tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post1839651464118620909..comments2024-03-26T02:19:12.080-07:00Comments on Casaubon's Book: 52 Weeks Down - Week 12 - Get Your Kids Involvedjewishfarmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17547121621115074866noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-15862265652079929832007-07-17T14:24:00.000-07:002007-07-17T14:24:00.000-07:00I've tagged you for a meme, "bloggers for positive...I've tagged you for a meme, "bloggers for positive global change". Details are on my blog.willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05818659940895641160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-24727944415592984692007-07-17T04:39:00.000-07:002007-07-17T04:39:00.000-07:00My mother has lamented since her first grandchild ...My mother has lamented since her first grandchild (our son, now 13) that the grandkids don't have a farm to go to, since they were born well after the last of our farming family passed away. She felt my brother and I got a tremendous education from helping our grandfather on his farm.<BR/><BR/>But today, our kids only need to go out the back door to get a feel for veggie gardens, and we take our kids often to the nearby Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead so they can interact with all kinds of animals, from mini goats and chickens to draft horses and jersies. <BR/> http://www.opkansas.org/_Vis/Farmstead/index.cfm <BR/><BR/>Check out the photo gallery: http://www.opkansas.org/_Vis/Farmstead/Photo_Gallery/index.cfm<BR/><BR/><BR/>It started off as a mini-zoo and petting zoo, displaying rescued wild animals and farm animals. It became so popular, attracting even school tours, that they have expanded to many times their original size with the idea of being an educational farm. Even funnier, its smack dab in the middle of a growing affluent area. <BR/><BR/>I decided to post this not only because my friend and I took the kids there recently, but also because I think its a great idea for activists who have the time and gumption to build a similar project in their own area.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-5831443796979714532007-07-16T18:54:00.000-07:002007-07-16T18:54:00.000-07:00What a wonderful post! I want to add that childre...What a wonderful post! I want to add that children are never too young to start connecting with nature. I work with one year olds and we have our own garden(it's pretty torn apart though :), a bird feeder, and we are constantly talking about and exploring the natural world around us. They love it.Deb Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03729615248033326334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-29555907943120627682007-07-16T17:58:00.000-07:002007-07-16T17:58:00.000-07:00--Contemporary education has failed in two ways. F...--Contemporary education has failed in two ways. First, most of us were taught when the Battle of Hastings was, but not the slightest thing about the history of our agricultural system, other, perhaps, than the invention of the plow. We were taught to read poetry, but never to wonder what "Eglantine" Shakespeare mentioned actually looked or smelled like.<BR/><BR/>I am a world and US history teacher, and I DO teach about the invention of horse collars, crop rotation, maize and potatoes and flowers; this Saturday I am taking my students on a nine-point-five mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. I agree- most teachers don't, because they don't know these things themselves.<BR/><BR/>I love your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-21965394908952042022007-07-16T13:32:00.000-07:002007-07-16T13:32:00.000-07:00My friend and I have a whole blog dedicated to kee...My friend and I have a whole blog dedicated to keeping our highly urbanised kids connected with nature. <BR/>I totally agree that its necessary to have a connection with the earth to one day one to protect it, and its also necessary for mental health.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-78042922182221112922007-07-16T11:46:00.000-07:002007-07-16T11:46:00.000-07:00Great post.Don't forget that kids also push us to ...Great post.<BR/>Don't forget that kids also push us to learn and relearn about our local environment as well. My children have a lovely habit of asking "But Mum, what is his name?" as most children do. Since I did not grow up anywhere near here I have found I have really needed to buy flora and fauna identifying books just to keep up with the questions. But I enjoy learning about each bird as I have to look it up and it makes me feel more connected with the environment of a place that is very different to what I grew up in but which I am committed to living in for the very long term.<BR/>One of the nice things about trying to use the car less is that we are walking around the neighbourhood more. We see the lizards climbing on the fence and the different birds of our area. Buying local means that at local markets we buy the weird produce that we have never seen before. We may have to ask about how it is used but its a new bit of knowledge every time. If we just relied on supermarket fodder the kids would miss the delights of jejubes, sapodilla and jicama in their lunchboxes.<BR/>Starting up a garden, as tiny as it is, has meant that the kids are making the connection between produce being sold at a shop starting off in a garden somewhere. And they can see that it takes time, effort and usually lots of compost and manure for it to grow. More importantly at a young age they are learning that all food doesn't taste the same.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-37689844465610721842007-07-16T10:32:00.000-07:002007-07-16T10:32:00.000-07:00I've just discovered your blog as I'm listening to...I've just discovered your blog as I'm listening to your interview on 'The Reality Report', as posted on Global Public Media.<BR/><BR/>http://globalpublicmedia.com/sharon_astyk_on_the_reality_report<BR/><BR/>you've done a great job here. You should be very proud.Weaseldoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12657976442272800800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-73764071918962487182007-07-16T09:10:00.000-07:002007-07-16T09:10:00.000-07:00YAY!!!Thanks Sharon, I will get out there with the...YAY!!!<BR/>Thanks Sharon, I will get out there with them today.Michelle Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17334530069139984829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8221748.post-8415764313575943882007-07-16T08:39:00.000-07:002007-07-16T08:39:00.000-07:00There's nothing that I could add to this beautiful...There's nothing that I could add to this beautiful statement, but on a side note, thanks for mentioning plantain. That's one of those things I'd kept meaning to identify, and now I finally looked it up and found out it's That Weed that I spend so much time pulling the veins off of like celery when I was little. Maybe I'll pick some when I go to the farm and add that to the purslane. :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com