Last year you might remember us sprouting seeds in baggies
and then planting them in a tiny garden by the pool~
EK and SJ picked and picked and picked green and butter beans ALL summer long!
SO I mentioned to Scott we should plant a real garden for them this summer
{well, real to us... you should see my parents' garden!!!)
Anyway, Saturday our neighbor drives his tractor over~
And used his front end loader to scoop the grass layer up leaving beautiful fertile soil.
The littles huddled together as they adjusted to the sound and new experience~
It was wonderful to watch this transformation happening in our backyard~
When Cowboy Billy was done, the littles asked if the could get 'In'
as if it were a pool and we said of course!!!~
Now to the nostalgic part...
When I was a little girl growing up on our dairy farm,
my dad plowed up our garden right behind our house
and at the time I didn't much care for the smell,
the feel of the cold soil on my bare feet,
or the MANY vegetables that we picked from it...
{Working in the garden and eating vegetables every single didn't seem special}
BUT NOW it does!
Today I DID appreciate all that for my children!!!
Thankful for that amazing smell of fresh dirt just waiting for little feet tiptoeing through
and little seeds that will nestle down in the dark waiting to sprout vegetables.
When I was a Kindergarten teacher way back BC (Before China),
one of my themes for my classroom was Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar
and I had a sweet garden theme matra~
"KinderGARDEN, where littles seeds are planted
and beautiful flowers grow."
I see that theme coming back to life in my littles this spring and summer.
I found a quote,
"Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden."
~ Robert Brault
I LOVE that we can see our garden from just about any window on the back of our house~
{See it just beyond that tree?}
I see all kinds beauty springing up out of that Garden...
Both Childlike and Plantlike.
Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples, and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them
The extraordinary will take care of itself.
~ William Martin
