Gardening - Making a herb garden

Our herb garden

If your child enjoys gardening why not try out a herb garden. It's a great way to get into the gardening scene as the herbs grow easily and it's cheap and easy to do and the herbs make for a delicious addition to any meal.

Today we decided we would get ours going.

Yesterday when we were out at the park we passed by the garden centre and got a small bag of compost and three packets of seeds. The grand total being R$7,35 (roughly £2.60). The seeds we chose were basil, coriander and parsley. We had an old bucket at home which we converted into a planter so that was one extra cost we managed to avoid (do have a good look around your house before buying expensive plastic garden pots - it's amazing what can become a herb garden!)

Putting the soil in

Watering the herbs

I left my son to put large stones at the bottom of our bucket which he really enjoyed then he spent about 20 minutes scooping the compost into the bucket. At this point he lost interest so I did the actual planting but he was game to water them afterwards. 

Now we just water, watch and wait. Keep a look out for our photo updates here and on Facebook.

PROBLEM SOLVING: Throwing toys

Throwing toys is part of a young child's development. They try and test many things as they grow strong and the ability to throw is one of them. But what do you do when the throwing gets out of hand? It's one thing to throw balls in the garden but what about those big chunks of lego that are aimed at the new baby or the truck flying at Grandad when he visits?

When parents used to ask me how to deal with throwing, I would recommend that they remove the toy for a period of time. This is exactly what we are doing with our son. We have a box which we keep on top of the work surface to put the thrown toys. When he trows a toy he is given a warning 'if you throw a toy again it will go in the box and you won't be able to play with it anymore' then if he trows it again the toy goes in the box. It works wonders and he is often upset that the toy has been taken away or asks for the toy later in the day. For now we leave the toys in the box until he has gone to bed that night then we replace them. As he gets older and understands we assume the throwing will become a lot less frequent but also when we take a toy away it may be for a much longer period of time. On a day where the box seems to be getting a bit full its clear he needs the opportunity to throw so we either get outside in the garden with the balls or invent some indoor throwing game. Beanbags in hoops are great.

This tip was brought back to me by one parent. He said his son had begun throwing toys and I talked him through the process. A few days later he said it was working well and I thought that was the end of it. But, a week or so after, he came back to me and said his son was now playing with his toys for a while then saying 'daddy, look' and throwing one of them then saying 'away'. At which point the dad was taking the toy away and the child was happily moving onto another toy. I suggested he sit the child down for a couple of minutes when he threw a toy and remove the whole lot, so , for example, if he was playing with lego and threw one piece then that was the end of lego for the day and the child would sit down for two or three minutes before being allowed to play again. He gave it a go but was back before the week was out. I'd had time to think and I suggested that perhaps the problem wasn't throwing but tidying up. Did the child simply want the toys taken away so that he was free to play with the next thing? So we came up with a new plan. When the boy threw his toys he would go immediately and sit down. When his time was up (a minute per year so if a child is two they sit for two minutes) he would have to tidy the toys away then they would be taken away. Well, it did the trick and the child stopped throwing his toys (even if he still disliked tidying up).

This is definitely a scenario for a slightly older child as there are several processes and the child needs to be able to comprehend the situation. But if a child has worked out that throwing a toy means they will be tidied for him and he can play with something else, then he is probably older anyway.

Learning where food comes from - planting our vegetables

After reading an article on Yahoo! this week about the shocking ignorance among children regarding where their food comes from, I felt it was time to start showing our boy in a serious manner. So the vegetable garden has begun! 

We have already planted basil in little pots in the kitchen (see post when babies become toddlers - practical life activities) but I felt it was time to get things going outside too. Gardening is great for gross and fine motor skills and gets children touching dirt and caring for a living thing, not to mention the fresh air! 

Before we got to the garden we selected our potatoes and I talked to him about the process. I know he is too young to understand but it gives him vocabulary and is always nice to tell your child what and why they are doing something.

We got our big planting tub out and had a great half hour filling it with soil. I really just sat back and watched after he got the hang of what he had to do. He and the rabbit enjoyed getting the mud and when he was tired I helped him finish off. Once the tub was full we made the holes and planted our potatoes. We used two large baking potatoes that had just started to sprout. Then we covered them up and had another fun 10 minutes watering them! We also planted an onion that was sprouting although I have read that this may not work but i'm game for a try.

