Nashville Wife

This year, we really stepped up our gardening game, and we have enjoyed using it as a teaching experience for Little Buddy. I believe the best way to learn is by doing, and there is no better way to learn about plants than to grow them.

Through gardening, Little Buddy has learned about the life cycle of plants, photosynthesis, erosion, pollination, soil nutrients, the importance of water, the importance of hard work, and countless other lessons. When he is older and learns the details about the science behind these concepts, we hope he will think fondly of the time he spent gardening with Mommy and Daddy.

But having a three-year-old help in the garden also comes with its share of mishaps. We were playing on the driveway, near where our potato pot sits, and while I was adjusting Little Buddy’s helmet, we had one of those mishaps. I looked up to see Little Buddy breaking off the potato plants. I told him to stop and then asked him why he had done that. He replied, very thoughtfully, “The potatoes looked bad, so I fixed them.”

I couldn’t possibly be mad at him because he genuinely thought he was helping, but we did have to make a rule that he can’t touch the plants unless he asks Mommy or Daddy first. So far, there have been no more mishaps. Mr. Handsome talked to an experienced gardener who thinks the potatoes will likely grow back, but if they don’t, it’s not a big deal. Our potato pot was more of an experimentation anyways, so we weren’t expecting a ton of success. Our bounty has come from our lettuce and tomatoes, and we hope to plant a fall garden, as well.

Do any of you have funny stories about little kids helping in the garden, or similar mishaps?

On a slightly different topic, when Mr. Handsome told his coworkers about the mishap, one of them shared a story of her own. When she was little, she attempted to climb a stool to grab something out of the pantry and accidentally knocked over her mom’s entire stash of canned vegetables. She broke dozens of jars and made a huge mess. How sad her mom must have been, and how bad she must have felt!

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