In fact, as I write this, I am sitting here doing my best to force motivate my violin player through his practice.  It’s not always easy. He’d rather be playing Xbox, or tug-a-war with his dog, or making up stories with his Halo Megabloks – anything but practicing. (Except, well, taking a shower and washing his hair, of course.)

But I know something he doesn’t. Finnish researchers (Did you know my maiden name was Koivisto? Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I like these scientists so much) have just developed a new method that shows the wide neural networks (including motor, emotions and creativity) that become activated all over the brain as music is listened to. Now scientists have an even better way to understand how music affects us.

Just like eating your vegetables and fish and getting enough vitamin D have a profound impact on my children’s physical health and development, regular music lessons/classes from an early age increases my children’s ability to learn. That’s a scientific fact, not just my opinion.

Here are a few examples of how scientists and researches believe music helps the brain:

• Studies have shown that music lessons/classes assist the brain to process sounds more efficiently. This means that when your child is trying to stay focused on reading a history text in a noisy classroom, he or she will have an easier time concentrating than a non lesson taker.
• Fast forward to a grown up job in one of those tiny cubicles. Multi-tasking and concentrating in a busy, loud office is an essential skill, one your violin player is much more likely to have.
• One researcher has found that the silence between two musical notes triggers the brain cells and neurons, which are responsible for the development of sharp memory.
• Other studies demonstrate that children who undergo musical training have a better verbal recall than those who have none. The amount of information that can be recalled increases the longer their period of musical training.
• Learning a second language is mandatory for high school graduation. Musicians are much better than non musicians at discerning the subtleties in pitch in foreign languages. This is especially helpful for tonal languages, like Mandarin.
• Coordination and concentration are also improved when a child takes instrument lessons. Think about what a flute player does all at the same time – moves both hands, reads music, listens to the players around him, watches the conductor – that’s a lot to coordinate!
• We know that music stimulates the areas of the brain that are responsible for planning and analyzing, thereby improving your organizational skills and making you more capable of handling math, reasoning and other cognitive tasks.
• And I think most importantly, when a child masters a piece of music or a difficult technique, it provides a sense of accomplishment, and gives a boost in confidence that spills over into all areas of life and produces a desire to tackle more challenges.

I want my children to grow up and have a good work ethic, an eagerness to try new things, the ability to reason and think, and the confidence that they can successfully navigate life.  The music they participate in now will help them accomplish just that.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is going to make salmon burgers tomorrow night for dinner. After she wrestles her violin-playing 9 year old into the shower in the morning.

The special thing about this book is that it has excerpts from real moms who documented how they were feeling week by week as their baby was growing. They would also document what their babies were doing as the weeks were going by as well. Again, for me, this was reassurance to know that each baby has different temperaments and is going to grow differently.

Miles at 5 weeks.

Here’s an example: I remember when Miles hit the 5 week mark. He was very fussy and it was very hard to get him to sleep. He would put up the greatest fight to go down and sometime he never made it down. He just cried the whole time until his next feeding.

This is when I picked up The Wonder Weeks and started reading as fast as I could! Well, wouldn’t you know, 5 weeks is when babies have their first fussy time, which leads into a ‘magical leap forward’.

After we made it through the 5^th week, both my husband and I realized that Miles was actually responding to music and he was starting to notice and play with his hands! He had started showing off his new skills that he was processing through during his fussy time.  What a pleasure to be able to watch and participate in his learning.  We were able to enjoy this because we knew what to expect.

Another thing that has been helpful about  The Wonder Weeks, is that there is a graph in the beginning of the book that charts out predicted fussy times. I’m a visual person, so this is very nice. I can quickly flip to this chart and see where Miles fits age-wise and see if he is in a sunny period (his personality is shining through) or a stormy period (more fussy than normal).

