May 30, 2011: Teach Your Children Well
~by Susi Pittman
Perhaps one of the BEST lessons a parent can teach a child is to respect and tread softly in the gift of creation. There are so many ways to take our children into the outdoors, even in our own back yards.
On our property, we share life with our extended family of creation, which not only consist of wildlife, but also of gardening and responsible ecology to the flora that exists here as well. And that includes bugs!
We love fresh veggies and live in a climate zone that allows us to grow what we love nine months out of the year.
My three grandchildren love the outdoor spaces. Seana, Dave and I have taken the time to share with their young minds, the marvels of butterflies and honeybees, ants and crawlers of all kinds. They love the garden and run to help pick the vegetables. We have felt it has always been the first lesson of gardening, that the children learn the difference between good and bad bugs.
If you don’t have property in a rural setting, how can YOU share these marvels of nature with your children?
I have compiled some wonderful ideas that you could implement as part of your child’s summer fun.
ANT FARMS
RAISING BUTTERFLIES
LADYBUG HAVENS
PREYING MANTIS KITS
Kids need not be fearful of our “good bug” friends. Often times, due to our own ignorance, we can give our children the wrong idea about ALL bugs.
Several places to find excellent learning habitats are:
Discover This Educational Science Kits
The folks at GardenFork TV have a wonderful video on growing butterflies for release into the wild. Butterflies only live a few weeks, so butterflies are a wonderful choice for a child’s summer project.
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Teach your children well…and help them to help you to make the world a better place!
Susi Pittman is founder of CatholicStewardsofCreation.com and Owner-President of Twin Oaks Publishing; she is author of Animals in Heaven? Catholics Want to Know!; an advocate for the Florida Catholic Conference; a member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Council of Women in Jacksonville, Florida; an Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Augustine;a member of the Florida Publishers Association, Independent Book Publishers Association, the National Association of Professional Women, the ASPCA, the Humane Society of the United States and the National Audubon society.
