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Aquaponics and kids make a great combination. Imagine:

•Spending quality time with your family outdoors

• Teaching kids where food really comes from

•Your children understanding life cycles and becoming attuned with nature

• Growing fresh organic produce all year round

•Never having to worry about food scare stories again

Well with aquaponics the advantages above and more are available to you if you take action and decide to have an aquaponics system in your backyard.

Aquaponics And Kids: Children Learning About Nature

Growing food in your own backyard as well as rearing fish is the easiest way to introduce your children to nature.
Allowing you children to see the magic of Mother Nature on a daily basis by simply stepping outside in to your backyard garden will teach children where food really comes from.
If a child understands where their food comes from and has a hand in growing it; it set this child up to succeed in later life. The child will become more independent, eat healthier and always have an appreciation of nature.
An enlightened child who learns with you as an aquaponics garden grows will be a happier child. Plus getting your child to eat those greens will be much easier.

Aquaponics And Kids: How Does Aquaponics Work?

Aquaponics is having a mini-ecosystem right in your own backyard. You have two tanks, one is your grow bed for the plants and the other is for the fish.
The fish produce “poop” which fertilizes the plants and the plants filter the water for the fish. They work together to grow organic produce all year round. They do all the hard work for you.

What Will My Kids Learn With Aquaponics?

Kids with aquaponics learn a number of things including:

Basic Science – You have to check the water on a weekly basis with a simple check. This can teach you kids about chemistry but also maintenance and routine.

Where Food Comes From – Food doesn’t come from supermarkets already wrapped in shrink-wrap. It grows outdoors over time. This is what you child will learn with aquaponics.

Life Cycles – As we say you rear fish in an aquaponics system. You may choose to rear fish to eat. If you do then your child will learn about life cycles and that animals to have to die for us to have food. It may seem harsh but it is a fact of life that a child does have to learn at some point.

Aquaponics and Kids: Spending Quality Time Together

Do you worry you don’t spend enough time with your kids? If you have an aquaponics system it can take as little as 30 minutes a day to maintain your system.

This is time you can allot to spend with your kids each day. You will be outdoors working on a project together that provides for the whole family.
There is an excitement to growing your own food and rearing your own fish and that joy is best shared with kids. Watch them marvel as they see plants grow for the first time.
Aquaponics makes this possible.
Wrapping Up
Anyone whatever their DIY or gardening skill level can set up their own aquaponics garden. I set my first system for under $100.
It paid itself back in no time at all and I had great fun with my daughter in the meantime and you cannot put a price on that.

If you want to learn more about going “aquaponical” and kids then watch my video by clicking here.
Or if you’re ready to take action and build your own system then get my step-by-step video and PDF guide called Aquaponics Secrets.
Watch our free set up video by Click here now.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Neil_Farley/160767
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The post Aquaponics And Kids: Fun, Learning And Growing Food Together first appeared on God's Miracle Garden.

Environmental studies, nutrition, and biology are just a few of the many ways to inspire young minds to the world around us during the gardening process. Besides, growing plants feels magical and spiritual. Gardening teaches patience, attentiveness, and caring. Scientists have found a bacteria in the soil which interacts with our bodies to release serotonin, a brain hormone that makes us feel happiness and fights depression. Gardening is healthy and fun, with the added bonus of getting children away from digital screens. What could be better?

Start by giving your child their own small patch of dirt. Make it close to where you garden, side by side is best. The plot should be easy to get to, sunny and have good soil. An old sandbox is an ideal raised bed option, as long as it is in a sunny area and can be converted easily. A good start is a flower box outside a prominent window where a child can see their plants through the entire growing process.

It is important to set your child up for success by giving them real tools, not plastic toys. Nothing is more frustrating than using an inadequate tool. Allowing children to use your tools can build trust and can be an opportunity to teach tool safety and maintenance. Many gardening centers now stock adequate children’s tools.

It is best to begin with seeds so children can be a participant in the complete growing process. It still seems a miracle to me when a sprout bursts from a dried bean. Besides learning the miracle of life, a child can learn the pride and satisfaction from adding healthy foods to family meals. Kids learn how healthy food tastes and smells. The flavor of a fresh picked tomato or snow pea never leaves you.

At first, you will need to step in and help keep plants watered, healthy and growing strong. However, as the child matures and grows more focused, tasks can be re- delegated. It is best to keep this a fun project, letting the child drive their own interest and motivation.

