Recently, my husband and I decided we wanted to plant a little garden. Well, being the overachievers we are, we had to do it top notch, and it definitely was not going to be just a 5×5 foot garden. Ha! We sat down and planned it all out. Meanwhile, my 3 ½ year old child is running around seeking our attention. It was at that moment that I had a choice to make. I could either get a little frustrated because mommy and daddy were trying to talk or I could involve her in this process. I chose the latter.
I scooped her up, put her in my lap and asked her if she wanted to help mommy and daddy plant a garden in the backyard. She, of course, responded with, “Yes! What is a garden?” This made my teacher heart skip a beat. Not only was this going to involve her in something we were already doing anyway, but it was such an educational experience that we were going to get to provide her. We spent about 30 more minutes talking out and planning the logistics. (She only made it through about 10 minutes of that chat)
Then, off to Home Depot we went. Home Depot is one of her favorite places. The whole ride there she kept asking, “Can I have a car? I want the car.” What she meant was she wanted to ride in the car shopping cart. We let her help us pick out the wood for the planters box we would build. We let her choose the tomato, pepper and squash/zucchini plants. Now, did it take much longer at Home Depot than it would have had my husband and I just gone? Yes! But, she was so excited, and again, she was learning, even subtly, about the sustainability of life.
We got home and she helped us build our 12x5x2 foot planters box. She took my shovel away so she could help her daddy shovel and move loads and loads of dirt. The whole time, her cute little red face had such a big smile on it. She dug the holes for the plants with me.
Once everything was planted and we had cleaned up, it was time to water. I started out watering each plant and she just stood quietly by and watched. Then she said, “Can I plant it? I want to plant it by myself.” After a few minutes of confusion, I realized that she meant she wanted to water the plants like I was. I told her to please wait patiently and it would be her turn soon. This 3 ½ year old child who was covered in dirt from head to toe, sweaty and exhausted from working outside for the past 4 hours, stood like a soldier and said, “Okay! Yes, mommy. Look, I waiting so patiently.” Now, the funny thing about this is that my child got my patience virtue. I like to joke and say that patience is a virtue, but not one that God blessed me with. So, the fact that she was waiting was a big win.
I let her water the plants. We came inside, ate dinner and got ready for bed. As I was laying with her going through our nightly routine, she looks at me and says, “Mommy! We planted a garden today.” She proceeds to tell me how much fun she had. Of course, the teacher in me had to ask, “Well, what’s a garden?” She said, “It’s out back. Want me to show you!” Haha! I said, “No thank you sweetheart. We can go see it tomorrow,” as I just giggled and reminded myself that my child is 3 ½ and I do not always have to have my teacher hat on.
As I got in bed, my husband and I began to talk about how awesome the day was. We spent quality time together as a family while showing our little girl what hard work looks like in a way that provided a learning experience. One which she loved and enjoyed.
My husband soon fell asleep, because he can fall asleep in two seconds, (anyone else??) and I continued to reflect, because that is what I do. Why do we not include our children more in activities we are already doing? Why do we so often let ourselves get frustrated, when there is such a simple and rewarding fix? All we have to do is let them be a part of it. These kinds of real life experiences provide opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving skills, hard work and so many other important life skills that we as parents must teach our children.
I tell you what, from now on, my child will be a part of just about everything we do. I went to sleep exhausted, but with such a full heart.
