Green House Manor: Earth Day 2015: Kid Garden

There is this joke. "Today is earth day, or as Evangelicals call it, April 22nd"

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Ok, it's a bad joke, but it always makes me chuckle just a bit. As Christians in America certainly do come off as anti-earth sometimes (politically). I hope this is not true in our personal lives, because let me tell you nature is one of the most sacred sacraments in my life.

By sacrament, in this context, I use the broad definition of St. Augustine of Hippo, a sacrament being "‘an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace." Dirt on the hands and the smell of rain just brings me into the presence of God in some mysterious way.

Before my blazing career as a stay at home mom, I worked as a 4-H Environmental Science Teacher, I was able to watch kids get their hands dirty for the first time. It was magical, and when I got pregnant, I could not wait to share the same joy with my children.

This is the first year we have ad our own earth and the kids have been old enough to really participate in Earth day. So we made a Kid Garden.

I have to be honest with you, one of my reasons for this, wasn't just environmental education and spiritual lessons, it was to get toddlers away from MY GARDEN. The combination of kids love for dirt, watering cans, and their endless energy and my love for living plants does not always go hand in hand. This way each of the boys have their own plants to water to death, and they can call the produce their own, and maybe all throw in a talk about giving God our 'first fruits'.

So each of the kids got their own raised bed garden, I got these half rotted wooden frames from a trash pile. First we decided what the kids wanted to plant in their 4-square foot Garden. Soren wanted strawberry, peas, and carrots. Xander wanted beans, Strawberries and radishes. (Ok I choose Radishes, he's only 2!)

I have to be honest with you, one of my reasons for this, wasn't just environmental education and spiritual lessons, it was to kid toddlers away from MY GARDEN. The combination of kids love for dirt, watering cans, and their endless energy and my love for living plants does not always go hand in hand. This way each of the boys have their own plants to water to death, and they can call the produce their own, and maybe all throw in a talk about giving God our 'first fruits'.

Each of the 'walking' kids got their own raised bed garden, I got these half rotted wooden frames from a trash pile. First we decided what the kids wanted to plant in their 4-square foot Garden. Soren wanted strawberry, peas, and carrots. Xander wanted beans, Strawberries and radishes.