When I named this blog it was a growing season and I kept thinking about the cycle of growing. You have to prepare the soil then tuck in a tiny seed. Then water and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Add water. Add sun. And wait.

And wait.

And wait some more….

You get the idea… it is a LOT of waiting!

BUT if you can WAIT long enough, what happens?! Something GROWS. Literally over night you can go from apparently barren dirt to flourishing, thriving, tender sprouts! After that the growing can appear to happen before your very eyes!

The same thing happens with our kiddos when they are learning. We can demonstrate the same thing over and again to no apparent avail. But then, if we WAIT long enough and provide the right conditions, suddenly, magically, they bloom before our eyes!

There are so many life lessons tucked into this process of growing. It is an analogy that I use with my kiddos time and again as we learn about patience or practice a new skill. Practice makes progress. But it can still take TIME. And that is okay! Because you know what?! Something IS happening below the surface before you see the “fruit” of the labor on top of the soil. So kiddos young and old, hang in there, you WILL see a harvest if you continue to persevere!

Okay, obviously I could talk about this subject FOREVER, but let’s talk about some actual plants. 🤣  The hands-on experience of planting a seed can enable you to increase your reader’s vocabulary, work on locomotor skills, fine-tune fine motor skills, and even enhance their cognitive development. Don’t believe me? That’s okay 😉 Here is a little research* for you:

• Planting seeds helps our young ones:
  • practice locomotor skills, body management, and hand-eye coordination.
  • practice fine motor skills such as grasping with whole hand and fingers.
  • get sensory stimulation through water play, digging in the dirt, and handling seeds.
  • grow their adventurous taste buds when sampling the “fruit” of their labor.
  • increase literacy skills and vocabulary
  • enhance cognitive development as they remember information and predict outcomes throughout the process.
  • strengthen bonds as they work together with you.

Planting seeds with your child, taking the time to nurture them, then seeing the amazing results can foster a lifelong love of growing things in your kiddo. In fact, a lifelong love for learning might just take root!! Furthermore, you will also learn more about your child during the planting process – how they think, what they like or dislike, and how capable your little gardener truly is.

What will you grow next?

Happy Growing!

*Research gathered from Michigan State University Extension and you can find the original article here.