This season is hard for mothers and children alike. The endless layering required before each trip out the house, the mystery of the missing glove, the reluctance to wear a hat, the desire to jump into freezing puddles despite the lack of waterproof footwear… and that’s not to mention the lack of light, freezing fingertips and the inclination to rest up indoors and hibernate!
Despite these barriers, getting out with kids is such a healthy and important practise, not just for them, but for you too. No one thrives being cooped up indoors, we need light, we need air, we need to move in order to bloom.
On days when the stars don’t align and I get caught up in one thing or another and there isn’t enough time to make an outing before one drop off or the next pick up, I open the back door and send the kids out into the garden. I take a hot cup of tea for me and try to set up a simple activity for them. They love to ride their scooters around the patio, dig in the soil and look for worms, water the plants or draw in chalk on the stone slabs. And, at this time of year as we near the end of winter, we sew our summer flower seeds in little propagating trays. There is something quite magical about the planting of a seed and the patience it takes to watch it flourish. Last week Roo and I sewed Cosmos, Ox Eye Daisies and Gazanias. In a matter of days the cosmos have started to sprout much to a certain someone’s delight. He waters them regularly and checks them each morning to see how they’re doing. And when the time comes, he and I will get out into the garden again to repot them into bigger pots before eventually planting them out.
All you need for this little activity are a couple of seed trays and lids, some seed sewing compost and some seeds. It really couldn’t be simpler or more satisfying. What better a way to encourage a love of nature and the next generation of green fingered, earth loving humans than to grow new life.
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