Summertime is here. Yet many of us still want our children to continue learning. What better way to learn than getting our hands dirty? Dirty in the garden.
A garden is full of many lessons from how a plant grows to cooking the harvest. Like so many good things, gardening can sound like one more thing to add to an already hectic day. It can be if you just add it on. But if you include gardening as a part of your overall school plan, it becomes a wonderful learning opportunity.
Don’t dismiss gardening because you live in on a small city lot or in an apartment. There are many ways to grow vegetables that don’t require acres or even a large plot. Even though I live on nine acres, my garden plot is six feet by twelve feet. It small enough to tend easily and still provide the vegetables we need. You can have a small plot like mine, grow food in containers, or even share a garden spot.
Once the location is decided and the garden is begun so many lessons can be learned while digging in the dirt or pulling the weeds or even while cooking the homegrown veggies. Most of us are aware of the science lessons, but have you thought about history lessons? Or maybe lessons in good health and nutrition? Business skills can be learned through working a garden.
Undertaking a garden as part of learning during the summer can seem like a just one more thing. It needn’t be. If you go about it naturally, as part of your family life, your children will learn without much intervention from you. Fun in the garden is a fun family activity.
To found out more about our learning gardens, join me over at Minnesota Country Girl while I have the privilege of guest posting for
Summer in the Outdoors: A Homeschool Series of Gardening, Foraging & Nature Study.
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