I never knew my grandmother Browning, who passed away before I was born. We shared a home with Pop Browning, so I recall many wonderful memories with him. MamMaw and PapPaw Junkin lived on down the gravel road and we saw them often.
David and I strive to create good memories for our three grandchildren. We did have some practice with a special group of nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews. We grew up listening to the radio, watching for the mailman and had an eight-party phone line. Today our sweet things can Facetime us to share their report cards or cheerleader outfits. I can text A.O. to check out the full moon or S.S.S. to confirm the time of a school event. This summer, Poppy is attempting to get J.D. off the iPad and out into the world around us.
Take your young child by the hand and walk around the yard. Discuss the colors that you see. Play “I Spy,” searching for colors or shapes in the environment. Bend over and guide them to gently touch and compare the textures of the grass versus the concrete sidewalk. Share the scent of a gardenia, corn stalk, fresh mowed grass or a hay field. Compare the size of the pine tree to the shrub near the house. Look for cloud creatures.
Listen to the birds singing. Watch for the butterflies and bees. Expose them to nature.
Take a field trip to the grocery store. It is a super place to increase vocabulary – asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, potatoes, celery, cauliflower, cucumber, mushrooms, avocadoes. Purchase one thing you have never eaten before. Prepare it together and taste test.
When I taught at Brandon Elementary School, I enjoyed taking my second graders across the street to Winn Dixie. We would divide up into teams and search for apple varieties to purchase and later taste. How many apple products could we find? A stop by the Columbus-Lowndes Public library, and Mother Goose’s helpers could assist you in selecting a book about Johnny Appleseed.
Watch for pollinators in your neighborhood. Bees are our most important pollinators. Honeybees are responsible for pollinating over 100 crops that we eat and enjoy regularly. Butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, and wasps visit flowers for a sip of nectar or pollen. The science of pollination is a bit much for young children, but most can begin to identify the pollinators and their food source.
Several years ago, after visiting National Parks out West with Uncle Richard, we visited Carlsbad Caverns. Watching between 200,000 and 500,000 bats leave the cave at dusk to dine on moths and beetles is quite an experience. More than 300-500 species of fruit depend on bats for pollination. Bats help pollinate many nuts, figs and cacao – the main ingredient in chocolate.
Without pollinators, we wouldn’t have many crops. More than 200,000 species of animals act as pollinators. Hummingbirds, bats, small mammals, beetles, bees, ants, wasps, butterflies and moths can be identified as providing aid in transferring pollen grains. They are critical for the health of our ecosystem.
A field trip to the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market would be a special treat for your student. They are open now through October each Tuesday 4-6 p.m. and Saturday mornings 7-10 a.m. You will see several of our Lowndes County Master Gardeners there.
About 70 years ago I planted my first radish seeds during Vacation Bible School in Mrs. Honey Oswalt’s Sunbeam Class. I wonder how many seeds I have planted since? Plant a few seeds of knowledge with your younger generation. You might just be educating a future botanist, horticulturist, soil scientist, farmer or a silly old second grade teacher who still likes to play in the dirt.
Former elementary teacher and avid gardener Olivia Sansing lives in the New Hope community and shares timely tips on behalf of the Lowndes County Master Gardeners.
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