Make sure to avoid pesticides and manure in your gardens. Going organic is always encouraged as children are especially susceptible to harmful chemicals and microorganisms. Even some of the organic compounds can be dangerous, so make sure to be extra careful when adding anything to the soil or spraying for insects.

Some of the best starter plants for eating are carrots, radishes, lettuce, snow peas, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, and potatoes. Sunflowers, nasturtiums, and marigolds are all great beginner flowers and are all edible. Strawberries are always fun to grow and can be very successful in a container as well as the ground.

Building great memories is one of the byproducts of getting outside with children. My fondest memories of my grandmother were in her flower garden, tending, pruning and arranging. It was a time when we could relax, talk and laugh.

So brag about your child’s garden to anyone who will listen and give lots of praise. Showing your excitement is the best way to motivate your child to continue enjoying their garden. And remember, have fun!

Cady Davies has always played in the dirt. She loves sharing her passion of gardening with the world and helps run a website helping gardeners to get outside any time of year by selling greenhouse kits. Browse their selection now at https://www.thegreenhousekits.com.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Cady_Davies/2354130
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The post Children Love to Garden first appeared on God's Miracle Garden.

Kids study nature in schools from the viewpoint of science; identifying the names of trees, learning about photosynthesis, and studying the differences between cumulus and cirrus clouds. There is another aspect of nature that many people miss.

What’s missing are the inner experiences that nature stimulates including awe, expanded perceptions, beauty, self reflection, creative insights, joy, peace, inspiration and rejuvenation.

When you take kids into nature and have quiet time, the silence and beauty of the natural world spark the natural wisdom, love and creativity within your child as well as yourself. Nature experiences are real substance for the soul and are opportunities for parents and kids to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Nature encounters provide the gifts of wonder, unity, harmony, self awareness, bonding and joy. Many adults and kids solve problems easily and gain valuable insights about their lives while resting their minds and spirits on nature excursions.

Here are 20 simple activities for you and your kids to enjoy and grow from in nature.

Before you go,I recommend that each person carries a small back pack filled with a lunch or snack, water, a small spiral bound sketch book or journal, colored pencils or pastels, and a ziploc plastic bag for gathering nature treasures such as leaves, stones, feathers etc.
Keywords for your journey are explore, feel, see, listen, learn, enjoy, appreciate, write, draw, discover and silence.
Each activity lends itself to writing and drawing in your nature journal.Keep a record of your experiences.

1. Find a beautiful spot and sit quietly for about 10 minutes taking in your surroundings. Then write a poem about what you feel and see here.

2. Choose a location that is different than usual. Listen carefully and draw what you hear.

3. Observe the sky Become absorbed in it.Now imagine that you are walking through the sky. What’s it like. Draw it.

4. In a resting spot after your hike, find something around you that you absolutely love. What is is? Draw it or write about it in your journal. Feel that love spread all around you. Send it out to everything in nature.

5. Game: Nature Statue Maker. Spin yourself around and then stop in a pose that represents something in nature, a tree, grass, river, sun, boulder, ant, flower etc. Take turns calling out nature objects to strike poses for. When you’re finished having fun with this, draw your favorite pose in your nature journal.Why did you like it best? Write about it.

6. Find a tree to sit by. Close your eyes and imagine that you’re having a conversation with the tree. Let it talk and you talk back. Enjoy the conversation and then open your eyes and write down what you learned. Draw yourself under the tree, as well.

7. Stand or sit quietly in a favorite location. Be very still. Think of a problem that has been bothering you. Observe what’s happening in nature all around you. Eventually, as you observe, an idea will pop into your mind for solving your problem. Draw or write about it. (When we are silent, our inner wisdom, our intuition comes forward with answers.)

8. Discovery Day. Sit down and be still. Allow something to capture your attention, something you’ve never noticed before. Let something new fill your awareness. Write a story about it in your journal.

9. Gather some very small nature objects during your hike that you find interesting; seeds, grasses, leaves, sticks, etc. Discuss what you’ve found. construct a nature picture in your journal from these objects. (Glue will be needed for this excursion.)

10. The Most Beautiful Thing game.Hike and talk as you go about the most beautiful thing you see at the moment. “The most beautiful thing I see right now is… ” Repeat this as you move along. Discuss why you find it beautiful and draw your favorite one when you are finished.

11. Magnifying Glass Trip.You can purchase one for under $5.00. This adds a new dimension to nature experiences. Whatever captures your attention is a great subject for looking at it with a magnifying glass. Write a short poem about it when you’re finished.

12. Water. Find a place with a stream, pond, river, lake etc. and sit down by it. Be quiet and imagine that you are the water. Become it and feel what the water feels. Write and draw. kids love this!