Here is one last example: Miles has been really cranky lately. I’ve stopped telling people how many weeks he is because I just can’t keep track. So, when people ask how old he is I’ll say 3 ½ months instead of weeks. But because he has been so cranky lately, I decided to count the weeks and check the chart in this book. Sure enough, Miles is in a stormy period and things are changing.

Miles has been very testy when it comes to sleeping. He has been having a really hard time going down and we can’t figure it out. He also doesn’t like my husband putting him down. He will cry and cry and cry with Casey, but then I’ll take him and he’ll quiet right down. This process has been really rough for both Casey and I because Casey feels rejected and I feel like I don’t get a break.

Miles at 17 weeks.

After counting how many weeks old Miles is, 17 weeks, he falls smack in the middle of a fussy time. I should’ve known! So, I just opened the book to refresh my memory about some of the changes that are going to be happening to Miles and about every description in the book is exactly what Miles is going through. Trouble sleeping, being cranky, shyness of strangers, entertaining him while he is awake; all of these things are written in this book and documented by the Moms who participated in journaling what their child was doing during this time. Talk about not feeling alone!

I am so grateful for this book, The Wonder Weeks. It has helped me a lot with being patient with my baby and myself. It will be a go-to book for me as Miles grows and gets older.

-posted by Miss Anna, who will be recommending this book to every Mom that she knows, and thinks that if you get the chance, you should check it out.

People have recommended books galore for us to read, Baby Wise, The Baby Whisperer, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Happiest Baby On The Block and the list goes on.  Being the new mom that I am, I figured that I should start reading up on some of these so I can know what I’m doing, right?

Newborn Miles (before the fussies start)

Well, I remember my second day alone with Miles and my mom had said she was headed over to help and hang out. As soon as she opened the door to our apartment, I burst into tears! It had been an awful day the day before and a really tough night. I was so ready for some reinforcements by the dawn’s early light!

While being able to process out loud some of my thoughts, I realized that I was carrying a ton of weight on my shoulders about how Miles should conduct his days and nights. All of these books were telling me how to do things and I was thought that I was gleaning from all of them. I would read a book and then try to put into practice what they had ‘suggested’.

Finally, I realized that my sweet baby boy did not fit into any book! He is his own little person and he has to figure out a schedule of his own. His tummy will tell him when he is hungry and his eyes will tell him when he is tired.  And as for being a mom, I had to trust my instincts and listen to my baby.  So, I returned all the books to the various friends and libraries and set out on my own to figure this new thing out!

With all of this new information being thrown my way, I did retain some. One book, however, I pick up and read as Miles grows. This book is called The Wonder Weeks. I have to say, this book is such a lifesaver to me! If anything, this book gives me peace of mind that whenever I couldn’t and can’t figure out what is going on with my new little one, he is more than likely growing. And with that, comes a whole bunch of changes in behavioral patterns.

This book covers the 10 fussiest phases in a baby’s first year and a half. Through these fussy phases come wonderful leaps forward in a baby’s development. He learns new skills through these fussy times and is proud to show them when they are through the storm.

If anything, this book taught me to let go of having control. To know that if Miles is in a proven ‘fussy time’, that his normal day to day patterns might be a little off. So if he wants to eat every 2 hours and sleep for 4, it’s ok. If he is staying awake for 3 hours at a time, it’s ok. If he is crying and clinging to me, it’s ok (even if I’m totally annoyed with this!).

-posted by Miss Anna, who will tell you the rest of the story (aka “magical leaps forward”) tomorrow.

What happens if you don’t work out your grownup body? You know the answer to that. But do you know what could happen if your child doesn’t work out those 11 muscles and their lungs? Their breath control will be affected. Why is that a big deal?

Breath control is directly related to the ability to speak, sing, or read a complete sentence.  Poor breathing (mouth breathing or shallow breathing) can cause high blood pressure. Optimal breathing helps promote weight loss, as oxygen burns fat and calories. (Maybe that one is more for the grownups!)

