If you have any suggestions or items that
you think should be included, please email us.
Links of interest
A Kids Directory with over 100 links!
Kids-Korner - A Canadian site!
Stay Alert - Stay Safe - Streetproofing
2Learn - by the Telus Learning Connection
Canadian Parents On Line
Gardening For Kids
Kristen's Gardening
I am going to plant some flowers . First I am going to get a seed and pot it in some soil
and give it a tiny bit of water and wait at least 2 weeks at the most. What you should
have is a little seedling and when you are waiting give it a little bit more water or else
it will not grow. When it gets big you can cut a little bit off and put it in water and it
will grow roots and you can pot it up and if you keep on doing it you should have tons of
plants. You can have a beautiful garden with many more plants just like mine. I hope your
garden turns out fine. I am 8 years old, and I did this by myself I hope you like it just
like me. I am not that old to be doing gardening myself so I get a tiny bit of help from
my mom ,dad and my grandma.
By Kristen Oliver, 8 years old, Grade 3, Ontario
Slugs (Special Little Uxbridge Gardeners)
SLUGS celebrated their third season this year with a record 263 children as registered
members! The older children who did not want to leave the group ( age limit was 10 and
under, now I have upped the ante to 12 and under) became my "Sluggers". They are
my assistants and you might well guess, I need all the help I can get. Anyway, our season
went from mid-April to Canada Day weekend, every Saturday morning at 9:00, in the empty
lot beside my house. (P.S., I have great neighbours who ignore the traffic jam and often,
donate plants, etc.) .
In addition to our weekly meetings where we have guest speakers, crafts, show and tells,
hands-on projects (ie: Sunflower Secret Garden) and you name it, it happens, the SLUGS are
also involved in many community efforts which means we continue to meet informally
throughout the rest of the growing season. Responding to popular demand, I will be
starting up a new Fall/Winter monthly meeting at our local library. This will give
everyone the opportunity to explore the wonders of Autumn and get a jump-start on starting
seeds indoors, come Spring.
The children never cease to amaze me and I often relate their wonder to the entire
experience of gardening. My "off-season" seminar topics include one which is my
favourite, "Lead our children into the garden and watch THEM bloom". I always
sign off, with love and laughter and, given our motto: Slime is how a SLUG spells Smile,
you get an idea of how much fun we continue to have.
For any that are interested in contacting us please ask them to write to me at vtscott@interhop.net or phone me at 905-852-9643
Natural
Schools
Transforming school grounds into healthy environments of inspiration,
education and play
In
Your Own Backyard - ways you can help wildlife!
Arbor Week in Ontario - Last
Friday in April!
Bonus.com The
Supersite for Kids!
A Herbal Lesson or Two
by Claudia Sutton
as submitted to the "Ottawa-Carleton This Month" &
Merrickville Phoenix
On May 9th, our backyard greenhouse business,
"Forget-me-Not Herbs 'n' Wildflowers", hosted a one-hour herbal talk to 50 Grade
3/4 students from Oxford-on-Rideau School of Oxford Mills, Ontario..
Due to rainy conditions, the children were lined
up in the herb greenhouse where Chris pointed out the many uses of herbs, incuding cooking
with herbs and how herbs enhance a food's flavor. Chris also explained how herbs are used
for medicines and for cosmetics including herbal salves. A brief history of herbs was
given, describing their beginnings hundreds of years ago for ailments and for their
soothing qualities.
The children were encouraged to use their senses
of "touch and smell" by sampling the scents of mints, oreganos, lovage and
chives, amongst many others. It was demonstrated how aloe vera can heal cuts and scrapes.
It was also pointed out to the children how a variety of herbs, including lavender and
chamomile, are used for skin care.
The one-hour herbal talk was followed by a
herbal treat of home-made lemon verbena cookies and mint tea. The children were given a
"sunflower" starter plant, potted up in a peat pot, to take home and nuture on
their windowsill to plant in their gardens this summer.
We feel encouraged that the children had a
herbally good "thyme" as we would like to offer this herbal event on an annual
basis to local school children as a way to keep our children connected to the earth in our
technological age.
Chris and Claudia Sutton operate "Forget-me-Not
Herbs 'n' Wildflowers" from their backyard greenhouses where they sell potted
medicinal, culinary and ornamental herbs, perennials, small trees and shrubs and hanging
baskets. This summer they are also offering a wider variety of herbal workshops in
addition to garden events. Their e-mail address is forgetmenot@achilles.net and postal address is
1920 Beach Road, Oxford Mills, Ontario KOG 1SO.
An Ode To My Children - See You in September
Hooray! Hooray the first of May
My real life restarts today
Hooray! at last the days grow longer
Already I feel my spirit grow stronger
"So why" you ask, does this excite me so much?
Cause from now, until fall, housework I don't touch
Inside the dust bunnies are larger than life
Too bad, I'm now "gardener", no longer "the wife"
There's many more hours, to play in my flowers
To think "what's for supper?" is not in my powers
I'm sowing my seeds, patiently watching them grow
That mountain of laundry is no longer my foe
Mom can you stop what you're doing and just drive me there?
Think I planted the car keys and can't remember where
The fridge can rot
I've plants to pot
The dust's an inch thick
It should make me sick!
The toilet needs cleaning
These children need weaning
Stop calling to me when work needs done
It's too bad, I'm busy, I'm out having fun
Bills stamped "final notice"
Can wait till fall solstice
Mom, we're out of t.p. oh why can't they see
These trivial things mean sweet tweet to me
For while the sun shines
And I'm into my wines,
You'll find me out seed'in
In the garden of weed'en
My mind is in peace
It's a six month release
So before the days shorten and it's again cold
That ring round the tub can just turn to mold
Sent in by Arlene Birmingham of Way to Grow
Ideas?
I have never done this, but a friend of mine
describes how she used to put down a small patch of old carpet (maybe 2'x3'), and plant
sunflowers around 3 sides of it, and when they were tall, tying the tops loosely together
near the heads. This made a green hideout for small children to play in.
Other Sites:
Kids Korner
Welcome to the Theodore Tugboat
Online Activity Centre
Berit's Best Sites for Children
The Great Plant Escape:
Help Detective LePlant and his partners Bud and Sprout unlock the amazing mysteries of
plant life
Jan Brett's Homepage
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