I almost decided not to write this because the same two boys I'm about to brag about gave me a hard time about doing some weeding and raking for me today, but they deserve a shout out.
Yesterday, my five year old and I spent the morning at the garden center choosing things for our flower beds and our soon to be organic vegetable garden. He is really excited about planning the veggie garden with me. He choose tomatoes and carrots and we also choose some radishes specifically to grow for my mom. He also really wanted to buy zucchini, but I explained to him that zucchini takes up a lot of room, and we are trying to do a small garden so we have a chance of actually being successful. He also picked up basil, parsley, oregano, and lavender.
He was so excited to plant the seeds. We spent an hour before he had to go to kindergarten filling the yogurt containers we had saved all winter with organic potting soil. Then we planted our seeds and put them on a table right in front of the dining room window. It's only been about 24 hours and he keeps checking to see if anything has grown yet.
I'm really excited about our garden. Most of the planting of the garden is going to be done by my five year old and me in the mornings before he goes to kindergarten. The eight year old will be on board to help weed over the summer.
Now on to that eight year old. He is in the Care Club at school which is an environmental club. He and his really good friend entered a design contest for the club's t-shirt. Their design won. Isn't that cool. His artwork is going to be on an environmental t-shirt! When we get the shirts, I'll try to get a picture of it up on the blog.
I'm really proud of my boys. They weren't raised to be green. We just started on this journey together as a family about a year and a half ago. But little by little, they are beginning to make this a part of who they are. It's not just a thing mommy does.
3 comments:
You must be proud of both kids!
Although, the start of your story reminded me of my own childhood in our small garden, where my father would send me out to weed for a whole weekend in the spring. After I was used as slave labour, nothing would actually be planted and the plot would go to weed again pretty quickly.
Except for the Rhubarb Plant That Never Died. I used to have nightmares about that plant. Tasted gorgeous though, with stalks dipped in sugar (which would get parents locked up for child abuse these days!)
Despairing -
I wonder if my kids will be writing about being used for slave labor 20 years from now!
"My mom made me weed her flower beds AND she took my iPod away while I was doing it because I was spending more time choosing the next song than I was weeding!"
As for the rhubarb dipped in sugar - if only the majority of today's kids would eat that.
tv - thanks for the kind words
We're growing a garden to. Not quite as organice as you though. Didn't think of organic potting soil. Sometimes it's almost like you have to retrain your brain to think these things. My four year old daughter has been the most into the seed growing, the boys (9 and 6) helped plant a few seeds and then ran to play:) But I did get help on our hopeful betterfly garden on Sat. and we had fun getting really muddy doing it!
Article on growing a vegetable garden with your child:
http://www.gomestic.com/Gardening/Growing-a-Vegetable-Garden-with-Your-Child.99185 (sorry don't know how to do the shortened links yet)
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