Friday, June 4, 2010

Meeting my son in the garden

Another post for the Kindergarden series.

Rowen and I spend a lot of our time together these days in the garden. I feel like I learn a lot about him as we quietly do our business amid the dirt and the veggies.


He loves dirt. Not surprising, if you consider we're all made of the dirt that our food is raised on. He likes to poke it with a stick, he likes to eat it and he likes to throw it around on occasion.

He loves to self direct his garden time. He'll politely stay in my arms if we're just doing a quick watering mission or a fast lettuce grab, but he really prefers to be left to his own devices if we're going to be any amount of time.

He's never met a plant he didn't like. I was watching him earlier this week and he was standing next to some grass that was as tall as he was, and he would run his little hands across the seed heads, smiling as they tickled his hands and waved back into his face. He likes clovers for their cool cushioning, dandelions for their bright flowers and poof ball seeds, nothing escapes his attention. :-)

He doesn't need much in the way of accessories. No fancy tools necessary, he'll gladly grab a stick for poking, but mostly he leans towards hands-on gardening. :-) I'm the same way.

I love meeting my son in the garden, and all the little things I learn about him.

5 comments:

The author said...

It's so much fun watching kids explore and learn in nature.

Syeda Zehra said...

I also love watching kids exploring this world.I used and still love to play with mud,make tunnels and trenches and run water through them..:p
although I never dared t taste the mud...:)

Syeda Zehra said...

Ah..we human beings are so much attached to nature.....
I wished I also had a garden to keep at my home..as I love gardening too..But as I live in a apartment so I can't.
Your really lucky.....:)

Zehra

Jennie said...

Zehra, have you tried window gardening? :-) All you need is a window that gets some good sun and you can grow a bit of lettuce and some herbs.

Muhammad, kids and dirt do seem to go hand in hand. It's always so sad to hear about American kids who never get outside, so I'm determined that my boy will have a relationship with nature. Even if that relationship includes eating dirt. :-D

inadvertent farmer said...

I love the picture you painted with your words about the seedheads and his little hands...I could almost see him!

Wonderful post, Kim