Connecting with the Earth through Gardening

Yesterday, I planted a garden with my girls and my father. What a wonderful experience for all of us to feel the Earth in our hands, to see the critters whose homes we disturbed as we turned the soil, and to be outside just getting dirty. My 9-year-old has a green thumb; however, my 12-year-old is not much of an outdoors woman but even she planted a few! I realized how much of a great bonding experience this was - with the family and with the Earth!

Fortunate to Have Great Schools...

I am fortunate to have two wonderful schools for my children to attend. Not only are their schools diverse, they are also environmentally conscious!

My youngest daughter is in the 3rd grade and is a member of Energy Savers - a volunteer group of students that encourage energy saving throughout the school. They've tied a classroom point system to reward the classrooms that keep their lights off when not in use and designed energy saving posters to hang up around the school. Also, the school hosts "Trash Free Tuesdays" when the children are rewarded for not having any trash in their lunches.

My oldest daughter is in 7th grade and attends a Maryland Green School (http://www.maeoe.org/greenschools/). There are a lot of trees and a stream in the back of her school and as part of her Student Service Learning, she and her classmates participate in stream cleaning, ridding the area of invasive species, and making trails.

Having my childrens' school reinforce love and concern for the Earth and our environment is such a blessing!