Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in houston, TX

top 6 lessons in your garden: how does your garden grow? With food and education all in a row!

April 14, 2009

Even more frugal than buying in season is growing your own garden. Houston has a nice, long growing season and can provide good conditions for a great crop of basic vegetables and fruits.

Houstonvegetablegarden.com is a good resource site. It has great information and frequent updates. The Houston Chronicle has a Gardening section that is comprehensive, offering a plethora of easy-to-follow gardening information.

You can start small or big, combine with trips to a farmer's market (and farmers are usually great for sharing tips!), and figure out what works for you.

Growing a garden for food is practical, but is also a wonderful activity with your preschooler.

Sharon Wilson, an inspirational friend who is living the rural life and dedicating herself to helping the environment, shared that she used her garden to teach her son well-rounded lessons in all disciplines, "I think one of the best green things you can do with a preschool kid is to grow a garden. You can teach children everything they need to know with a garden."

She and I both put down our favorite ideas of how to use a garden to teach many lessons:

Science: Study and research bugs, pollination, photosynthesis, sprout seeds, and each element of interest in the garden. See if the garden and its plants differs from day time to nighttime. Are there different insects? Are plants open or closed? Talk about the different elements (land, air, water, sun).

Math: Gardening offers many opportunities for math lessons. Word problems with real action can teach a preschooler basic numbers, counting, and pre-addition and subtraction. For example: let's count out five seeds to plant in this spot, or hold in one hand three seeds and five seeds in the other, then help your child figure out how many plants total will grow from those seeds. You can also study shapes (let's plant these seeds in a circle, let's plant these in a square. And you can learn units of measurement by measuring the plants as they grow and charting the growth. You can teaching sorting and grouping of similar seeds and plants, for example: these are all flowers and these are all vegetables.

History: Old World foods were foods in Europe before the Americas were discovered: carrots (carrots were used for stomach upsets), onions (onions were used to get across the desert because they are juicy), and so forth. New World foods were here in the Americas: corn, tomatoes, okra, and so forth. Kids also love stories, such as Johnny Appleseed.

Reading: Read books about gardens (find some ideas here), seasons, seeds, bugs, and all those interesting things you and your child see and wonder about.

Civics: by growing a garden, children learn where their food comes from and you can teach them about transportation--my son had a tricycle that pulled a wagon so he would pick up the vegetables from the farmer and "haul" them to the "grocery store," our kitchen.

Art: We made garden markets and stepping stones and rain gauges. Gardens are also great places to learn about colors and blending colors, too.

Let your creativity and interest guide you. The lessons are just a starting point---there are so many more places you and your child can explore and learn from in a garden. Have fun growing with your child---and remember to look up as well as down at your garden. Above you are birds, trees, and other interesting parts of our world.  Read more...

Bird-watching with your preschooler: Help the Houston Audubon Society Track Chimney Swifts

March 18, 2009

Bird watching is a fantastic way to engage your preschooler in the outdoors and learn about nature, colors, seasons, and birds---how they migrate, nesting, roosting, eggs, caring for baby birds, and more. In Houston, Mid-March is the perfect time to see many species of birds nesting in your yard! In fact, the Houston Audubon Society says that locals are reporting seeing Chimney Swifts---small birds, about 5 inches long and dark-gray in color, that are closely related to hummingbirds---roosting and nesting.

That's why the Houston Audubon Society is currently tracking Swift reports and sightings, on a map. If you and your preschooler look for Chimney Swifts and write a short report, then send it in, they'll track your results on a map.

Your preschooler can see your family's Chimney Swift sighting report on the We site, and alongside other reports. It's a great way to introduce your child to basic science and scientific process.

Here's how it works according to the Houston Audubon Society's "Help us track Houston's Chimney Swifts!" site:

1. Look for Chimney Swift activity - both nesting and roosting.
2. Send us your reports. Tell us if you observe Chimney Swift activity and where it is.
3. We'll track your results on a map and post them on this site. Only the neighborhoods will be posted. No home addresses will be displayed.

 For more information about chimney swifts, click here.

For more information about the Houston Audubon Society's chimney swift tracking program, click here. They even tell you what to look for and have recordings of swift calls!

TIPS for OBSERVING:

1. Teach your child about watching quietly. You can even make it more fun by wearing "camouflage" clothing and talk about blending in with the environment.

2. Ask your child what he or she sees, and take notes. Draw pictures, too. What do the birds look like? Are the birds in the trees or on the ground? What do they do in trees? What do they do on the ground? What food do birds eat?

3. Do some research; for example, see where the birds live, look at maps for migration routes, or whatever points about the birds most interested your child(ren). Don't worry, of course, about getting too technical. Just follow your child's and your own interest.

Keep it fun and enjoy!

 

 

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