On Children and Gardens

Today I checked in on the organic vegetable garden I planted at my kids' school and was astonished at what I saw. 

The carrots are flourishing, the sunflowers are growing into huge beasts, and the other veggies are coming along.  Things are, in fact, growing better and faster than in my own garden at home. 

So I asked myself why that is.  It's not the seeds, it's not the soil.  These are the same in mine.  It could be the slope of their garden - there's probably better drainage. 

But I think the more likely reason is all of the attention being lavished on it by the children at the school.  Every class ventures out there every day, admiring it, whispering to it, picking out the weeds, dreaming alongside it, putting small fingers into the soil to make sure it has enough water.  They love that garden. 

The implication is clear: children are as good for vegetable gardens as vegetable gardens are for children.  

Plain and simple.

Happy Earth Day!

How to Explain Earth Day to Kindergarteners

I was asked to do something for my sons' Montessori class for Earth Day.  After a bit of thought, the following is what I did:

I kicked things off by lending the school our boxed set of BBC's Planet Earth DVDs.  These DVDs have mesmerized my five year old, particularly the one about the oceans.

Next, I got the kids thinking about conservation by reading to them The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. This story is as relevant today as it was when it was first published almost 40 years ago.  I then had them discuss the book using questions I found at the Seussville website.

The next day, I gave an interactive presentation followed with an activity/coloring book I found on the EPA's website (which I printed double-sided, natch).

I brought props (recyclable items) and three posters:

Earth Day's 40th Anniversary Is April 22 - Watch This And Get Inspired!