13. Ball of Yarn game. With the yarn, mark off a square that you can sit inside. It can be large or small. Keep your eyes focused within the square and notice what is happening around you. Become aware of everything inside the square. Draw it and write a few comments.

14. Silent Hike. Take a leisurely stroll, with no talking allowed. The senses will be very alert and you will notice things you usually don’t. Write about or draw how it felt to be silent.

15. Flower Flurry. Take note of every flower that you see. Pay attention to the colors, the shape of the leaves, the size of the stem etc. You are looking only for flowers today. When you’re finished, draw your favorite one.

16. Gratitude journey. The attitude of appreciation makes us better people. Encourage your children to be thankful. Walk/hike with the intention to feel grateful for nature’s beauty, and the trees, plants and animals that cross your path. Thank the trees for their shade and yes, hug them! Thank the flowers for their beauty, the insects, birds and frogs for their wonderful presence, and all of nature for making our lives possible.

Say “Thank you oak tree, thank you little flower, thank you yellow butterfly etc. as you walk. You will feel great.

Write down what you’re thankful for in nature as well as what you’re grateful for in your life.

17. Meditate. Children love simple meditations. Find a quiet place and close your eyes. Have them imagine peace or harmony or kindness or beauty and feel it. Think only of that thing for 5 minutes. Write or draw.

18. Find a pleasant spot to get quiet. What stands out to you here? Is it a bird song, a scent of the earth, the wind or a plant? Open your senses and smell, see, hear and feel. When something stands out, think about how it is like you. How is the earth, bird song, plant, wind like you? Write a poem or other thoughts about it. Choose something else you notice and do the same thing.

19. Nature Cards. Take some 3 by 5 index cards with you today. Begin making a collection of nature cards by drawing one nature item on each card and writing some thoughts about it. Draw things that you actually see only. Put them in an index card box (recipe card box) when you get home. Create your collection little by little.

20. Imagination. In a beautiful spot, let your imagination tell the story about something you observe. You can begin with the birth of the flower, tree, squirrel, ladybug etc. and then let your child continue. Go back and forth until your story comes to a natural completion. Draw.

Nature is the best entertainment! Enjoy it thoroughly in any season with your child.

Carole Cravath has developed and taught “Nature Lover’s” workshops to elementary children. She also has designed many activities for children to learn empathy and compassion through enjoyable creative experiences. You can find her lesson plans on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. She has taught and counseled children for over 30 years.

She currently is an Intuitive consultant and teaches the Perceptive Awareness Technique, a workshop that connects the personality with the soul for accurate intuitive information at will which provides us with excellent decision making skills.

https://www.tiptopwebsite.com/carolecravath
https://www.perceptiveawareness.com.
Founder Consuella C. Newton

Carole has over 30 years experience working with adults and children in the fields of teaching, peace making skills, art therapy, counseling, dream interpretation and meditation.

She also teaches the Soma Pi Healing technique, founded by Consuella C. Newton, which is a rapid healing technique for emotional and physical healing in our present time period.
Needless to say, she is also a nature lover!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Carole_Cravath/191777
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A common question I get asked is: “How do I get my child interested in healthier food choices?” While that is a completely separate topic of its own, for today I’m simply going to give you my number one answer – gardening! Planting a garden with your children is truly one of the best ways to engage them in an otherwise unappealing topic.

You don’t have to dig up half your backyard to benefit from gardening. Anyone, with or without experience, can garden. If you do have space to create a garden outdoors, it will provide you with the greatest yield, obviously, but if you don’t, there are other options. Some pots and window boxes will give you plenty of space to plant a variety of seeds and reap all the benefits. You can start with your basic herbs, but don’t limit yourself. Just because you might be restricted to window sills or a balcony doesn’t mean you can’t plant whatever you want. Read some books or information online, experiment and have fun!

There are many benefits to planting your own garden. The main one is that it piques your child’s natural curiosity, as well as being a wonderful hands-on learning experience, and provides them with an internal desire to try healthy foods without you having to nag them! While some might view gardening as too much work, I find it to be a great form of exercise and very therapeutic. Pulling weeds and digging are great ways to blow off steam when you need it! It also provides a family activity that you can do with a child of any age.

The financial benefits of gardening are huge, especially when you do have the space to plant your own in a backyard. Organic produce is more expensive than regular, but so very worth it when it comes to your family’s health. By growing your own produce, not only is it the freshest possible, but also the cheapest! The initial investment in some basic tools, seeds, and dirt/fertilizer more than pays for itself once you start harvesting.

