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RE: Education

I've seen some really neat children's gardening ideas from magazines and 
from TV sources. One of them is to plant a bean 'teepee' or a sunflower 
'house'. Set a fairly large block aside and plant a border of mammoth grey 
sunflower seed around it. When it grows up, it'll be a very dense garden 
room'. Your children can  use the teepees and rooms as their own 'time out' 
spots. If ytou're totally using the SQFT method, you might do this in an 
'alley' along a fencerow.
If they seem interested in Indian lore, help them learn about how some of 
the tribes used bone and antler tools, and what kinds of foods they might 
have planted.
It also helps to have the kids plant stuff they like to eat. (Melons, little 
sweet cherry tomatoes, etc.) Gardening is just plain hard work, and kids get 
bored and tired of the project quickly. Don't plan on having them out in it 
diligently as you might want. Put up some martin houses or maybe a bat 
house, bluebird houses or bird baths/feeders in the garden so they can enjoy 
the wildlife and learn about backyard habitats while they're outside.
Plant a butterfly garden and show the kids what a 'good cocoon' looks like.
Make some seed balls out of mud and wildflower seed and take the kids to 
'revegetate' (toss the seed balls onto areas inaccessible for normal 
planting).
Start a vermee bed with them, (worm composting system), they're usually more 
enchanted with what a worm can do to newspaper and cardboard than they are 
looking at microbiotics in a normal compost bin. (invest in a cheap 
microscope or binoculars if they seem interested.) Remember to include 
garden tools that are designed for kids. I wouldn't get a lot of expensive 
tools unless your family is really into digging in the dirt, but some hand 
cultivators and small sized gloves are definitely in order, maybe a pint 
sized rake as well.
Have a scarecrow making contest, or giant plant contest.
Plant some sweet smelling night time flowering plants, too. Get outside in 
the cooler parts of the evening, and do some stargazing with your kids. In 
general, just use the garden as an extension of the house and 'schoolroom'.
I'm sure there is a lot more I have seen and just forgot about. (I don't 
have children, but I have a friend who runs an outdoor class for 
homeschoolers so I'm always looking for bright ideas to keep them interested 
in learning especially about the great outdoors... ANYTHING to get them away 
from the TV.) She invested in a set of round 'stepping stone' molds, and the 
kids have made (quickcrete cement) stone pathways all around their gardens, 
and have even sold some of the stone sets. (I was hugely impressed with this 
project!!)
martha
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