listening to the quiet, and then picking your own salad.
My 3 year old was giving direction to me in the fall about what to plant next spring and where it should go-” tomatoes there, peppers there, and ice cream over here.”
Any links on how to grow ice cream?
Thank you for your prayers. It meant so much to me to hear from you and the others.
Blessings,
Suzanne @ The Beauty of It All
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[...] Carnival of Homeschooling is over at HomeSchoolBuzz.com – I particularly liked Jacque Dixon’s post on gardening/homeschooling. Share this article: Permalink | [...]
[...] Children love to play in the dirt, so planting a garden is an easy one to get them involved in. what aplace to teach your children the beauty and omnipotence of God’s creation. If you are interested in ways to use gardening as a unit study, I posted about it: Gardening 101 – You *Can* Teach Your Children!! [...]
[...] Make up your own worksheets and curriculum. Honestly, anyone can do a google search and find resources and information on a specific topic. Children can even do their own research on safe sites after a certain age and can certainly read topic-specific books and articles and write reports to learn about them. Here is an example of what I am talking about: Gardening 101 – You *Can* Teach Your Children!! [...]