Ramblings About My Naturalist Son
by mathe | Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 10:15 am | Life as I See it |
My younger boy is a born naturalist. Currently, his fascination is in plants and their growth process. It is one thing to have a child who loves nature, but it is quite something else when he insists for us to have plants whilst we live in a small fourth-floor flat. In other words, he presented me with this problem and I could not quite accommodate his simple request, no matter how much I would have wanted to plant him an entire garden.
Fortunately for him, they had a small “project” in Sunday school a month ago and he went home with a little pot half-filled with soil. He solemnly declared that in that pot were some sunflower seeds. He was so excited he wanted to watch it grow right then and there. After some explanation that it will gonna take a while before he sees anything sprouting out of the soil, he agreed to wait.
By the way, of course, we had no choice but to allow him to keep his plant. So, we placed the pot by the window, as he declared in that solemn voice once again, that his sunflower will gonna need a lot of sunshine and water.
Perhaps, he could not grasp how much time he had to wait before he sees any change in his plant. Within a few hours after getting home from church, he asked me again if the plant is coming out yet. To make a long story short, he was able to comprehend the complexities of germination only after about three attempts at making him understand the process.
So now, his sunflower plant is about a foot tall and we have another problem – moving it to a bigger pot. My husband does not like to disappoint our budding naturalist by letting his plant choke in its small pot. But we have no choice because we just don’t have the space inside the flat, much less an outside space where to plant it.
This problem was remedied when just this week, our little boy once again solemnly declared that he has another sunflower plant in school, where their teacher allowed them to plant their own. This is all part of their Science experiment, where they water and care for one plant and totally neglect another one – to see which one will thrive. So, at least, if his plant in our house indeed “chokes” in its microscopic pot, at least, he has another one as a fallback.
Being a sympathetic little soul, our boy now has another problem – the plant they are depriving of water and sunlight. “Poor little plant,” is all that he could say.
Well, there you go. At least, as early as now, he will come to understand the importance of nourishment, which I have taken advantage of, by the way. I just remind him of how that plant does not have any water to “drink” or sunlight to “eat” and it does not grow and just dies away. Then, he goes about the business of finishing his dinner. Great!
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He he he, you are lucky to have a son like him who appreciates nature. This is rare nowadays. Good post. Thanks for sharing.
My neice and i planted some herbs yesterday. It was so much fun til he decided to see if “Aunt Lessa” liked to eat the dirt. Blech.
Oh well……at least it was fun for a bit lol. Hope your son manages to find himself a bigger pot for his precious little seedling. Kids are so cute with this stuff.
Nessa
That is so sweet! I broke down this year and planted a whole bunch of seeds with my daughter and they’ve turned into little plants that now need to be transplanted outside. I just can’t find the time to get that part of the job done!
I hope your son continues to enjoy his plantings.
Hello Hotmama
Thanks for visiting my site and for commenting.
You write beautifully I wonder if you would like to join my next blog carnival and submit one of your beautiful articles for publishing? Let me know you may email me at: ecopolitan.living@gmail.com or leave a comment on my blog.
Thanks and have a good start to the week.
Eco-mama
Jenaisle, I am indeed lucky to have this little boy and learn from his thirst and enthusiasm for life and learning. We went to the park one day and we brought his scooter along. He ended up slumped on the grass in the park with his helmet, knee and elbow pads – observing the birds, squirrels and insects around him, the scooter long forgotten.
Thanks for dropping by!
Lynne, I hope you get around to transplanting those baby plants you have. I’m sure your daughter will love it!
Thanks for visiting my blog!
Eco-mama! Hello! I remember your blog – the healthy kind of thing, isn’t it? I would be honoured to write an article for you but I really need at least a week in advance to come up with a “palatable” piece.
I write well only when the passion and the mood and the environment all conspire in my favour, so I hope I can come up with one good post for you.
Will drop you a note later, ok? Thanks for dropping by!
Nessa, dear, thanks for dropping by! Yes, even mundane things can become quite enjoyable when shared with kids. My hubby is bent on buying a pot and some good soil for the boy’s plant.
Thanks!