As you may know, we are keen vegetable patch growers. I am not a keen gardener… but I do think it is great to try and grow things with the kids! It is a brilliant way to learn about nature and Spring, as well as about patience and perseverance. We try and grow things every year (check out all our Gardening with Kids posts to date)
Last year we made little mini garden journals that The Boy drew is progress in. This year, I wanted to get his writing going.
We were off to a good start with these simple labels. I think making “writing real” and just about the “sake of writing”, really makes it more fun and valuable to them. The Boy did ALL the labels himself and we encouraged him to think about the spelling himself. He did 9 labels in total. We placed them on tooth picks and wrapped them in cellotape – to make them slightly waterproof. We will be keeping these seedlings indoors so, the labels should be fine and shouldn’t get too soggy.
Once he had label them, when it came to placing them in the right place, I got him to read them back to me and find which seedling pot to put in which flag.
So.. one activity, two learning experiences: Gardening and Writing in one session.
On another note.. have you ever considered teaching kids to sew? As with writing, I believe skills such as sewing are a “LIFE SKILL” and that no child is too young to start. It is great for fine motor skills too.