Breathing well is the key to sleeping well and waking rested. Breathing provides 99% of your energy. When playing a wind instrument, a good tone is almost entirely dependent of good breath control, although a good instrument helps!

Only one third of lung capacity is used in normal breathing. Think about the Swiss freediver who held his breath underwater for 19 minutes and 21 seconds! I’ll bet he was using his full lung capacity.

Now that you understand that you need good breath control, here are a couple of ways to promote it with your preschooler this week.

Straw Painting

I was going to do a whole picture/explanation thing here, but I found a craft blog that did it beautifully, and who doesn’t like a linkback? So, here you go. Tons of fun. And I think that you grownups should try it, too. I’m going to.

Slide Whistle Play

1. If you have a Kindermusik Imagine That student at home (and you have a preschooler, you really should have them in Imagine That – shameless plug, here), then pull out your slide whistle. (Or, get thee a slide whistle if you don’t! Either plastic or metal works great.)
2. Learn the song Windy Weather. It’s #14 on your See What I Saw Home CD 2. Or, download it here. (But you really should be enrolled in class…)
3. Now, sing the song, rather than playing the music. That will allow you to control the tempo and change the words.
4. Start with the slide all of the way pulled out. Sing “Windy weather, windy weather, when the wind blows…” Then blow into the slide whistle, as you push the slide up.
5. Now change the last words to “We all fall down together.” Then blow into the slide whistle as you pull the slide down.
6. Now sing it slowly, sing it fast, sing it quietly, sing it loud. The loud and slow versions are where breath control really comes into play. You have to control your breathing by letting out a little air at a time, in order to make it through the louder blow, or the slower pull on the slide.

Now for a little bit of inspiration. Think that slide whistle is not a “real instrument”? Just watch Tom Goslin (a professional guitar player who is well known in the pit orchestra world) perform the Allegro from Sonata in C major for viola da gamba and Continuo by Carl Frederic Abel. (He played cello and viola in Bach’s court orchestra. Abel, I mean. Not Goslin.) You guessed it – on slide whistle.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, whose hero (because she’s a low brass player), is Arnold Jacobs, the one-lunged tuba player, who was the principle tubist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 44 years, and not surprisingly, was an expert on breath control.

Image: Worakit Sirijinda / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are two kinds of steady beat. The first is internal, which is unique to every person. You are born with your own inner tempo. Think about yourself – how fast does your “clock” tick? Do you walk fast, talk fast, expect quick results? Get frustrated when everything or everyone else can’t keep up? Your internal tempo is probably allegro!

My 9 year old son’s internal beat is much slower than mine. He needs to process and “cook” information. As a Suzuki violin momma, I have to participate in his practice. After 2 years, he finally said, “You’re going too fast. You’re confusing me. It’s too much information at once.” If only I had recognized that before. If I continue to coach him at my pace, I’m going to frustrate him, and he’ll probably end up hating violin. Practice is now relatively easy on both of us.

Faster internal steady beats don’t equal brighter children; my easy-going middle child is just as smart as my speedy 12 year old.  They just both like the information presented to them at a tempo that matches what is going on inside. If I keep that in mind, I’ll be a better parent.

We cannot change an internal working tempo. It’s yours for life. We can, however, teach children to be flexible to match an external steady beat with the activity they are doing. Why do we do this? You don’t want to cut out a delicate paper snowflake at 90 miles an hour! Nor do you want a slow tempo child to read at a snail’s pace.

Babies come ready made with their own internal steady beat. Sometimes in class, a song will play that is pretty close to their own tempo. Then that baby will tap his drum right in time to the music, and all the grownups in class will ooohh and aaahh at this little musical genius!

It isn’t usually until they reach age 3 or so that they begin to be able to match an external source of steady beat, such as playing instruments to a song, or marching. And we don’t really expect consistent beat matching to occur until between Kindergarten and 2^nd grade.

