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First lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden two months ago on the White House property. This has not been done in a very long time but it is something she wished to do with her 2 school aged daughters, Sasha and Malia. She figuredt it would be wonderfult to have such close access to fresh vegetables to eatbut she also thought it was important for her daughters to learn how to take care of a living thing. Making a garden for children to enjoy and work on is a great gift and one that they will never forget. There are different types of gardens that you can do with your children and in various sizes and locations. If you have a nice flat piece of land, you may want to do a large vegetable garden like the Obamas. If youlive in an urban setting and just have a small space outdoors, planting flowers and vegetables in pots may be thebest way. If you live in a harsher climate you may have minimal plants to work on and decorate your garden more with saint statues or Virgin Mary statues. Whatever type of garden you do, the following steps can help you begin.
Once you have decided what type of garden you wish to create with yourkidschildren, you should select the best location. Itneeds to get a lot of sun and not too shaded by trees or a building. The more out in the open it is, the better. If you do not own a power tiller you can rent one from several home improvement store. This will help get the earth all turned up and ready. After you till the soil, use a rake to gently smooth out the area. A chicken wire fence must also be installed around the area if you are doing a vegetable one to keep unwanted animals from eating your veggies. Depending on the size of the garden area, decide how many plants will fit and what kinds you would enjoy having. Involve the children in this decision making part. If you are doing flowers, have the children tell you what their favorite colors are and if you are doing a vegetable garden, ask them what type of veggies they would like to grow. It is proven that if involved the a vegetable garden, kids are more likely to consume vegetables that they grew themselves. If they choose to buy decorations like saint statues or Virgin Mary statues for the garden that is great as well. Once you havepurchased all of the plants, get the kids some work gloves and little shovels and have them start digging little holes to plant the seeds and/or plants. Be sure to saturate the garden with water thoroughly and water it every day. Another good project for the kids to do , especially in a vegetable garden is to make marker signs for the plants.
Creating a garden benefits children in giving them responsibility of taking care of a living thing and a sense of accomplishment in being successful at it.