Sunday 27 April 2014

Kids In The Garden Give Away

Lately I've begun to understand more about my duty as an elder and the privilege of passing on knowledge. . 


I was recently given  Mel Bartholomew's new book Square Foot Gardening With Kids. It has proved to be an excellent guide for spending time in the garden with little, and not so little, ones.

The activities are presented like lesson plans, which at first I found a little austere. I've come to appreciate the no nonsense style which makes the information easy to retain and pass on. I feel well prepared and more confident about keeping things interesting.

The approach incorporates art projects, science questions and discoveries, math problems, carpentry, writing tasks, vocabulary and ethical concepts.  Each section is divided into levels for Preschool, Early Learners, Tweens, and Teens. The focus is on kids thinking for themselves, taking responsibility, developing practical skills and having fun.

Here is a run down of some of the topics covered:

Good seeds for little fingers
Learning to shop (what kid doesn't love the lumber store and garden centre)
Getting dirty
Keeping a Journal
Fun with Art
Rewarding plants for kids
What's in a seed
Soil composition
Safety First.

This book would be useful for young families but I think even better for Grandpas and Grandmas. This is the part of our lives when we often have more time. There is no better way to use it than in the garden with our precious grandchildren.

I think the book would make a great gift for Father's Day. To win a copy leave a comment and agree to post about it if you win. I'll draw a name on May 5th. Unfortunately due to the cost of postage I will have to limit the opportunity to Canada and the U.S.A.




The premise of SFG

 "it is the simplest way to garden. It doesn’t take a lot of money, a lot of space, a lot of gardening knowledge, good soil, or fancy tools. You don’t have to do a lot of weeding, and it’s organic, too." 

13 comments:

  1. Square foot gardening is all the rage now, due to many now investing in raised beds. (So much easier). I have just started mine for this year but have not put in the plants yet. I don't trust the weather yet.

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    1. I'm about to put my first plants in today. The soil is finally warm and dry enough.

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  2. I would love to win this book. We still are in the very beginning stages of our garden in which my 3 yr old is my right hand man.

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    1. 3yr olds are great. I conned mine into thinking weeding was a special treat. Unfortunately, at 5, he has clued in.

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  3. I would LOVE this book!!!!!! I find it so very intriguing the way it is broken down and feel that it would just be so fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing this book with us!!! Happy week to you friend!! Nicole oxox

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  4. When I taught school in the inner city many kids had no idea about where food came from. We grew lots of things on milk cartons on the classroom window sill. The fifth grade teacher had a small barnyard behind her classroom. Seems like schools are exempt from some of the rules regarding animals, or at least they were in those days. She raised a steer, goats, chickens, a turkey, rabbits, many other small animals, and a pig we feed from cafeteria table scraps. I doubt that they would it allow it these days, but what a great experience for the kids. - Margy

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  5. I love gardening with children. I haven't got a Victoria Sponge cake recipe that worked. So I really haven't got a recipe to share. I just used an angel food cake. Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I would love this book. My son who will be 4 in June sowed sunflowers and pumpkins and is always excited when I tell him to go and check on the plants progress. I am probably more excited than him to see the sunflowers bloom!

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  7. Hello Susan and thank you so much for dropping by my blog ( I am too happy to add another Canadian garden blogger to my list as well !) .. I am afraid my "step-grandkids" who live in South Carolina are not too interested in gardening but I so appreciate a book that helps "elders" out with passing on such a wonderful "gift" from nature .. it gives me such great satisfaction at times it is hard to describe .. and on other times when I am bone tired ? I can't say on here what I am thinking ! LOL ... all in all ... I do love gardening though ... you never stop learning about it and plants ! Fingers crossed for better weather soon !
    Joy

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  8. I have the regular Square Foot Garden book and did garden that way for a few years. It really should have been in area with more sun, but it looked nice and I did get some veggies and herbs from it. What a great way to teach gardening to children! (Please don't include me in the drawing.)

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  9. What a sweet book. I love the smile on the little boy's face. Please don't include me in your drawing. My kids are grown and I don't have any grandkids yet. When my kids were small, I allowed them area to have their own little gardens. Two of Sharon Lovejoy's books were my inspiration.

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  10. I'm looking into a career teaching kids about gardening so I'd love to see what the book has to offer! :)

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  11. I do square-foot gardening and my grandson helps me, but I haven't seen the kids version of the book. I enjoyed your review. P. x

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