It can be hard to wait for the seeds to start sprouting, whether you decide to try winter sowing or you decide to wait until the soil and weather are ready for direct sowing in the ground. In the meantime, show the kids what is happening underground after you plant the seeds by making a seed viewer. We used a pea seed for this. It should take about 6-7 days in a sunny windowsill before you start seeing some action, and then each day you will see miraculous growth continue to take place. It's fun!
The old scout motto "Be Prepared" is a great life lesson, one of the many lessons Mother Nature can teach us when we partner up with her. Towards the end of February, every once in a while here in the Midwest we are blessed with a calm, warmer day in the 50s, a sure promise that spring will indeed come soon! Since planning ahead is essential to any gardener, start to teach your children about the importance of taking an inventory of your supplies during those occasional spring-like days. Clean out the garage or storage shed, lay out all the stakes, trellises, and garden tools to make sure you will have everything you need as soon as spring arrives. The kids can help with the sorting and the sweeping, but they will tire of the chore long before you do. Never underestimate the value of modeling for your kids. By completing the task, you will be proving to them that to enjoy the fruit of our labor, we indeed need to "Be Prepared."