HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight WatchersŽ.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


Helping Your Kid's Grow a Garden


Start some gardening traditions with your kids. Give them their own garden patch and a spot to dig. Children love getting their hands dirty and watching things grow.

Be sure to buy good quality, child sized gardening tools. Plastic toy versions just won't hold up to the task. You will also need children's gloves and a watering can.

Mark off the garden area and turn the soil. Kids can help break up any lumps with their hands. Work in some organic compost.

Choose seeds that will grow quickly. Small children get impatient if their plants take too long to sprout. Radishes, Snapdragons, Cosmos, and Sunflowers will all germinate quickly. Carrots and strawberries are also easy to grow-- and yummy to eat.

Large seeds like beans and Morning Glories are easy for small fingers to push into the ground. You can start your seeds indoors in an eggshell carton. When the seedlings are an inch high, tear off the egg carton, and leaving the soil intact, transplant the seedlings outside.

Or, try placing beans on a wet paper towel inside a zip top bag. Tape the bag to a sunny window and wait for the seeds to germinate. I can remember, as a child, checking my beans every morning before school. The first shoots appeared to my delight and we carefully transplanted the beans outdoors.

Make garden markers by painting small rocks. This will help kids keep track of their selections.

Make it fun! Grow a sunflower house by planting the sunflowers in a circle with a space in the middle big enough for your kids to hide. Be sure to leave room for a door.

Grow a spaghetti garden. Plant herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, and parsley. My kids love to snip fresh herbs. They stuff their pockets full of scented "spaghetti" herbs.

Share your garden with butterflies and hummingbirds. Zinnias, Verbena, and Cosmos are butterfly favorites. Hummingbirds love the nectar from Nasturtium and Lantana, and Hollyhocks.

Children love to pick up bugs and worms. Poke holes in the top of an old jar. Add some dirt and a few, new found specimens. Be sure to release the critters back into nature after a few hours.

Arm your kids with cameras to take photos throughout the summer. They will enjoy remembering the fruits of their labor. And, the pictures will help your budding gardener plan for next year.

Happy planting. And, don't forget to pick a few bouquets for mom.

You have permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, free of charge, provided that each article is:

1. Printed in its full form with no changes

2. Includes an active link

3. And the following byline appears at the bottom of each article: About the Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit http://www.togetherparenting.com

To subscribe to her online newsletter, go to http://www.togetherparenting.com/feedback.asp

Please send us a courtesy copy of your publication to the above contact

Contact: info@togetherparenting.com
Copyright Nine Twenty Press

About the Author: Rondi Hillstrom Davis is the co-author of the award-winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out her website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit http://www.togetherparenting.com


MORE RESOURCES:

New York Times

Over 1000 melamine babies still in China hospitals
Reuters - 8 hours ago
Door-to-door screening of more than 307000 Beijing families with children under the age of three found that over 75000 babies had been fed contaminated milk ...
Battered Chinese Dairy Industry To Undergo Major Overhaul AHN
Over 1000 melamine-affected children still in Chinese hospitals RIA Novosti
Gov't shows milky way to troubled dairy firms China Daily
Xinhua - RedOrbit
all 304 news articles


BBC News

Rapid care 'cuts baby's HIV risk'
BBC News, UK - 21 hours ago
Rapid drug treatment of babies with HIV dramatically cuts their risk of death and debilitating disease, international research shows. ...
Early HIV Treatment Best for Babies U.S. News & World Report
Early HIV Treatment Cuts Babies’ Death Risk eFluxMedia
Treat HIV-positive babies from the start Science News
Reuters India - Plus News
all 48 news articles


SmartAboutHealth

In vitro babies have more birth defects
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Nov 18, 2008
A new study released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that babies conceived through in vitro fertilization are two to ...
Increased birth defect risk from assisted reproduction National Business Review
Birth defects linked with assisted reproduction Chicago Tribune
Assisted reproduction and the risk of birth defects Los Angeles Times
SmartAboutHealth - dBTechno
all 111 news articles


Weight Loss Surgery Helps Obese Women Have Healthier Babies
New York Times, United States - Nov 19, 2008
By RONI CARYN RABIN Women who become pregnant after weight-loss surgery have easier pregnancies and healthier babies than do obese women who become pregnant ...


Hospital Welcomes ‘Miracle Babies’ Home
Queens Tribune, NY - 24 minutes ago
By Nicole Alibayof The monitor was showing a flat line and the baby wasn’t breathing. Nineteen minutes later the doctor was still trying to resuscitate him ...
Infant child care is scarce in Central New York The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com
all 2 news articles


Former Banker Makes Millions Inventing Baby Dolls
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
Dan left the comfort and security of his position as vice president of Royal Banks of Missouri to pursue a seemingly absurd passion -- creating baby dolls. ...


• Playing the baby game: Parents facing a dizzying menu of ...
The Oregonian - OregonLive.com, OR - 7 hours ago
Whether it's baby swimming or baby gymnastics, baby music or baby sign language, new parents face a bewildering menu of choices for jump-starting their ...


Health Newstrack

Bariatric Surgery Before Pregnancy Benefits Moms, Babies
U.S. News & World Report, DC - Nov 18, 2008
TUESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Women who get pregnant after having weight-loss surgery have a lower risk of maternal and newborn complications than ...
Weight-loss surgery bodes well for pregnancy Los Angeles Times
Risk Of Maternal And Newborn Complications May Be Lower After ... Science Daily (press release)
Go for pre-pregnancy weight loss surgery Times of India
Current World News - eFluxMedia
all 58 news articles


Child advocate: Abandoned babies not uncommon
WCNC (subscription), NC - 19 hours ago
“We do get our fair share of the babies,” said Johnson, whose agency works with DSS in placing children with foster families but is not involved with the ...


Edward Holifield: Biomass plant may kill more black babies
Tallahassee Democrat, FL - 15 hours ago
... there is statistical evidence from an August 2003 article in the Quarterly Journal of Economics that relates air pollution to the death of black babies. ...

babies - Google News