Gardening like pregnancy or observing children in their nature setting is a very rewarding experience. Very young children are nature drawing to nature and all there is to it. They want to learn the largest environment they inherited for better or worse, Earth. Planting plants with a toddler or preschooler teaches him how the very food he eats, touches or smell transforms from a tiny seed to a lovely nourishing plant of various varieties. Gardening teaches the very young children the appreciation of life and keeps him grounded in nature.
This aftetnoon my eight year old daughter, Avé, brought me a banana seed and said her brother just removed it from the bottom of the banana he was currently eating. I took the opportunity and went to the kitchen and gentle removed a China saucer, small one, from one of the kitchen cabinets. I cleaned it, placed it on the kitchen table and handed the banana seed to Immanuel, my two year old. Immaunel like his older siblings are very interested in gardening and flowers. The day before yesterday, he and two of his older siblings picked purple wild flowers from our garden and handed them to me. Exclaiming, “We love Mommy.”
At first he did not want to touch the banana seed but with a little patience, silence from my part, eye contact and keeping my hand out with the banana seed in his direction, he warmed up to it. He took the banana seed and placed it in the China bowel without me telling him to do so. He went to pour the water by taking the pitcher handler. I let him pour the water and I poured out the access water. I placed the China bowl in the garden in shallow sunlight. I will bring the China bowl just before Shabbat begins. We will check the germination process of this banana seed and write back on how it turns out. In the morning I will remove this seed in question and begin the next step.
Mother Micklè