Gardening With Your Kids

I will be the first person to admit, I was not born with a green thumb!  But.. that has not stopped my boys from begging to garden!  They have asked to plant just about anything they can think of and surprisingly enough, they are great little gardeners! Here are a few tips for teaching your child how to garden:

• Start Slow - Focus on only one or two types of plants when you first start out.  That way you aren't overwhelmed and you can work out the mistakes with less risk.
• Choose Fast Growing Plants - Kids are not known for their patience!  If you grow something that takes a long time to grow, your child might lose interest.  We have been successful with bean plants, lettuce, and spinach.
• Plant Things Your Child Likes - One of my boys' favorite garden items were pumpkins for Halloween!  If your child enjoys what is growing, they will want to help out.
• Let Them Be In Charge - If you aren't ready to hand over the whole garden, you might want to give your child a section of the garden that they are responsible for. 

Mini- Water Cycle

I love this idea for a Mini-Water Cycle from Laura Candler.  I am going to try it with the boys the next time we have Rotisserie Chicken from the grocery store (meal plan idea!).  All that you need to do is fill an empty and cleaned container with  a rock to represent a mountain, grass for the vegetation, and a small pond made from aluminum foil and filled with water. To power up the water cycle,  you close the container and put it in the sun. If you have bad weather or just want to keep it an indoor project you can use a lamp as well.

To learn more about the water cycle, try these worksheets:

Water Cycle Worksheet

Water Cycle Comic Strip