I’d like to share some tips and suggestions to make gardening fun and easy for your whole family:

1. Involve your children in all stages of the process. No matter what the size of your garden, they can be involved with the layout planning, fruit/veggie seed choices, pre-planting soil prep, seed sowing, weeding, watering, harvesting, and finally the eating (which is what you wanted in the first place!). This gives them a sense of ‘ownership’ in the whole process and gets them excited about tasting the produce they grew.

2. Start some plants indoors early so that you can have a longer growing season. It makes a great activity for a cold, rainy early spring day. Get some peat pots to start your plants and let them fill it with dirt, put the seed in, cover and water it and watch it grow. *There will be a big mess all over the floor if you do it indoors, so I like to do it on a day that already needs vacuuming! We sweep all the dropped dirt back into a pile and use it to cover the seeds after they get planted.*

It is exciting and educational, as well as being a great sensory activity getting their hands into the dirt and discovering the look and feel of the various seeds. They will learn which seeds sprout the fastest, what the plants look like, discover how the plants grow in the direction of the sunlight, and much, much more! Once the weather is warm enough, plant your small plants along with new seeds of the same thing. That way, you have a continual supply of produce throughout the season.

3. Give your child a small section of your garden (or a single window box or pot if you don’t have outdoor space) all to themselves. The perfectionist in me came up with this plan. That way, it can stay fun for everyone without me stressing out about whether or not they are doing it “just right.” They have their space to plant their seed choices and learn responsibility by taking care of it. They can be proud of their efforts when they see it growing and producing food. If something doesn’t produce like you hoped, be sure they know it wasn’t their fault and make it another learning opportunity by trying to discover why and experimenting with a new plan the next time around.

4. Make sure there is plenty of space to walk between sections of plants so that they don’t get accidentally trampled by little feet! Use bricks or stones between sections or use a raised bed garden to give clearly defined areas where they know they can walk safely.

5. The ‘harvesting’ part is always the best and usually amounts to the kids eating straight from the garden – you can’t get any food more alive and fresh for your body than that! This is truly the healthiest of food and best way to eat it. I love going out and picking my own food… it makes me feel like I actually know what I am doing when it comes to gardening! I am a total novice and just wing it, even though this is the fourth year we have had our own garden! We use our own compost dirt and some organic natural fertilizer, but you never know what we will decide to plant each year!

Some of our favorites are carrots, spring onions, radishes, cucumbers, peas, green beans, beets, zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkin and tomatoes. Spinach, kale, swiss chard, romaine, and other lettuce varieties fill up our garden with lots of healthy greens. We also have herbs like dill, chives, basil, oregano, cilantro, peppermint and lots and lots of parsley. We love berries like mini-strawberries (mmmm… they taste just like sweet tart candies!), raspberries, blackberries and blueberries that were already growing from previous years.

Our garden is usually heavy on the greens! They are mineral rich and undervalued in their importance in our modern diets. (You will be hearing more about that topic from me in another article!) The kids will even go and pick some greens and eat them as is. Between the garden glory and our fruit and nut trees (cherry, apple, pear and walnut) we love, love, love summertime! For our bellies and our wallets!:)

If you have never tried gardening, give it a try! Start small and experiment with some of your favorite foods. That’s how I got started. Each year, we have added a little more and now know what works best for us. The main objective is to have fun with your children and plant the little seed of curiosity about fresh foods from the garden in their minds!

If you’re a parent of a child with ADHD, ASD and other special needs and are looking for natural methods to help your family, visit Stephani McGirr’s [https://www.NourishingJourney.com] to receive a free twice monthly ezine full of tips, tools and recipes to help you move from struggle to success while creating a peaceful home life your family loves.

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The post Gardening With Your Kids – An Introduction to Healthy Foods first appeared on God's Miracle Garden.

Sharing your garden with children can be a rewarding activity for both the child and the adult. Children have such a sense of wonder and watching them enjoy the growing process is such a treat! It helps to renew our own sense of awe at nature and the beauty of the earth around us.

Gardening with kids is a good way to teach children patience, after all gardening is not an activity that provides instant rewards. Kids will learn to nurture the plants and enjoy the thrill of seeing the first shoots of green poking up through the earth and the rewards of the first harvest.

But what are the best ways to involve kids in gardening? It all depends on the age of the children involved. Younger children will get distracted easily so it is best to start them with plants that have a shorter growing period such as bean seeds. Plant them in trays inside or even a paper cup set in a sunny window. In no time they will see the green shots coming up through the dirt.

