Harvesting Beans with Kids

Daily I am learning that my four-year-old is capable of much more than I ask of him. I find that the more responsibility and tasks he is given, the less he whines and the more he takes pride in his abilities and being helpful. I suppose preschoolers do have something in common with Thomas & Friends – they want to be very useful!

This brings us to beans. Our garden is jam-packed with pole beans, bush beans, edamame, peas, and a variety of other beans we plan on harvesting to dry. I like that the legumes return nitrogen to the soil, and I like that they are easy to enjoy. They also make for tantalizing picking for the boys. Their garden dome is now fully draped in bean vines, and new pods dangle down every couple days.

With a little help, Scooby quickly learned which beans were ready for picking and which needed to grow longer. After picking his first batch of beans, he informed me that his beans were for looking at and not for eating. This reminded me of the Curious George episode where George grows a humongous carrot and stores it in a trumpet case like a trophy – at least until he had to sacrifice it to save Bill’s bunnies.

After explaining that food will ruin unless we preserve it properly, he was on board with freezing his batch. He washed them, snapped them, and looked on as I blanched them and put them in the bag.