This weekend the family and I spent some time at my step-mom’s house. Both her front and back yards are currently under construction, making grown-up sized garden tools more readily accessible than usual to my ever-curious little explorer.
He found himself a quiet spot of dirt and proceeded to drag each of four different tools – two rakes and two shovels – back and forth between their resting spot and this patch of the garden.
These tools are by no means lightweight, and my son is just a little guy. But he would not be stopped! Check out that look of determination!
Once he arrived at his little patch of dirt, it was as if he knew instinctively how each tool was supposed to work. First, he needed to rake the dirt to make it smooth.
He soon found that the shovels were immensely helpful at digging and tossing unwanted dirt aside.
That was followed by some general reorganization and clean up of the area, so it was more to his liking, I assume.
After a few minutes with one tool, he would do the responsible thing – take it back and swap it for another one. He was content to repeat this act for the better part of an hour and I was honored to have a front row seat for the show.
This post is just one of many dedicated to play at the Childhood 101 “We Play” link up. Head on over for more ideas!
Kelly, we've planted our first garden this spring and so far nothing's dead. You should consider trying it!<br /><br />Christie, sometimes you just gotta sit back and see what happens, huh? Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I love the sense of dedication and perseverance you share in this post and I really appreciate that you let him play with the adult sized gardening tools.
Dirt and boys make a wonderful combination. I'm not much of a gardener, although I love gardens — I just tend to kill them :S
Joyce, cheers to grandparents playing! I am so thankful that my step-mom has joined us on so many of our nature adventures. <br /><br />Eileen, thanks for visiting!<br /><br />Crystal, I'm continually amazed at the determination of little kiddos wanting to help out the big kids & parents.
I love this! Kids love the opportunity to use the big, "grown-up" tools! My husband's a landscaper, so Shane's always lugging around huge shovels or rakes, and it's just so cute.
Wow, I love this template! And I guess I'll be visiting often for the fun you and your family are having 🙂 Cheers!
My grandson is now 8 years old but from about 18 months or so his favorite thing was to be outside with my husband and myself. I am an avid pot gardener and when ever the weather permit we are on the deck planting, watering and feeding the plants. My grandson and his mother now have a garden of their own. Tools are not only for boys they are for grandmas too. Play is great for all ages.
Thanks for stopping by everyone! 🙂 It was nice to share something from the little explorer's take on outdoor fun. He reminds me that nature play at its best is simple & dirty! 🙂
Wow… he looks like he's having fun! And its amazing that he actually took the trouble the bring the tools back and swop them. 🙂
What an great activity… looks like he had a lot of fun playing with "big boy" tools. My sons love to help out in the yard. 🙂
Looks like some serious play is going on. My sons love using the tools too.
Awww, boys and their tools 🙂
Big Roo just LOVES being outside helping daddy with the yardwork. Looks like he had a good time trying out all the tools!
Looks like he's having a great time… maybe I should hire him to come work in my garden!?!
Oh wow, this is so beautiful!
Awesome! Look how strong he is!
What a cutie he is, and so serious about his work! 🙂
My boys love playing with gardening tools, too. I guess that makes sense–they want to do what adults do. We found some shovels, rakes etc that are smaller, but still real, usable tools. They really love those!