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Garden Update
I’ve been so slack about posting on my multitude of blogs lately. That’s because I’ve been spending most of my time outside when it’s not raining. When it is raining, I’ve been grading my students’ homework and finals or playing with the boys (or fishing out the stuff the baby puts in the commode). Yesterday the Man commented that the garden was really growing up! It’s true, the potato plants are up to my knees, the pole beans are just…
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A New Bench
I found this cute little bench while grocery shopping at my local Kroger. It is the perfect height for the boys, and after helping me put it together, the Man-child proclaimed that it was his bench and I could have the one we up-cycled from the old hot box. Thanks buddy! Our neighbor came over to admire the bench and the fence that is still in the works. Our neighbors are the best neighbors out there. They regularly have conversations…
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Reading List for Gardening with Kids
I sometimes get emails from friends searching for ideas of things to do with their kids. Help! We’re bored! Who hasn’t experienced this? The Man-child used to get fussy before he could vocalize that he was bored and needed something to do. My go-to activities are playing outside or a trip to the grocery store. Just going outside is usually enough, but even there I occasionally hear, “What can I do?” I try to involve him in whatever I do in the garden,…
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When Your Child Stomps Your Onion Patch
The other afternoon I was shoveling mulch, and the Man-child was playing with the hose and his green bucket. I had specifically asked him not to play with the water because it was cold outside. He ignored me and got water all over his pants’ leg, at which point he began screaming for a towel. I told him “not right now” (I was in the middle of something) and explained that was exactly why I had asked him not to…
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The Reality of Gardening with Kids
When you ever see the bucolic photographs in gardening magazines where docile children are gently brushing the tops of feathery leaves while their curls glisten in the late afternoon light, do you ever roll your eyes or do you wistfully long for those magical moments in your own back yard? The truth is, those moments are fleeting with a preschooler and better left for the child models, the professional photographer and the rolling landscape you will never afford. In our…
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Soda Bottle Garden
This is a great little recycling project I’ve seen variations of in many gardening blogs. I decided to keep it as simple as possible so I could involve the Man-child who just turned three. These teaches about reusing materials and caring for plants. How to make a soda bottle garden: You will need plastic bottles from your recycling bin, scissors, two rocks big enough to stop up the bottle opening, potting soil, plants, water, and four pipe cleaners or twine.…
