It's Time to Garden

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need”
Marcus Tullius Cicero

     Here in Michigan we’ve had quite the chilly spring and are hoping that the warm weather, or rather some heat, will soon find us. We at BTBL love spending time outdoors in the summer tending both the flower and vegetable gardens so with summer fast approaching, it’s time to get outside and think about planting our vegetables, which at our house includes tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini and various herbs. This year we are thinking of adding melons and perhaps pumpkins to the mix. Be sure to involve your children in the planning, planting and care of your garden, whether it be a large backyard garden, a raised bed in boxes, or just plants on a patio. You might even consider something fun like a pizza garden. Gardening is a wonderful physical development activity no matter what the age. Choose age appropriate tasks and let your little ones explore the joy of planting and growing their own food.

     Remember to let your children help you choose what vegetables to grow, that way they will be more apt to eat them or to try new vegetables. Helping to plan, plant and tend a garden not only develops life skills but also helps foster responsibility, independence, leadership, caring, teamwork and problem solving and besides, digging in the dirt is always a fun tactile experience.

     After planting your garden, sit back, view your accomplishment and read a story together. Keep plenty of gardening books in the home to build an interest in and give information about gardening. Don’t forget to look for books and/or recipes that will use the fruits of your labors such as including herbs in your cooking,  making salsa and using your vegetables as toppings for homemade pizza.

Consider sharing one of the titles below with your little gardener:

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

The Usborne Book of Growing Food

Usborne Pop-up Garden

National Geographic Kids: Plants by Kathryn Williams

We are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines

Usborne Little Lift and Look Garden

Usborne Wipe-Clean Garden Activities

Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots: Gardening Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy

Usborne's Gardening for Beginners

Usborne Peek Inside the Garden

Secrets of the Vegetable Garden: A Shine-A-Light Book

National Geographic Kids Look & Learn: In My Garden

For additional titles, refer back to our previous blogs:
Why get kids in the garden? and The Power of a Garden.

      For a screen free day, visit other gardens with your children to see what plants they have included and how they have chosen to design it. Think botanical gardens, arboretums and even nurseries. For more screen-free summer fun, consider a natural play area with logs, dirt, sand, rocks etc. I have found that my 3-year-old daughter prefers to play in an area of sand rather than an actual sandbox like the Little Tikes green turtle sandbox that my neighbor has so I will attempt to create an area of sand fun. Stay tuned for the result and let the summer fun begin!

Happy gardening and reading!

-Kate @ BTBL

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Author

We are three generations that seek a way to get back to basics. It’s not that we eschew technology, but sometimes simpler is better, especially in raising our children. Mom was a reading teacher, Amanda is an early childhood educator and Kate a children’s literature specialist and former school librarian along with the latest editions, a daughter for Kate (now 3) and a son for Amanda (now 1.) We advocate reading aloud, the simple toys that use imagination and encourage creativity and learning in the kitchen, which can be a fun mess but also teaches life skills. Join us in raising healthy, happy, inquisitive and intelligent children.