I am super anxious for the spring to arrive to see if the kids still have any level of interest in joining me outdoors. We made some serious progress last year as I realized I needed to tailor the gardening experience differently with each of the little ones.
My eight year old son has become somewhat of a “foodie”, thanks to my wife’s incredibly diverse and damn delicious cooking (I am going to call her out and push for her to start a blog in a future post). Common sense, which can be a bit of a reach for me some times, told me to focus on the edibles with him and we did just that.
He couldn’t have been more pumped up when we went blueberry and peach picking last summer:
While he enjoyed eating the fruit right off the branch, I think the little dude has a future as a chef. He not only loved the fruit salad my wife put together, but he also got the presentation and commented on the “nice color” combo.
I finally took the plunge last year and decided to grow all of my edibles on the back deck in containers, where not only could I control the quality of the soil but could also hide them from the lurking deer.
I grew 3 different types of lettuce, kale, spinach, peppers and two different varieties of tomatoes. The lettuce was by far the greatest success story as it produced endlessly for us into the summer and we ate some serious amount of salad:
The greatest part of it all though, was seeing my son pull the lettuce leaves right out of the container and eat them right on the spot. I think I hear Johnson and Wales calling.
Now my five year old daughter couldn’t be more different from my son. She is fruit and vegetable averse and she would literally kill you if you forced her to eat them. Hopefully that will change over time and from the constant exposure to fresh produce she will have to withstand.
On the other hand, she is all girl (and a damn cute one if I don’t say so myself) and loves princesses, flowers, butterflies and birds. She has an imagination and playfulness beyond words so I know what I need to tap into:
My little charming one would often tell me “Daddy, I love the flowers I see outside my playroom.” Well she better be ready to get her gloves because this is the year she’ll get her pruning on.
Last year, I took each of the kids through the growing process from beginning to end:
And while there clothing of choice leaves a lot to be desired, they GOT IT and I can only hope we take it to the next level this year.
Have a great weekend my friends.
John
Definitely get the “girlie girl” involved in planting flowers. She can do a little research, too: which flowers will attract butterflies? Hummingbirds? Bees? Yes, bees – to pollinate any of the vegetables that need it!
Your children will always remember their time spent in the garden and take what they learned on their life journey. There is much to be learned from a child’s eyes.
I can’t wait to teach the grade one class again soon.
This is such a wonderful thing to do with your children! My grandson who will be 3 shortly just loves the garden and has since he could walk. He understands planting seeds, pulls weeds and puts things in the compost bin. He will eat a tomato from the vine before a cookie!
I just love your daughter’s gardening outfit!!
I am a big fan of gardening with children, with my own and my classroom each year. You may not see the results right away but it ususally carries over into adulthood.
Eileen