Every Wednesday you can drop by here and find new and special happenings in the Secret Garden. There will be crafts, great food, fun and laughter. So please be sure to come by and see us in our Secret Garden created just for you.
In the Secret Garden, hunger plays an important role. It shows the well-being or stress of various characters, as well as where they live in the well-established British class system.
For a majority of 19th-century England, hunger was a real issue. Though only a behind-the-scenes character in the Secret Garden, hunger is used as a symbol to show a return-to-health for main characters Mary and Colin.
In The Secret Garden we have this real paradox going on where Mary and Colin inside their rich manor house are skipping meals not to let on that Colin is recovering and then going outside to receive food from Dickon and his poor family.
Hunger, however isn’t just a 19th century problem but has found its way into 20th and 21st century America.
“If you can’t feed a hundred people then feed just one. ” Mother Teresa
This shadow lying character of “hunger” in the Secret Garden actually brings up a great opportunity to discuss with your children hunger in 21st century America. Here’s the hard cold facts, everyday in the United States 35.5 million Americans, including 16 million children do not have enough to eat. That’s a staggering figure when you think the U.S. is one of the richest countries in the world.
“16 million children is enough to fill 18,000 school buses and 223 football stadiums. On average, those who live in food-insecure households have only $36.50 to spend on groceries every week.” -SheKnows.com
Many of these hungry people actually have jobs. This issue arises when rent and cost of living rises but salaries do not. People have to pay their rent to have a place to live and often times this means they don’t have enough left over for food.
For this Secret Garden Wednesday let’s explore the world of hunger right here in our own back yard. I think important to look at hunger on a local/national level. If you’re one of our readers from another country, I encourage you to do a little research on hunger in your area. I think looking at hunger locally brings it home to kids that it’s not some problem over there but a real problem right where you live.
The wonderful people over at SheKnows.com in collaboration with Unilever project Sunlight, has this wonderful discussion and activity guide to discuss hunger with your children as well as figure out how to feed a family on $36.50 a week. This great guide also suggests a solution to hunger in America with the Share-A-Meal program.
I hope you’ll take this moment and think about hunger and how it impacts our communities and how you and your family can make a difference.
Have you missed the last few Secret Garden Wednesdays? These are too much fun not to read!
Secret Garden Wednesday: Planting Time
Secret Garden Wednesday: Book-Inspired FUN
Secret Garden Wednesday: Perfectly Good Porridge
Secret Garden Wednesday: Garden in a Jar
Secret Garden Wednesday: Sticky Toffee Pudding
Want to enjoy more month-by-month activities based on the classic children’s tale, The Secret Garden? A Year in the Secret Garden is over 120 pages, with 150 original color illustrations and 48 activities for your family and friends to enjoy, learn, discover and play with together. A Year In the Secret Garden is our opportunity to introduce new generations of families to the magic of this classic tale in a modern and innovative way that creates special learning and play times outside in nature. This book encourages families to step away from technology and into the kitchen, garden, reading nook and craft room. Learn more, or grab your copy HERE.
The post Secret Garden Wednesdays: Studying the Class of Hunger appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
Add a Comment