Gardening good for children

I wanted to pass this along from a post at ECO CHILD’S PLAY.

Gardening is a great way to get kids outdoors experiencing nature.

Jennifer Lance offers:

Green Family Values: 10 Tips for Organic Gardening with Children

“…organic gardening with children helps establish healthy eating habits, as children are more prone to taste and enjoy foods they have grown themselves. In fact, in my opinion, the best natural toy for children is a garden. Luther Burbank wrote,

‘Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water-bugs, tadpoles, frogs, and mud-turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade in, water-lillies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries, and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education.’

The garden provides a unique environment for children to explore the natural world and combat nature deficit disorder. There are many tiny creatures to explore and the wonders of plant life never cease to amaze a child. Children also love to explore the garden with their friends. Here are ten tips for organic gardening with small children I have collected from experience and gardening friends” See the 10 tips <HERE>

 

In her post 60 Gardening Ideas for Kids she reviews Molly Dannenmaier’s book A Child’s Garden: 60 Ideas to Make Any Garden Come Alive for Children. Jennifer writes:

The photographs in A Child’s Garden are incredibly beautiful and inspiring! Featured in the photos are innovative examples of how to create special natural places for your children in the garden, such as mazes, paths, out-of-the-ordinary sandboxes, child-friendly ponds, peepholes, etc.

A historical perspective is also included to contrast the disappearing of outdoor afternoons in modern children’s lives. “Long hours of unstructured outdoor exploration are a fast-vanishing aspect of contemporary childhood.” This is one reason I have chosen to raise my children in the rural mountains, where everyday is filled with outdoor fun; however, if you live in or near a city, your backyard can be transformed to a child friendly garden.

Molly Dannenmaier breaks down nine essential elements to consider in a child’s garden, demonstrating her knowledge of child development. These elements are:

1. Water
2. Creatures
3. Refuges
4. Dirt
5. Heights
6. Movement
7. Make-Believe
8. Nurture
9. Learning

The ideas contained in this book are very creative and inspiring. <MORE>