How about an activity that keeps your kids occupied all summer, sees to it that they get exercise, teaches them valuable lessons about God and growing in Christ, provides an opportunity to learn about stewardship and more? Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not. This activity provides you with tools and tips needed to start a garden that produces more than fruits and vegetables. Here are a few of the specific benefits:
- Working in the garden gives children an opportunity to have physical exercise. When the body is strong, the mind is sharper and better equipped to understand spiritual truths.
- The time a child spends tending a garden gives them an opportunity to come in contact with nature in ways like nothing else can. While working, they are provided the opportunity to pray, recite scripture, or quietly reflect on God’s creation
- Gardening opens the door to object lessons more numerous than you could imagine. It is a wonderful environment for learning deep spiritual truths at any age
- Hard work and diligence are taught as the children learn to work hard for a return – a return that is not immediate.
Here’s the game plan:
Step 1 – Give the Challenge
When you call the kids together, tell them that you have a challenge for them. You can either give them each a set amount of money, or tell them they will have to use their own. They will have the opportunity to start a garden. When they grow the items in the garden, they are free to sell them, eat them, or whatever.
Step 2 – Set Parameters
You have to decide what kind of garden you want to plant. If you have some room in your yard, you may want to do a backyard garden. If you live in an apartment or don’t have much yard space available, you might opt for a container garden. For either option, you will want to let each child know how much room he has for his garden. Here is a list of what you will need for either type of garden.
Step 3 – Go Shopping
Let each child pick what seeds she will get and how many plants will be grown. If you are starting from seed (recommended) check the packets for spacing instructions. To insure your child’s gardening success, you may want to encourage some easier fruits and veggies to grow. Click here for a list.
Step 4 – Prepare, Plant, and Tend
Prepare your soil and then plant your seeds. You can make a whole day of this and have a lot of fun. When all of the seeds are planted, make sure you water them and pray. Remind your kids that we can water the plants and tend their soil, but it is God who really makes them grow. Throughout the whole process, be aware of opportunities to share some of these spiritual truths with your children.
Step 5 – Plan a Dedication Meal
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.” – Deuteronomy 14:22-23, 26-27
The Bible also talks about dedicating the first fruits of the crop to Him. Why not celebrate this with your family as a reminder that God is the provider of all.
Take some time to plan the meal together. Let your children help plan what dishes will be made from the bounty of the garden. But don’t forget the last part. Deuteronomy 14:27 reminds the people to remember the Levites who depended on other tribes for survival. Why don’t you invite someone to join your celebration? Maybe you could invite the pastor and his family, or someone you know who could use an extra meal. You may want to take a few days to pray about who your special guest might be.
Step 6 – Make a Business Plan
Your plants are beginning to mature now, and you can see vegetables starting to come forth. It’s time for your kids to decide how they are going to sell their produce. How much will it cost? How will they tell people it’s for sale? What will they do with the money? Click here for a guide to help your children make wise decisions for the use of their money.
Step 7 – Have a Feast
When the garden begins producing, have the feast that you planned to thank God for His wonderful bounty.
Step 8 – Start Selling (and Eating)
Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Step 9 – Encourage Your Children
As your children enjoy the money they make from their sales, and the delicious fresh food, continue to remind them of their financial plans and help them to remember that everything we have is from God.
That’s right. After a board meeting on Sunday, we decided to put the audio project on hold for now. It’s a big project that takes a lot of time and money. In fact, it’s taking so much that we cannot focus on other aspects of the ministry. Therefore, we have decided to put the audio on hold until we can build a reserve of $8,000. This will be enough to hire a worker for a year, and make other needed purchases for the project to move forward (including sound effects and the like).