Spring is such a wonderful time to spend with your children. It is a great time to enjoy nature and teach about Heavenly Father’s love for us as shown through the beautiful world around us. It is a great time to teach your children about planting a garden and how to care for it. This is a great activity, because you can apply it in many different ways to your home evening lessons and dinner discussions throughout the month.
First you can compare the seed to faith, and read Alma 32 with your children. Then as a family you can choose a seed to sprout. You can talk about how the water and sunlight help the seed to sprout. You can make the analogy that scripture study is like the water and the sunlight is like prayer. As your children watch the seeds sprout, you may consider transferring one seed to a dry or dark area to illustrate what happens when you do not nourish your testimony.
You can carry the idea of helping things to grow into planting and caring for your own garden. Even if you live in an apartment, you can have a container garden. In many ways this can teach even more responsibility, because you can have each child be responsible for one container. Children love to water, and harvest the vegetables. You can discuss President Spencer W Kimball counseled us to each have a garden.
Finally you can take the time to teach your children to care for the earth. This month we celebrate Earth Day. As we are grateful for the earth, we can teach our children to take care of the earth. This can be as simple as not littering. You can also spend time out in nature teaching your children the joy and beauty of being outdoors.
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