by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.patlambchristianauthor.com
Train up a child…
Gardening is Good for Kids
When our children were young, one of their favorite records was “Carrot Seed”. It was a cute little song based on a book by the same name about a little boy who planted a tiny carrot seed and everyone told him it would not grow. He watered it and pulled the weeds and finally one day he had a carrot! The song expressed his jubilation about his accomplishment.
Children can learn much by being involved in gardening. They learn self-discipline as they work toward a goal. They learn to appreciate the effort put into providing their food and they learn about the laws of nature.
A child must follow instructions and do things right when planting, or the product shows it. They learn about soil and soil nutrients. They learn about preparation for planting. They learn about measurement when talking about the depth of planting. Once the plant is up, they must remember to water and discipline self to do so even when the temptation is to be lazy. It is not a matter of having fun for a brief moment and then jumping to something else. The child must learn to “stick with it” even when it is not fun. As children pull weeds, they learn about different plants.
It is through the effort a child puts into gardening that the child becomes appreciative of farmers who provide produce for our tables. The child reasons that if that much work is required for a little garden, there must be a great deal of work involved in a big field of plants. Children will probably never look at vegetables on their plates the same way again after they have raised some themselves. Hopefully, they will be less likely to waste their food. Also, they will probably become more interested in different kinds of vegetables and how they are grown once they have grown one or more kinds.
It is impossible to grow plants without marveling at the way they grow and produce. We plant seeds, but God causes the plants to grow. Children cannot help but think about their creator when they are involved in growing things. They begin to be amazed about other things around them as they expand their thinking to big plants like trees. After they think about the plants, they begin to think about the other things that God made. Boys and girls will consider big mountains, rivers, lakes, stars, and other things in God’s creation, all from planting one little plant or seed.
Some of the easier things for children to grow are beans, potatoes, zucchini squash, and peppers. Good flowers for children to start with are nasturtiums or marigolds. These are more likely to produce success. Carrot seeds are very small and even though the book and song are nice, I’m not sure that is a good vegetable with which children should start their gardening experience.
Children are so very proud when they grow something that the family can enjoy eating. This is a great way to boost a child’s self-esteem. The child feels very important and worthwhile when one of the dishes on the table is provided by his/her efforts and the family talks about how good it tastes! When the child says the blessing before eating, that child is likely to say thank you for the people who raised the food and thank you to God for making it grow…and mean it!