Even if your school isn’t teaching your kids to grow food, the summer holidays are a perfect time to begin with a few simple lessons in gardening right at home.
Start with a few herbs that are used in their favorite dishes. Basil for spaghetti? Dill for dip with veggies? Mint for a fresh summer julep?
The benefits go far beyond building an understanding about food. There is quality time spent building a relationship with your kids in the garden — whether it’s in the back yard on the balcony or next to the bedroom window. Research recipes, learn about ingredients, make a shopping list, purchase supplies and have fun in the kitchen learning how to prepare fresh dishes using the bounty of their harvest.
Invite grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins and friends to join the fun.
Give your kids permission to play in the dirt this summer … and don’t be afraid to get a bit of dirt under your own fingernails in the process.
Life is in the little things … naturally.
Local Resources:
Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
YMCA, Ark Eden
The Green Patch,
SEED
Herboland
HK PermaClub
Image credit: eatlocalgrown.com
Links:
How to grow your own indoor herb garden
5 kitchen herbs kids can grow themselves
Starting a herb garden
10 herbal activites for kids
“Can we teach children to look at a flower and see all the things it represents: beauty, the health of an ecosystem and the potential for healing?” – Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder