I really like the idea of gardening. But not so much the, you know, work.
Actually, it’s mostly the idea of the work that I don’t like, because like most things in life — making birthday cakes, writing, getting on with the bedtime routine — it’s not so bad once I get going.
Last year, I discovered an easy way to take care of one of the many tasks I don’t look forward to: preparing the beds for planting. Just a few easy steps!
1. Have a baby. (Super cuteness optional, but recommended.)
2. Raise said baby into a toddler who loves trains.
3. Wait a year. The toddler may now have grasped the importance of coal to steam engines and understand the role of an engine’s fireman.
4. Take toddler to the garden and present with toddler-sized shovel. (This is the set we have.)
5. Suggest that the dirt is really coal.
6. Let the toddler do your gardening for you.
7. Sit back, relax, and bask in the warmth of those smiles.
Okay, so I didn’t get to relax, exactly…he needed help driving the train! But that soil has never been so aerated.
This activity was good for several afternoons of fun last year, when these photos were taken. It was popular with him to the point that I had to be careful to remind him where we had already planted seeds!
Now, at three years old, the Little Engineer still enjoys pretending the dirt is coal, but he’s more goal-oriented about gardening than he was before. So it hasn’t been quite the same source of endless entertainment, but still fun.
Hi, I'm Jessica! While playing trains for the last several years, my Little Engineer and I have had a lot of fun and learned so much together. I'm excited to share our discoveries with other people who have kids who love trains in their lives.
He is just TOO CUTE in those baby/toddler photos. Love it.
It was so much easier to take photos of him when he couldn’t move so fast! 🙂
Too cute! Great idea getting outside in the dirt for imaginative play and gardening!
Thanks! He kind of needs to be tricked into getting away from his trains inside, so I have to be creative.
AWESOME way to get kids involved in the process. Mine would love it!
Great! He really enjoys it. I find that he needs that pretend play aspect to a lot of activities like this, so it’s a good thing that there’s so many aspects to the world of trains to draw on for inspiration!
This is awesome! I have some gardening to do . . . so my little girl now has a reason to help! I am so glad you left a comment because your site is exactly what she is about! Thanks!
Kathleen
Great! That makes me so happy to hear!
Dirt is good !!!! Love the post.
🙂
What a sweetie he is! Thanks for sharing with us at Share It Saturday!
Colleen at Sugar Aunts
Yes, he really is sweet. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by again!
He looks like he is loving joining in with you outside there. Just popping over from It’s Playtime. It’s lovely when they have some tools to help out. I’d love you to join me over on my Country Kids linky too.
I love how happy he looks in these pictures…that’s why I had to write about them when I was looking through last year’s photos! Thanks for visiting! And thanks for the invitation to the link up. I’ll have to check it out!
What a wonderful way to get help in the garden!! My daughter loves to dig in any garden and to help plant (though she does not always do it correctly). It is so fun to have them out there. Thank you for sharing on Sharing Saturday!
Yes…the Little Engineer’s gardening technique still leaves a lot to be desired at this age! 🙂
I’m cracking up at your step-by-step process, and the cute pictures made me smile! Love that he’s goal-oriented about the gardening now, too. Thanks for sharing at Stress-Free Sunday. 🙂
Anything to avoid working in the garden! 😉 Glad they made you smile…these pictures always make me happy.
What a great idea this made me chuckle a little. My 2 year old is vegetable gardening obsessed (I know she’s a strange child) but this could work with my 3 year old.
Thank you so much for linking up to Tuesday Tots and letting you know that I am featuring this over on Rainy Day Mum this week.
That’s great! I hope it gets your 3 year old digging in the dirt. 🙂
Thank you so much for featuring this!