Now his work is to water the plants each day (while I hang out the washing) and watch them grow. The potatoes usually grow large greenery and should be left for around 4 months before harvesting. We will update this post with pictures as our potatoes grow!

What are your best gardening efforts and what have your children enjoyed most? Any ideas are gratefully received.

First update: 

Onions (left) Potatoes (right)

Our potatoes have begun sprouting shoots and the onions are really taking off!

 

 

 

 

 

Harvest time!

The onions were a disaster and really didn´t grow, but the potatoes were magnificent and really yummy for tea tonight!                         

Product review - Quinny Zapp Xtra

Today we give our opinion on the pushchair we have used with our boy since he was a few months old - the Quinny Zapp Xtra.

We, like most families, spent a long time deciding on our pushchair of choice. We took many things into consideration such as size, mobility, comfort and positions. Cost was also a consideration but a little lower on our list. 

As we live in Brazil we decided that we would be using our pushchair for walks around the village and when we would go to the shopping centres. It is not normal for people to use pushchairs in restaurants or town centres so we would fit in with the culture and do as others do (also the streets and shops are not prepared for pushchairs).

We knew we wouldn't be using our pushchair on public transport as there are no adequate ways to do that in our city.

With all these considerations in mind we settled on the Quinny Zapp Xtra. One thing we really love about this pushchair is that it is suitable from a very young age and with the inlay can be used from birth. The pushchair has 5 positions both front and rear facing which is great for when your baby is tiny and also to recline an older child if they have a doze. It is easy to recline and doesn't disturb a sleeping child. 

One drawback to this pushchair is that it is in two parts. The base folds down very neatly but the seat is quite bulky. For us it is not a big problem as we use the pushchair in select places but I can imagine having to fold it down to get on a bus would be quite a challenge if you are alone. I do know that Quinny have now released the folding seat so I assume this would solve the problem but as we have managed for our first son we will just manage for our second son too!

All in all we are really pleased with our pushchair and have had no desire to trade it in. It has done 18 months for our first guy and is still in really good condition. It is simple to clean and hasn't scuffed around the frame at all. To find out more visit the Quinny website.

Seeing the world from a new perspective

In today's post I wanted to talk about the changes that happen to us as adults when we become parents. When our son was born neither me nor my husband had any idea of the things our child would teach us and how we must take full advantage of all the natural beauty in the world. 

Last weekend we had a family trip to a nearby beach and fishing town. It is called Laguna and is about a 2 hour drive from us. We wanted to show our son some traditional fishing and Laguna is a special place to do this as the fishermen have expert help in the form of dolphins. Our son is really in to sea animals at the moment and we thought it would be a perfect place to take him to see some big sea animals in action and for free!

The moment we arrived he was off like a shot out of the car and running along the sand, happy to be free of his car seat and sitting position. He reached the edge of the water and while me and my husband were scanning the horizon for a glimpse of the dolphins our boy was already shouting 'whale, whale' (his word for anything in the sea) at the top of his lungs. We were so impressed with how quickly he could see them and identify them as something he knows. 

We spent a few hours enjoying the dolphins and seeing the fish that had been caught before making our way to our hotel for a rest. While our son took his nap me and my husband began discussing his fast perception of things. We've noticed how he hears birds when we would hear nothing. He sees diggers from miles away and often tells us where the moon is at night. 

The next morning we were up early (we are now very early risers) and as breakfast wasn't going to be served until 7.30am we decided to take a walk and see the sun rise and occupy our little guy to take his mind off food! The sun was just coming out of the sea as we reached the viewpoint and our little man got very excited before turning around and showing us the moon. He then went from the sun to the moon about 20 times with an expression of sheer pleasure. We too were thrilled to see such a beautiful scene which was enhanced by his joy.

As we walked back to the breakfast room our boy started telling us something. We stopped and listened and my husband said he could hear an owl. We listened for a while and realised it was coming from the ground. We glanced around and saw three small owls on a grassy patch. We would never have seen them had our boy not pointed out the sound. 

When we got home we took the dog for a walk and continued to discuss how much our son is showing us. So much that we miss. While we were stood in the field watching our dog and boy running free we decided to listen hard and see how many sounds we could hear. Its amazing. I think we counted around 9 different sounds in what could be considered a noiseless field. 

How often do we stop and listen? How much are we missing by staying in bed another hour or putting the TV on instead of sitting at the back door? It really made us think and we'll definitely be getting out the door and opening the windows to see what the world has to offer us.

Watch the dolphins in action on this BBC clip