Gardening is very important to me and I want to share that love with my son. We garden at a community plot away from our home and the simple task of bringing crops home from the garden teaches my son about the connection between land and every day living.
About a month or so ago we headed out to our community garden plot to harvest our first batch of greens. This is always a bit exciting. Seeds put into the ground have magically transformed into food! Well, it sure seems like magic, not just to kids, but to me, too.
I always sow the seeds thickly and then thin them out when they are the perfect size for a baby green salad. Pulling up small batches of arugula, kale and spinach by the roots is a great task for Kiddo and teaches him both botany science, and practical life skills.
He sees where and how our food grows as well as gains first-hand experience with the whole plant -- roots and all. After pulling up the baby greens, Kiddo pinched the small roots off each seedling and added them to the compost pile (teaching him a little bit about sustainable living along the way!). Kiddo enjoyed our time harvesting, no doubt in part because the task had a bit of a destructive edge to it!
He wanted to carry home the bag of greens himself and absolutely loves spinning the greens in the salad spinner.
Now getting him to actually eat arugula.... that's another story altogether.
What simple ways do you show your kids the home-garden connection?
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