Gardening For Kids

As my daughter was helping me out in the kitchen the other day, she decided she wanted to plant the spring onion I had bought. After cutting it, she took the leftover bottom part (the roots) to plant. She then asked if we had any other seeds to plant. We had some packets of seeds in the store room and she chose to plant some "bok choi" and "bayam" (spinach).

Talking about "bayam", I got to tell you something funny. The little brother saw the big sister planting seeds, so he wanted to see. After the sister was done gardening, I heard him calling me. He said "mommy, come and see the "ayam" is growing already" (*in Malay, ayam = chicken). Hahaha. So funny.

Anyway, out of the blue this girl suddenly had a desire to plant something. She even asked if she could plant the apple seeds. It would be nice to have an apple tree. How unfortunate that they don't grow in this part of the world. So, she asked me to keep the rambutan seeds next time we had some.

Of course, I have to constantly remind her to go check on her little seeds and care for it. Putting the seed in the soil is not the end of gardening. We'll see how diligent she is in seeing through this project of hers. Hopefully I will have some vege to harvest later on.

Mamas Parenting Tip

• Give opportunities for your children to do some gardening. Even if you don't have a garden, it's okay. All they need is a small pot. Give them some hands on education.
  
• When you're out and about, try to identify the different trees and plants they see. We have a lot of palm oil trees here in Malaysia. It is only right that my children know what they are. I still remember I was in the car with my children and I told them the trees we were passing by were palm trees. My youngest son then quipped "how to pump the tree?" :)
• Opportunities to learn science is all around. Actually, opportunity to learn anything is everywhere and anytime. Just got to keep the eyes open to grab those opportunities.