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CHILDREN ADN GARDENING
A lot of children these days have a dislike of vegatables and they often have little knowledge of where food comes from - either it's from a tin (metal box), a packet or a plastic bag. And this is why some schools have begun projects which help children understand more about nature and also get to like healthy, home-grown vegetables. One school in Derbyshire in northern England was really proud of its project. The course lasted a total of six weeks. In this time, the children learnt about growing vegetables and healthy living. They also learnt how to make supports in wood for climbing plants like beans and peas. They helped plant vegetables and take care of their vegetable gardens. It helped the children understand more about where food comes from and it also brougth differtn people together. In another project in Wales schoolchildren grew their own vegetables without the use of dangerous chemicals and they learnt about the problems caused by intensive farming. As a result, the children began eating a lot more fresh fruit and vegetables instead of crisps and chocolate. The lead teacher said that this had contributed to the children's health and it had also resulted in less rubbish in the school playground. IN Scotland teachers have found that children's mathematical skills have become better as a resut of learning to grow their own vegetables. The children measured the size of their vegetable garden and calculated the space that they needed to grow the optimum number of vegetables. They also used Maths to find out how much food they could grow on their plot of land. Then they compared their results with the actual amount of food that they had grown. They also calculated the cost of producing each vegetable. The head teacher said that the children had enjoyed the project. They had learnt about how Maths can be used in the real world. The projects were such a great success that some of them were shown on TV.