Eight Things About Gardening With Your Kids, Part 7
Adult Interaction
I have been writing a series of posts about eight principles of education integrated into the design and activities of Hershey Children’s Garden and how you can use these principles with your little green thumbs.
Principle number seven: You are critical to your child’s learning experience. In fact, you may be the most important element of your child’s learning experience. I have found that kids gain a deeper meaning from what they see if they have adult interaction. Young visitors learn a lot from just playing in Hershey Children’s Garden. Yet, instilling wonder and fascination, the bedrock of lifelong learning, only comes when we light the fire. This is why knowledgeable and enthusiastic garden staff members are critical to the success of what the designers of Hershey Children’s Garden intended. Staff members become part of the experience itself.
You may not feel very comfortable conveying "knowledge," because you are not into the science thing. Don’t worry. It is not knowledge, but rather fascination that holds the greatest importance. If you are into art or the social sciences, start there with your children. There is plenty of beauty, geometry and anthropological layers to our interactions with nature.
Posted by Josh Steffen
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