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| Photo Credit: Felder Rushing |
| Don’t give old shoes the boot – let the kids turn them into containers! |
The other night I was distracted in an elegant restaurant by a preschool child watching a movie – at the table, on a portable DVD player. True, this eatery wasn’t a kid-friendly place with paper tablecloths and crayons, and the kid wasn’t making a ruckus; but neither was he engaged with his surroundings – or with his parents, who in turn were missing (or ignoring) any “teachable moments” that are so precious to a young child’s development.
Maybe I’m being too critical. But without getting into all that “when I was a kid” blather, I would at least have had the kid play with the rosemary garnish; who knows – maybe he would’ve been inspired by the smell, texture and flavor and would someday want to grow his own! | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Felder Rushing | | And you thought kids only liked their potatoes fried… |
Now contrast this with what I saw at a well-designed children’s garden in a prestigious botanical garden: The kids were having the time of their lives, playing in a whimsical fort carved from sturdy cardboard refrigerator boxes – without a lot of bells and whistles.
Kids are like that. Give ’em a play area outside, provide a few essential tools, and just let ’em go.
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