But because the ability to match a steady beat is so vital to success in many other skills, we do start steady beat practice from the very earliest Kindermusik class – Village. You can practice at home, too. Here are some fun ideas to try:

For babies and toddlers: To help these little ones to feel an external steady beat, use their bodies. Put your child on your lap and steadily chant a nursery rhyme, or sing a simple song. Bounce your child up and down, keeping the tempo consistent.

For preschoolers: Hold hands, a rope, a stretchy band or a large scarf between you. Sing a song your child knows (so she doesn’t have to think about the words) and sway or rock back and forth together. You can change the tempo every couple of repeats.

For young schoolchildren: Put on one of your Kindermusik Young Child CD’s or their current musical favorite. Music that changes tempo is especially good, so try some classical music. Give your child a big sheet of paper and some markers or crayons. Have your child draw (lines, dots, circles, squiggles, etc.) to the tempo of the music. Ask questions like: “What does this slow music look like?”

There are lots of fun ways to practice matching an external steady beat. I’m sure you’ll get creative!

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is determined to workout her internal speedy steady beat muscles by learning to slow down and rest. Actually rest. Stop doing things. Stop thinking. Breathe deep.

What is Your Child Afraid of?

Diagnosing the cause of your child’s fear is the first step to helping you figure out how to help them overcome their fear of water.

Parents identified many sources for their children’s fear of swimming.  Many kids dislike the feeling of water on their faces.  Swimming at a crowded noisy pool may cause fear more related to the mayhem than the water.  Lakes can seem scary to some kids because they can’t see to the bottom or they seem frighteningly large. One mom reported that as a child she felt like the lake might swallow her alive.

A bad water experience that causes a child to panic can cause a normally happy swimmer to become fearful for a time.  Or a harsh life guard or swim teacher can also have a negative impact. Ear aches and other physical issues may affect a child’s feelings about water. Because of allergies and asthma, I was congested most of my childhood, which affected my ability to catch a good breath on land, let alone in the water. While I loved playing in the water, the swimming strokes were difficult and scary for me.

Successful Get Wet Ideas

Figuring out what is hindering your child’s experience with water will help you decide what might help her overcome her fear.  Parents reported making progress with the following ideas:

Goggles:  Most kids seem to enjoy swim goggles, but goggles may be especially important for some—allowing them to get their faces wet, but not all wet. Different styles of goggles cover just the eyes or half of the face.

Private swim lessons:  For reluctant swimmers, the one-on-one teaching of private lessons may help by cutting out the multi-kid splashing and chaos in the pool and allowing for specialized instruction.

Group swim lessons:  For some kids, peer pressure is the necessary force which nudges them to conquer their fears.  As they watch kids their age swim, their desire to fit in becomes stronger than the anxiety holding them poolside.  Splash! In they go to join their pack.

Lake swimming:  With its sloped entry, one mom found that her timid daughter was more willing to go in the lake because she perceived the exit route was more accessible than the all-or-nothing pool ladder.  Going into the water little by little helped her conquer her fear an inch at a time. Today many public pools have shore-like entry too.

Play distraction:  Squirting toys, cups, buckets, diving rings or torpedoes, balls, boats; Toys can provide a distraction from water fear.  When fun is happening, kids want to join in.  For little children, sitting at the edge of the pool or lake and playing splashing games can help them acclimate to the feeling and fun of water.  Friends who are strong swimmers are good role models for water enjoyment. One of the biggest motivators is the invitation to join YOU to play in the water.

Patient Parents Succeed

It’s tough to be patient when we know how much fun our kids will have once they take the dive.  We want them to get over it NOW—because often their fear is holding us or the family back from fun.  Or we’re very anxious for them to swim because of our fear for their safety around water. But patience pays off.  Over and over again parents wrote that patience and persistence was the key to success in getting kids over their hydro-fear.

