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Show Page 6 0 R E M TIMES Thursday, June 12, 2008 Way to grow! Gardening with children Linda Butler Wh rMUU ITAff There are few things children enjoy more than digging in dirt. They also enjoy planting seeds and pic king flowers or harvesting harvest-ing vegetables. (Jardening with children can be fun, but it can also be a challenge. Children, who live so fully in the present, are not like their parents, who see a garden as a means to an end flowers andor food. If you love gardening, your kids will probably catch your enthusiasm. Have patience with youngsters; they are more interested in-terested in digging and playing than in making beautiful and productive gardens. Give children chil-dren a space to "do their thing" dig, plant what they want, etc. Children also enjoy working work-ing beside you while you work in the family garden. It's a good opportunity to talk, sing, or share stories together. It is helpful to know what kids are capable of at various ages. Sometimes we expect too much from our little ones. I've found that children have attention atten-tion spans that are about 2-3 minutes per year of life. Don't be discouraged if your preschooler pre-schooler wants to move on to something else after 10 minutes of gardening. Toddlers and preschoolers are excited to explore. They like to feel textures dirt, leaves, sticks, mud, and worms are fascinating and fun. They like blowing dandelions. They enjoy planting seeds their small fingers are great for poking holes in the dirt. Tiny fingers find it easier to plant large seeds such as peas, beans, pumpkin, watermelon, and squash. Younger elementary -age children are still focused on the "doing" rather than the end result. re-sult. As they learn to read and write, invite them to read seed packet instructions to you and ;. I . c RENEE SAUERAssociated Press Gardening with children in the summer is an enjoyable activity. write plant names on wooden sticks for markers. By about age !), children can begin to focus on end results. Children age 9-12 can help with garden plans and designs. They may prefer growing certain kinds of plants. They i i i) ; i'i'i Ti, In fighting cancer, there's one thing we can get back on your side: the odds. fiti.l ! '.'It! . 'Si! ' l-'i'i' "ijn I.iliijll .;! v k 4 7 4 viy mk MfV wL ,1 i: it 'J 4") X ' A & .4.' 1 "A S A V' ' ' x fi'i' ! I , '; it. J " .r;.r i -.r f ' - vi) Ha Ml rtty-t .... jfzT .-JTl 1 I' ) i '7 ;!; tl' :! ill " ' : .1; m ) I -i ,. Hi. : ! ! '!.!! !: : 1 i r V -,- ir--- " ' " ! earing cancer takes courage and willpower. But it also takes treatment methods that will improve your odds at winning. Like those at Intermountain Healthcare. Highly-trained cancer physicians, nurses and specialists, each bringing his or her unique skills to the figh Remarkable technologies such as the Gamma Knife, DaVinci Robot and Linear Accelerator. Compassion and concern. These are the means used at Intermountain Healthcare to help yc beat cancer. To gi e you more time, and a better life. Visit intermountainhealthcare.orgcancer. t 5 f H iUiii - . cgao . . . - INTERMOUNTAIN MEDICAL CENTER LDS HOSPITAL LOGAN REGIONAL HOSPITAL PRIMARY CHILDRt N S MEDICAL CENTER McKAY-DEE HOSPITAL CENTER AMERICAN FORK HOSPITAL VALLEY VIEW MEDICAL CENTER a UTAH VALLEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER DIXIE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER Intermountain Cancer Services ' v.M. may also enjoy the competition found through 4-H, and community com-munity and county fairs. As they reach adolescence, kids are capable of spending regular regu-lar time helping in the garden. It can be a good opportunity for some quiet one-on-one time as you work side by side. This can be a time of sharing memories memo-ries with your child, asking him about his interests or concerns. con-cerns. Listen as well as talk as you garden together. By this age, some kids enjoy gardening garden-ing enough that they want to ( Behind this ear lies an engineering masterpiece Open Ear Technology is the most revolutionary development in hearing care since the introduction of digital hearing aids. Come in for a FREE hearing evaluation and give them a try with our NO OBLIGATION ROAD TEST learn more about landscaping and can even make a bit of money doing garden and yard work for neighbors., Parents and grandparents can help children have good gardening memories. You don't need a large yard or plot of ground to garden. Many types of flowers and vegetables veg-etables can be grown in containers. con-tainers. A two-gallon pot can grow a tomato or pepper plant. Cherry tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, spin-ach, carrots, strawberries and herbs grow well in containers. Potting soil is less dense than dirt and works much better for plants grown in containers. Be sure you have a sunny spot for your veggies. While some flowers can bloom in shade, most vegetables need at least 5-6 hours of sunlight in order to produce fruit. Kids thrive on creativity. A fun approach to gardening will generate enthusiasm. Many of these activities can be done in the kitchen as well as in a garden. gar-den. Have bean or pea races. Each person plants three seeds. See whose seeds reach a foot tall first, then whose plants grow the tallest. Plant bean or pea seeds in glass jars and watch them germinate and grow. Line the inside of a pint jar with a white paper towel. Wad newspaper to pack inside the jar. Water well. Carefully slide 34 bean seeds around the edge of the jar (between paper towel and wall of jar.) Watch what happens. hap-pens. Some kids may want to keep a plant journal, recording in word and drawings what the seed does each day. Experiment with plants. Plant two jars, as above, and keep one in the dark, the other in the sun. Compare their growth over a period of several sev-eral weeks. 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