Celebrate Spring By Digging in Dirt

 San Diego author Richard Louv said it best,

“The future will belong to the nature-smart—those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop a deeper understanding of the transformative power of the natural world and who balance the virtual with the real. The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.”

Now more than ever kids need to dig in dirt and spring is a great time to get out and start a garden.  Digging in dirt is relaxing and calming. It also stimulates our senses - smell, touch, taste. When I think of being out in the garden, I think of the smell of wet dirt after a good rainstorm, the prickliness of an artichoke plant, and the sweet taste of cherry tomatoes warmed by the sun and eaten right off the vine. Gardening allows our kids to see the cycle of life, to understand where our food comes from (it's not grown in the grocery store as I recently heard a first grader say to her friend), and to reconnect with the natural world.

Digging for potatoes at Petaluma Urban Homestead

Of course there are other ways than gardening to connect with the natural world.  The other day I picked up my son from school and found him digging with some friends in a corner of the school's garden. He proudly explained to me that they were "building" a clubhouse - it had seats for four friends arranged in a circle and a kitchen area complete with garbage disposal. "Young architects," I thought to myself.

Live in an urban environment without a gardening space? A potted garden allows kids to dig and connect as well. Or get together parents and teachers at your local school and start a community garden. There are grants available for starting a garden including one from the Whole Kids Foundation. Weekend trips to nature trails in National, State and County parks also allow for exploration.

A great video on parenting and happiness

Let's talk parenting taboos: Rufus Griscom + Alisa Volkman (click on text)

The Joy of Cooking

I remember the days when my 4 year-old son Darien (now 6), used to clamor to cook in the kitchen. When his brother was born a year later, our cooking times together went out the window. As any busy parent of an infant knows there are few meals that require real preparation cooked the first year. It's always nice to dream about cooking that delicious Paella that you cooked back in the day when you were dating your partner or even on special occasions after your first child was born. But now? Not happening.

So the other day I actually had put Elian (now 18 months) down for a late afternoon nap and Darien wanted to "watch something." But I had other plans.... In no time we were in the kitchen, me chopping, Darien placing potatoes in the bottom of a roasting pan, talking about onions and why they make our eyes water, and rubbing a chicken with salt and rosemary. Afterwards Darien decided that he wanted to work on making a comic book and "watching something" wasn't mentioned again (at least not for the rest of the evening.)

Morning Solutions

We are a house of slow starters in the morning. No matter how early we get up (or make the attempt) when it comes time to leave we are rushing out the door with a flurry of "Do you have your back pack? Shoes? Socks? Shoes??????" as our 6-year old son lounges on the floor reading or playing with his train set, oblivious to the fact that school start times are not negotiable. 

So, having gotten tired of trying things that didn't work or only worked for a short time like making lists  (Brush teeth, put on clothes, etc), repeating the message x10 ("Please brush your teeth. ...Have you brushed your teeth?") I decided to try something new the other day to get my son's attention. Actually it was his idea that we communicate via walkie-talkie Monday morning and that, in turn, gave me the idea to follow-up on the morning routine in a more playful way. Me: "This is command central. Do you read?" "Are your socks and shoes on?" This elicited not only giggles but a speedy response. Why hadn't I thought of this earlier? Since that morning we've used the walkie-talkies again and again; instead of feeling frustrated I'm getting out of the door 5 minutes early every morning!

Parenting in the year 2010

My friend Lucy recently sent me an email entitled TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !! While it's long, I want to share a few quotes here:

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

I'm not one to want to turn back the hands of time - because, really I like my smart phone and the past came with its share of problems - but I do wax nostalgic for the memories of riding the bus at age 6 with my friend to ballet class with no parents along for the ride or spending summer days across various backyards adjacent to mine to live out adventures in tree houses and forts, returning only to check in for lunch and returning at dusk in time for dinner at age 8.

Living in urban San Diego in the year 2010, children at age 6 don't take the bus by themselves and most of our friends are accessible by freeway rather than across backyards. So how do we, as urban parents, raise creative, adventurous kids in the year 2010? That's what this blog is all about. Along with generating kid and family friendly ideas, I hope that this blog will also lead to good discussions about how we bring more fun into our family's lives.