Word for the Day Propagate

definition: Propagate; to multiply

My husband is great at propagating. I love saying that word. What a great word to add to our children’s vocabulary. Propagate! Let’s propagate!
Propagating is a great activity to do with any age of children. There is a couple of ways you can do this. Go on line and type in the word propagates, there will be some ideas of plants and how you can propagate them. Or, the way I think is way more fun, take cuttings from your indoor and outdoor plants and see what happens!

You will need:
containers that can hold water and dirt.
Place the cuttings in water and dirt. Then watch what happens.

What worked? The water method your child will be able to see the roots start to form. This is pretty cool.
Teachers In classrooms this is an inexpensive way to add to your plants and provide a curriculum with readily available materials.
The pictures In this article is of a family plant, impatiens, that my husband propagates every year in the spring time. He takes cuttings, puts them in water and we get these beautiful plants with sweet pink flowers. In our climate they are annuals but with a little propagating we enjoy them every year.

Backyard play space

A year ago we moved to a new home. We have a pretty small backyard area but the garden area is quite large with lots of space to run and jump. The first visit from the grandchildren proved that to be right. Like most children running in a large area they do not look down and see all the plants they have tromped on. We saw. We spent a good amount of time shooing them out of the garden, reminding them not to step on the flowers. It was endless and tiring. Since this area was so inviting we decided to make the garden a place they could hang out. A place where they could laugh, jump, run and explore. It is still a work in progress. But each time we add a new element we discuss how kid friendly it is and how the grandkids can interact with it. This year we added two raised garden beds and everything that is planted in these beds they can eat. This gives them freedom to taste and checkout the garden area without us having to worry or be the taste police. We have placed pavers in the garden area so the children have a path to follow. The pavers have been proven to be great materials for a variety of games they have made up. It is joyous to watch my grandchildren play in our garden. To see them interact with nature, tasting, touching, playing and finding animals who call the garden their home. Our city gardens are an amazing place for children to have an opportunity to be close to a natural environment. What a wonderful way to help our children care for and respect an outdoor space. What are ways you could change your garden area to be a place of wonderment, exploration and awe for a child in your life?

Connecting our children and grandchildren to the wonders of the natural world

" If nature experience continues to fade from the current generations of young people, and the next, and the ones to follow, where will future stewards of the earth come from?
quote by :Richard Louv from the book Last Child in the Woods.

This book got me to think about the experiences my children had, what they do as adults and what it is I can share with parents.

I raised my now grown adult children to enjoy and play in the woods.I want them to do the same for their children and if they don't I hope I am the one who sweeps my gandchildren under my wings to show them the awe and wonder of our most precious and beautiful world.

When my children were hardly aware of their world they were introduced to the outdoors and what it had to offer them., Exploring the mountians, rivers and oceans. They learned how to care for and respect the paths we took making sure not to leave their footprints behind. They sat next to creeks, rivers and lakes, talking and storytelling. Asking questions and wondering. They would make up games using the materials at hand. We would turn over rocks and sticks to see who lived there. We would gaze towards the heavens amazed at the massive old trees growing before us. As the evenings came upon us we would watch as each star came out, waiting to see if we would see one falling or maybe catch a glimsp of a UFO! I could not have told you why it was so important for my children to have this experience but I knew it was. Today I can tell you that those experiences made them stewards of this earth and all it holds for the next generations. I have grandchildren now and I look forward for them to learn the lessons so this earth will be cared and loved for many more generations.

I hope to share with you ideas you can use to build good stewards in your children. Whether they are your own children, grandchild or if you are a teacher. Please share any ideas or great stories you have. I so would love to hear them.