Writing Garden Labels
Submitted by Liamsmom on Jul 12, 2017
I am the mother of Liam, an 8-year-old boy who happens to be deafblind. He loves anything and everything to do with reading and writing braille! Every summer we try to have some type of small garden. Read about the accessible garden we created last year.
We have a raised garden bed and also a smaller fenced off garden on the ground near the boys' playground. Last year I labeled all the plants in braille. This year I wanted Liam to add the braille to the labels himself-what a great way to continue putting those braille writing skills to practice in the summer time!
Liam wrote the labels independently onto stick-backed braille label paper. (I helped with spelling of the new words.)
He insisted on applying the labels to the "sticks" himself! I was able to find plastic garden labels at the local greenhouse this year that will weather better than the wooden pieces I made last year!
Liam also helped me stick the labels into the soil near the correct plants.
Benefits of a garden for a child with vision impairments:
- Hands on learning!
- Exposure to new hobbies
- Use of braille in a meaningful way and real life situation
- Motivating way to encourage writing and reading of braille
- Encourages independence: labeling the garden, caring for the garden, harvesting the garden, etc.
- Gardens can be made accessible for all children (ex: adding braille, varying the heights of the garden, including plants that have unique textures, tastes and smells, etc.)