I still can recall the frustration of paying for swim lessons which my preschool daughter boycotted.  No amount of cajoling, bribing or firmly exhorting helped—until SHE decided she was ready to participate. And now that I’ve done this research, I realize that my introvert daughter was likely more reluctant to join a strange crowd than to get into the water.  After days of skirting the edge of the pool with the instructor sweet talking her, trust was finally established and my daughter happily splashed in!

According to many wise parents whose stories I read, children of every age with every type of fear eventually learned to swim.  The common denominator was that their parents didn’t give up, even if it took several summers of creativity and multiple approaches. They adjusted their expectations and adapted to their child’s needs—no matter what it took.

So that’s the bottom line:  If you lovingly, patiently, persistently keep at it, your child WILL learn to swim.

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who is dedicating this blog to the indefatigable mom whose child finally learned to swim at 12 years old!  Good Job!

This world would be a pretty dull place without the musicians, gardeners, scientists, actors, teachers, therapists, movie producers, artists, architects, dancers, sculptors, lawyers, archeologists and athletes.

Naturalist Intelligence (Nature Smart):

Nature smart children (as you might guess), feel a special affinity with nature, and love to explore and learn about the environment – from animals to cloud formations.  They prefer to be out of doors, doing activities like boating, hiking and camping. From a very early age they prefer television shows about nature or animals. They probably will beg you for a pet. Or three.

These children are good at organizing and cataloging the information from their natural surroundings, and you might expect them to come home with pockets full of rocks, shells, bugs, and plants, and know what they all are!  Nature smart children have keen senses (sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing) which allow them to be aware of subtle changes and details in their environment.

If you have a nature smart child, they might grow up to be a gardener, biologist, archeologist, chef, farmer, geologist or even an FBI agent in a crime lab.

How to Encourage Your Nature Smart Child:

• outside walks and hikes (take a guided tour of a local arboretum or botanical garden)
• create a nature scrapbook with photos, drawings, pressed flowers, etc.
• vegetable and flower gardening
• take care of animals
• collect and observe nature with a microscope or magnifying glass
• stargazing
• DVD Series like The BBC’s Planet Earth and The Seas of Life or Atlas of the Natural World
• visit the zoo, aquarium or a natural history museum
• building – volcano, terrarium, bird feeder

Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart):

These children have the ability to skillfully manipulate both physical objects and their bodies. They have a good sense of timing and eye-hand coordination, and developed physical skills become like reflexes. Body smart children excel in activities like sports, dance and acting. They will likely frequently ask you to take them to the playground. They have a lot of energy, and don’t seem to sit still for long.

Body smart children have good fine and gross motor skills, and enjoy building as well as taking things apart and putting them back together. They learn by doing, rather than hearing or seeing. These children enjoy tactile experiences such as sand, water and play dough.

When they grow up, a body smart child might become an actor, sculptor, builder, dancer, pilot, athlete, surgeon, craftsperson, emergency worker or soldier.

How to Encourage Your Body Smart Child:

• obstacle courses
• hands on crafts – clay, finger painting, cutting with scissors, beading, tracing, knitting, sidewalk chalk
• learn sign language
• messy activities – cooking, gardening, building sandcastles, mud pies, water balloon fights
• active games, both competitive and cooperative
• skits and puppet shows
• build small models or larger structures in your backyard
• draw letters, shapes or simple pictures on each others’ backs and guess what it is
• dancing

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who now appreciates even more the wonderful ways were are individually created.

Classic "Airplane Baby"

4 to 6 months
One of the biggest changes that will occur during these months is that the parts of your baby’s brain that coordinate sight and touch are now integrating the incoming sensory information. This enables your baby to figure out where her hands are in space (thanks to the proprioceptive system), and make them do what she wants.

With the beginnings of depth-perception, this sight/touch sensory integration means he can reach for an object and pick it up. By about 6 months, he is also able to rotate his wrists, and thus manipulate objects.