Older kids can help with container and full size gardens. Allow them to help with all the stages of gardening from planning to harvest. Work side by side with them as you prepare the soil and plant the seeds. You can use the time as teaching moments – show them how different seeds look, talk about the different grow times of plants, etc. You can even use it as a time to explain the cycle of life and death.

Plant a variety of plants as you garden, flowers, herbs and vegetables. Plan your garden so there will always be something to harvest. If you plant sweet corn, plant a row a week so you will have delicious, fresh corn on the cob for several weeks. Ask your children what their favorite vegetables are then plant it and let them care for that crop.

Try teaching your children about natural methods of pest control. Explain the benefits of having certain bugs such as ladybugs and praying mantis in the garden. Many times kids mistakenly think that all bugs are bad, this is a good opportunity to teach them about beneficial insects.

You can even take your gardening one step further by teaching your children how to harvest the seeds to plant next year. Flowers are usually the easiest to get seeds from. However, you can harvest seeds from vegetables like corn without much trouble. Allow some of the cobs of corn to dry and then knock the corn out and store in a cool dry place for planting next year.

As you can see, gardening with children can be an educational experience. In addition, you will develop a stronger bond with your kids and they will learn about nature and gain a greater appreciation for where their food comes from. Gardening with kids is a richly rewarding experience for everyone!

Piper is a freelance writer who enjoys fitness, good nutrition, and the outdoors. She loves to work in the garden with her small garden tiller [https://www.smallgardentiller.org/]. She enjoys nature, reading and fitness. Check out her website, [https://www.smallgardentiller.org/] to learn all about getting the best small garden tiller so you can have a beautiful garden too!

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The post Gardening With Kids – A Richly Rewarding Experience! first appeared on God's Miracle Garden.

By Lynn Powers | 

I recently discovered that April has been dubbed, Keep America Beautiful month. I am fortunate to live in a well-kept area but even here there is evidence of abuse and neglect of the earth. I imagine God must just shake His head in disappointment at the way we’re treating this beautiful world He created. 1 Corinthians 6:9 tells us that people who destroy the earth and everything in it do not qualify as citizens of the kingdom of God. Although I am not a hard-core environmentalist, I’m thinking it’s probably a good idea to be good stewards of everything we have, and do our part to take care of the beautiful world which God entrusted to us.

I also think it’s a wonderful idea to educate our kids about ways they can help keep the earth in a state that glorifies the God who created it. And the sooner we start teaching them how to do it, the more beautiful it will become. So although this holiday is technically, “Keep America Beautiful,” the principle is the same around the world. Here are three things we can do with our kids to keep our earth looking beautiful.

1. RECYCLE – There are several ways you can recycle. Ask your trash pick up for a recycling container in which you can toss recyclables.

o Cans and bottles – Interesting fact: Every three months, the U.S. throws away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire commercial airline fleet.
o Paper – Interesting fact: each day American businesses generate enough paper to circle the globe at least 40 times.
o Cardboard – Interesting fact: Out of ever $10 spent buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away. Packaging represents about 65% of household trash. Recycle that packaging!
o Material Goods – Instead of throwing out those clothes and toys you no longer want, give them away. There are plenty of wonderful organizations that would welcome your used items. Also check out https://www.freecycle.org to donate your unwanted things as well as pick up items that others are looking to recycle.

2. CLEAN UP – Of course you want to discourage your kids from any type of littering. But why not take it a step further? The next time you go to the following places with your kids, take ten or fifteen minutes to throw away trash you find on the ground. Point out how much prettier the area looks without all the junk scattered around as well as a safer place to play. Places that might be in need of a clean-up:

o Park
o School yard
o Playground
o Your neighborhood
o Baseball fields
o Nature trail

3. REUSE – Whenever possible, reuse normal household items. Here are a few things you may be able to find another use for:

o Jars – decorate and use to hold all sorts of household items
o Bags – use as trash bags
o Boxes – for storage
o Coffee cans – use as a planter, a bank, or to hold kitchen scraps
o Clothing – make into other items such as purses, quilts, cushion covers or doll clothing
o Greeting cards – use the cover as a postcard or frame it and hang it on the wall.
o And more…put on your creativity cap for other ideas.

Don’t forget, every little bit helps! Get qualified as a citizen of God’s kingdom and keep our Creator smiling by doing your part to help keep America (and the rest of the earth) beautiful.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Lynn_Powers/170366

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The post Keeping the Earth Beautiful first appeared on God's Miracle Garden.