community participation

Families That Garden Together Eat Together

August 5, 2017 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Do you garden? Do you get the whole family involved in garden? If you’re not gardening as a family, then you are missing a chance at helping make those family mealtimes happen – and you are missing out on so much more, too. The family that gardens together eats together and saves money together.

Here’s why gardening as a family helps make mealtime true family time.

If you have a picky eater who won’t eat his (or her) fruits and vegetables, then start showing him where it comes from. Let him pick seeds to plant and then plant them. Maybe a different variety of a particular vegetable would appeal more. Water them, tend to them, weed them, and watch them grow. Give him the responsibility of taking care of the garden. Once he sees where a plant comes from he’ll be more willing to try it. Once he has the pride of working to grow something, he will want to show off what he did to everyone and try it out for himself to see what he created with his own hands.

Slice it up and cook it together. Make a yummy vegetable pizza out of the vegetables you just grew in your garden. Let your child help cut up the vegetables and put the vegetables on the pizza. Grow tomatoes and make a nice homemade tomato sauce together to put on your homemade pizza. Put it in the oven and then sit down as a family to eat what your child created from start to finish. Straight from the garden to the table is the best way to do it.

A child who not only grew the yummy vegetables that went into the meal that your family eats, but then also helped cook it, will grow his self-esteem as big as the garden he has created with you. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction you receive of knowing that you provided delicious food for your family from start to finish.

There are so many health benefits to gardening together too. Not only are you eating more healthy fruits and vegetables, but getting out in the sun and working in the garden is also great exercise. All things that will help you live longer. You can entice your child to put down the electronics and get outdoors by saying, “Let’s go outside and dig in the dirt.” He’ll love it.

All this time spent together creates memories with your child. These will be special moments you’ll never forget. Your child won’t forget either. You are creating childhood moments that will last a lifetime, and traditions that your child likely won’t outgrow. He will learn great skills which will last him his entire life. From gardening, to eating healthy foods, to preparing his own meals, he will be well-rounded. Not to mention all the opportunities to talk about what’s happening in his life. Gardening together, cooking together, and eating together are all moments to communicate together.

So all in all, gardening together will not only lead to eating together, but also cooking together and communicating together. The health and emotional benefits of gardening together and eating together never end.

Landscaping with the Whole Family

August 4, 2017 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

Landscaping doesn’t have to be something that is left to the professionals. It’s something we can do on our own or even as a family. Here are some simple landscaping ideas that are so easy the whole family can help you do it. So get the family together next weekend and work together making your yard the best in the whole neighborhood without having to spend a whole lot.

Start a garden. If you already have a spot without grass, then that’s perfect – if not, then you will need to kill your grass in the area you want your garden. To do this, lay a thick layer of newspaper over the grass where you want a garden and then put a layer of mulch on the newspaper. Once the grass is killed you can remove the newspaper and place fresh soil and begin planting.

Know the type of environment you’re planting in. Is it sunny or shady? What is the soil like? When you go purchase your plants or bulbs, ask at the nursery for help in choosing plants that grow best given the conditions of your yard.

Create a landscape design. This isn’t just for the professionals. They all use five basic things when designing a landscape. Color, form (shape of the plant), line (how the grouping of plants makes the eye move), scale (size of the area you work in), and texture.
Water the lawn and the plants. You can do this with a sprinkler, but for the garden you might want to consider a more hands-on approach. A watering can and a small child are great at watering the garden. And they usually love it!
Remove weeds. You can use a weed whacker for bigger jobs, but in the garden, good old-fashioned weed pulling will keep your garden healthy and looking good. Another great job for children.
You can create a great backyard space on your own by adding simple things like a fire pit. Just dig a small round trench and layer it with gravel and sand. Then place large stones around the perimeter to create your fire pit to use for backyard barbecues or just sitting around the fire.
Build do-it-yourself walls and patios. This might not seem like something you can do yourself, but the benefits of the internet are that there are all sorts of tutorials and easy-to-follow videos for doing this stuff yourself. With the proper space carved out and a nice sunny Saturday afternoon to work (and a few friends), you can really create your own little patio or rock wall to really add pzazz to your landscaping design in your yard.

Don’t go at any of this alone. Have a plan in advance and talk to some friends and family who have done some things you like in their own yard and see if you can get them over to help you. Remember to give age-appropriate jobs to the kids like weeding and watering for maintaining certain parts of your landscape.

You can really create your own beautifully landscaped yard by yourself for much cheaper than hiring a professional – if that’s what you want to do, that is. It’s a great way to begin working together with the family and do something you all can have pride in and sit around and enjoy together as a family. So what’s your next do-it-yourself project with the family?

Getting Everyone’s Input on Redecorating the Family Room

August 3, 2017 by Basil Puglisi Leave a Comment

The family room is the room of the house that you want to be an inviting place where the whole family feels comfortable and secure. One way to do that is by getting everyone’s input on how it should be decorated. But with numerous different people and different ideas, asking everyone’s opinion may seem like a very daunting task. It doesn’t have to be, though. Here is how to decorate the family room so the whole family is happy with it.

How to Make Your Family Room a True Family Made Room

Let the kids have input. Don’t turn down everything they say. If they suggest a shag carpet, get them a small shag rug and place it in their favorite area of the living space. Remember, the goal is to make the room an inviting space for the whole family.
Use fabrics that clean easily. Leather, microfiber, and acrylics are all great fabrics to use in a family room where the kids are going to be possibly, definitely spilling things.
Use your space appropriately. Divide it up with furniture if it’s a large space. Keep clutter hidden behind cabinets or inside of ottomans. If you’re going to allow toys in the family room, then find easy ways to store and hide these items when they are not in use.
Functional seating is important in a family room. When it’s just you and your family you might not need a whole lot of seating. But an ottoman is great in that can be used for kicking back or as a table when you have company over. That way no one has to sit on the floor or stand and there’s a space for everyone to sit.
Don’t be afraid of patterns and using them to make a cozy space for the whole family to enjoy.
Don’t forget about window treatments. A sheer curtain in the family room allows light into the space, making it bright and comfortable.
Play to your family’s interests. If you’re an outdoorsy family, then use colors from the outdoors. If you are interested in boating, then do a nautical theme. Bringing the things the family loves to do together into the family room will make it the favorite room of the house for everyone to hang out in. If your family loves the beach, then bring in blues and corals into the room with pictures of beach sunsets covering the walls.

When decorating your family room with your whole family in mind you want to remember comfort and functionality first. Creating a space that is comfortable for everyone to be in while also working to your family’s needs is what the family room is all about. A family who doesn’t entertain a lot might not care too much about having extra seating, but might want the family room to reflect the family’s interest. So figure out what works best for your family and sit down and talk to everyone about what they would like to see in this space. Then come up with a plan that works with all of these ideas.

What is your ideal family room décor?