Alex and Casandra were both raised as children in what seems like a distant past when there were no mobile phones and certainly no social media. Their childhood was busy with days in the garden with dads, moms and grandparents. Lots of hard work AND lots of good times. Now as adults, married and with children of their own they were beyond busy with careers and just making life happen. They often talked about the gardening lifestyle they had in common and how they wanted to pass on the heritage of gardening with children.
Recently they had prayerfully decided they would follow God’s leading, with childlike faith, and pursue their passion for a homesteading lifestyle. Was it a crazy idea? They told their parents who, to their joy, said they supported the move. “We can help,” Alex’s dad said. “It’s a great way for all of us to hand down skills and an understanding of life purpose to the next generation,” Casandra’s mom added.
“Yeaaah, the kids”, Alex and Casandra thought, “How will we get them to want do this?” Gardening is fun BUT it’s work too – lots of it. Would the children be on board? Here’s how to do gardening and fuel the joys of gardening with children through anticipation, faith and growth.
PLANTING THE SEEDS OF ANTICIPATION
When children do gardening for the first time, planting seeds may be little more than process they do. That’s good – they’re learning. However after they witness seed sprouts emerging from the soil, look closely at the amazing qualities of the new life and then watch growth, they will gain a spirit of anticipation. That’s a huge value for them to gain spiritually. The old time hymn (1886), Standing On The Promises Of God, is a great tune for kids to learn and sing as they plant with anticipation.
‘ANTICIPATION’ TIPS FOR GARDENING WITH CHILDREN:
- We’re going to get dirty now! Often in today’s culture children are cautioned to not get dirty and admonished when they do. Instead you have an opportunity to give them a healthy appreciation of getting in the dirt, experiencing it and valuing the important role it has in life.
- I’m teaching and you’re learning. Children need to value you both the educational process and the handing down of skills and tradition. Gardening with children is a simple and yet significant way to do that. Give them comfort and satisfaction in being a student and having a capacity to learn.
- Know the miracle of seeds. The better you understand the science of how seeds work and the many spiritual aspects of these tiny gifts God gives us, the better you’ll be able to help them be amazed by the wonder of seeds. Books like God’s Amazing Creation: The Story Of Seeds can be useful.
HAVE FAITH AND BE FAITHFUL
Beyond anticipation, gardening with children is a great way for them to dig into ideas of what it means to have faith and develop skills of being faithful.
TIPS ON HOW TO HELP CHILDREN BE FAITHFUL THROUGH GARDENING:
- Discuss with a child the concepts of taking personal responsibility. Search for and get Christian children’s books that you can read outside with children. Then, with your guidance, let them identify responsibilities they will have in the garden. Help them understand what that will involve and guide them throughout the gardening season.
- Use disappointments and failures to embolden faithfulness. What will it be and when will it happen? Maybe it won’t! But, at some point, gardening with children will bring them to weeds, drought, pests that eat the plants before they do or any number of other moments where they are either discouraged and want to give-up or they remain faithful and in the long run discover God’s faithfulness.
- When the crop is harvested there are still opportunities to practice faithfulness by giving some of the ‘best fruit’ to others. Don’t let children miss aspect of being faithful. It takes the gardening lifestyle over the top, letting them plant joy and goodness in the lives of others and producing eternal outcomes that only God can produce.
NEW GROWTH
Green bean bushes often produce 2 and even 3 pickings as new growth gets more nutrients to mature after the first beans are harvested. It’s not uncommon to ultimately harvest more ‘new growth’ than the original ‘first growth’. Children can learn this best when they participate in first, second and third pickings. Greens like lettuce and herbs like cilantro produce new growth as the mature leaves are cut.
Growth and new growth are spiritually insightful experiences when you do gardening with children. They’ll be able to reflect on what they learn and look to God for the many areas of new growth throughout their own life: physical changes, friends, new experiences, choices, eventual careers and career shifts, life events and more.
LISTEN FOR THE MEADOW LARK
The more you do gardening with children the more you’ll discover that God wants it to be much more than simply gardening. This is the time and place for you and children to grow in wonder, peace, confidence, understanding, grace and relationships.
One of the defining aspects of gardening is that it is outside. Nature is all around to play a part in this growth – often even in urban settings. We just have to watch and listen for it. God can use things like the background singing of a Meadow Lark to teach us lessons in our everyday lifestyles. In other words God is always at work to orchestrate the greater value and the deeper meaning.
And – that value and meaning isn’t just in the nice things in life but especially in the questions, fears, attitudes and challenges that children and all of us have. We just have to be attentive to it and then with wisdom and obedience to God bring it to children’s attention as we ourselves learn. To ‘ripen’ in your gardening lifestyle is to keep Christ in the center of it daily.
Simple Reminders When Gardening with Children
- Children like to get dirty, allow your children to play in the dirt. I tell my own grown children that when any of my ten grandchildren visit me they should wear old clothes and not to wear anything that they don’t want getting dirty. There are so many benefits to playing in God’s good earth to both children and adults Benefits of Dirt.
- Provide tools for little hands. I have small shovels, trowels, hoes, and gloves that can be easily located in my garage.
- Children need access and permission to create in the garden. Sometimes they just need a container of dirt to have fun imaginative fun. In my little side garden off my house, that I affectionally call my English garden. I have place a large metal farm container. I place some good growing soil and have Chamomile growing in it. Four of my youngest granddaughters asked if we could shop for a few fairy garden items. We did! Once the weather was good my granddaughters were out in my English garden and exploring little nooks and crannies to place their fairy garden pieces. They choose the container with my chamomile. I gave permission and simply asked for them to be careful and not damage the plant.
- Remember, children do not know how long it takes for carrots to grow! I once had my oldest grandchild who is now fourteen ask if we could pull up a carrot right after we had planted the carrots seeds. Gardening is learning as you grow.
- Remind children as they garden that they are contributing to the family meal times as they garden and they are building physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and their spirits up as they garden. Gardening is a great foundational tool.
- Gardening with children provides so many powerful opportunities to be aware of natures details and God’s beauty through the eye of children and while immersed in the gardening experience. The garden is a great place for deep conversations with children. It indeed is God’s parable that He uses to draw all of us into a closer relationship with him.
- Show grace to children as they a garden with you, it is not about a perfect garden but nourishing the children with your garden.
QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION AND GROUP DISCUSSION
- How do the gentle whispers and curious grace of God cause you to experience life with childlike wonder? What stories can you have as a chorus that you can share with children and others when you garden (both literally and figuratively as you tend relationships to help them grow strong)?
- In gardening there are many enemies: pests, storms, drought, disease and more. How do you pray for God to guide your ways amidst the ever present enemies to live in the fullness of His grace? What lessons in surrender and obedience does Christ teach us?
- Consider how God has changed your gaze to see ‘risks’, circumstances and setbacks as the way He grows passion and purpose in you?
