Wonders Just Under the Dirt
By Barbara Damrosch
Do children still make mud pies? Or have the drama and mystery of sci-fi stories and space shuttle launches turned their gaze permanently skyward? Any of them can name the planets in the solar system, but how many know what magnificent and invisible worlds lie beneath the surface of the soil? It's there that the most numerous of the Earth's creatures are to be found, many of them as alien to us as the hypothetical residents of remote galaxies that so engage our imaginations.
Earth's soil is the source of life, not just something we remove from our children's clothes when we do laundry. It's where their education should begin. The holidays present us the perfect opportunity to lure them back to earth with simple tools, equipment and activities that will aid in their terrestrial discoveries.
Prowl through a yard with a small child and you'll soon see how curious he or she is about the natural world. Kids are fascinated with what lives in the dirt. Start by just seeing what you can find on the surface -- worms, bugs, spiders, ants and all. Brush away dead leaves (using gloves if there's any chance of dead poison ivy) and see if any creatures lurk beneath them. Turn over a rock and see if that is a hiding place. It usually is. Then turn over a shovelful or two of earth, preferably in the garden where the soil is loose, fertile and full of life. Some things will wiggle forth right away; others you can find by sifting. This time of year most soil-dwellers have prepared for winter, so it's a great month to investigate how they hibernate -- as hard little pupae, inside fuzzy cocoons or as tiny eggs. Often these signs of sleeping life, which children love, are curled up inside a leaf on the ground. Show a child how even after a leaf has withered and fallen, a new bud has formed at the end of the twig, to become a new leaf in spring.
To read the full article at washingtonpost.co, please go here
For a light-hearted look at kids and gardening, check out John Hershey's "Inch by Inch, Row by Row......when is this Stupid Plant Going to Grow?"
Photo credit: Pfly
