Archive for May, 2008

Gardening with a four year old has a lot of benefits .

At the top of the list is the time spent together .

This is a benefit that both of you will cherish forever . Quality time spent with your child is something that you will never regret doing . It will last a lifetime .

You get to teach your child a love of gardening .

Gardening is one of the most relaxing hobbies there is . It teaches children a love of the outdoors and working with their hands . It is ok to get dirty , in fact it is encouraged .Every four year old loves to get dirty and play in the dirt .

It teaches where food comes from . In todays world it is very important to show how food is grown and it doesn’t just come from a trip to the store . Food takes time to grow and it takes some effort . You have to prepare the ground . Plant the seeds . Water . Weed . Tend to the crop . And all of this takes a commitment to what you are doing .

The above things are all necessary to life . With gardening you have a way to teach patience and an understanding of doing something for the future .

Kids today see too many tv shows where everything is done in under a half hour . Real life is not like that . You can’t build a house in the morning and play all afternoon . You can’t plant a seed in the morning and eat corn from the garden that night . Life doesn’t work that way and every chance I get , I try to pass that on to my son .

I try to show that a little work can be fun and very rewarding . It is ok to mess up a bit or make a mistake . It can be fixed , most of the time . I know that this is an opportunity that I will use every year . These lessons will not be learnt in one growing season , or two . Learning about life takes a lifetime .

As a single parent all I can do is point him in the right direction and give him the self-confidence to make his own decisions . I will try to give him the tools to make the right ones . And I will always let him know that he is loved no matter what .

Gardening with a four year old is an experience you will never forget . We learn ,we laugh , we get dirty and we spend quality time together . What more could a parent ask for .

Till next time

Ron