Like most other parents, I am trying to home school our children following the work the teacher sets and other resources available online. However we have also been trying to do other things – more practical things – at home to teach them some life skills.
We’ve been baking, cooking, writing stories, going on nature walks and much more and recently we decided to start growing our own food. Steve was cooking with some chilli’s the other week and decided to plant the seeds in a pot and see if they would grow. He’s already seen some starting to sprout!
He also picked some pumpkin seeds up for Jack on a recent supermarket shop and we realised that we had a seeds and planting set too. This set had pea seeds, Swiss chard, spinach and corn salad seeds. So the other day, Steve and Jack sat down to plant them all and hoping for the best.
Steve always does a lot of research before jumping into something – he did the research before we looked into getting a dog, he’s looked into other pets as we always promised Jack he could have something when we moved house and he did a lot of research into planting seeds and growing our own food.
They spent most of Saturday afternoon preparing the pots with soil and planting the seeds, writing the signs and popping them into the pots. We then stored them in a light and airy space and Jack has the responsibility of looking after them, watering them daily and checking them for signs of growing.
We don’t know if they will be successful and we will soon have an abundance of pumpkins, peas and much more however we do feel it is a great way to teach our children about growing your own food and taking responsibility for something, looking after and caring for it.
I will let you know how we get on and share updates on how we are getting on. Are you growing any food at home or have you done so in the past? Do you have any tips for us?
I think it is a great thing to teach children that all foods do not come from the supermarket. My Dad used to have a vegetable area in the garden and C would always be out there with him, planting and watering and growing a number of things. It also helps fussy children try new things x
This is really good fun for little ones. I wish we had the space to do the same ourselves. I’m thinking of trying it with a little pot and some seeds from some shop bought tomatoes and seeing what happens. Have fun growing!!!!
I’m still waiting to get our garden going. The temperatures here haven’t been cooperating. I think the thought of growing your own food is an awesome idea. You control what goes into your fruits and vegetables! Peace of mind!
I’ve started growing my own food and I wish I’d been taught to as a child, it’s such a valuable lesson. It’s so rewarding picking fruits and veggies from your own garden to use straight away in the kitchen.
This sounds like a great idea and you’ve got a great set up! We’re growing strawberries and sunflowers at the moment and love watching them grow!
I think that teaching children about gardening is a great way to develop their sense of food waste but also responsibility, as those plants won’t water themselves. The vegetables you grow in your own garden taste so much better than the store bought ones. I’ve been growing tomatoes and strawberries for years. 🙂
This is a great idea. My mother in law has a garden and recently has been planting runner beans, potatoes and other food. This will be so exciting for Jack when the plants grow
Mine were so excited to see the new shoots but are somewhat disappointed that they will take so long to grow LOL
It’s such a good thing to be able to teach kids where fruit and veg comes from and it will be so rewarding when it starts to grow for you x
What a great idea!! this looks so cool and a fab thing to do with children to help learn them. Looking forward to seeing the results x
What a fantastic little project for your husband and Jack to do together, especially since we all have more time now staying home. I have done the same with some chilli seeds, old sprouting potatoes and old onions as well.
We planted seeds at the start of lockdown too! Sadly they aren’t looking amazing, I just don’t have green fingers!
What a great idea! My kids have asked if we can have a try so we are going to plant some strawberry seeds I think! It sounds like you guys did a great job and fingers crossed you have lots of yummy goodies growing soon!
I’m not very good at keeping potted plants alive so I’m not sure whether I’d be any good at this, although maybe with the children’s help we can manage to get something to grow between us.