What to watch for:  These are the signs that your baby’s brain is organizing sensory input exactly as it should.

1. Banging objects and toys. (Against the floor, or two objects together.)
2. Spontaneous bringing together in a clapping motion of her hands in front of her body. This is the first sign of coordination between both sides of her body. To assist in this developmental milestone, you can play clapping games with your baby even before she can play them by herself.

Ram Sam Sam is a children’s song that originated in Morocco, and was a favorite clapping game of my children when they were infants and toddlers, especially on the changing table. You can listen to the song here, 2-22 A Ram Sam Sam and download it directly at play.kindermusik.com.

A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam (clap your baby’s hands or feet together as you sing)
Guli guli guli guli guli (roll your baby’s hands or bicycle his legs)
ram sam sam (clap your baby’s hands or feet together as you sing)
A ram sam sam, a ram sam sam (clap your baby’s hands or feet together as you sing)
Guli guli guli guli guli (roll your baby’s hands or bicycle his legs)
ram sam sam (clap your baby’s hands or feet together as you sing)
A ra-vi, a ra-vi (lift your baby’s arms over his head, or fold his legs up toward his head)
Guli guli guli guli guli (roll your baby’s hands or bicycle his legs)
ram sam sam (clap your baby’s hands or feet together as you sing)
A ra-vi, a ra-vi (lift your baby’s arms over his head, or fold his legs up toward his head)
Guli guli guli guli guli (roll your baby’s hands or bicycle his legs)
ram sam sam (clap your baby’s hands or feet together as you sing)

Touch Me
As babies begin to coordinate sight and touch, they delight in “touching” games. Here’s a fun naming game to play. (And yes, babies can begin to learn body part labels, even if they can’t yet speak the words!) I found many versions of the lyrics brought to the US by immigrants from all over Europe. Many people commented that this was a beloved touch game played with grandparents, even at 4 or 5 years of age. Here are a couple  of versions:

Here is where the coachman sits (touch baby’s forehead)
Here is where he cracks his whip (touch bridge of nose)
Eye winker (touch or circle one eye)
Tom tinker (touch or circle the other eye)
Nose breather (touch nose)
Mouth eater (touch mouth)
Chin chopper (touch chin)
Gully, gully, gully (tickle under chin)

Here sits the Lord Mayor (touch baby’s forehead)
Here sits his two men (touch eyes)
Here sits the rooster (touch cheek)
Here sits the hen (touch other cheek)
Here sits the chickens (touch nose)
Here they run in (touch mouth)
Chin-chopper, chin-chopper,
Chin-chopper, chin! (tickle under chin)

Airplane Baby
At about 6 months, a baby on his tummy really feels the pull of gravity, which gives baby a strong desire to lift up his head, neck, upper back, arms and legs all at the same time, resulting in the classic “airplane” position.

Babies at this age want and need to have their vestibular systems stimulated by rocking, swooshing, twirling, swinging and other similar movements.  One word of caution – every person (grownups, too!) has a level of moment they can tolerate, and it’s different for everyone. If your baby begins to cry during a moving game, this means that the play has become too rough or wild for your baby’s vestibular system to handle, and the level of play is actually causing her brain to disorganize.

Hold your baby firmly around her body, tummy down, in a horizontal position. Take off! Fly your baby around the room, swooshing, dipping, spinning, rolling, starting, stopping as it pleases your baby. Be sure to make airplane sounds! If you would like some musical inspiration, download  Run and Jump/Soaring from play.kindermusik.com.

As your baby turns into a toddler and preschooler, lie on your back on the floor and bend your knees with your feet off the floor. Have your child place his tummy against the bottoms of your feet. Hold onto your child’s hands. Lift your child up towards the ceiling as you raise your feet and fly!

-posted by Miss Analiisa, whose 9 year old Rob would love to still play airplane on her feet, but at 86 pounds, would likely crush the lift-off mechanism.

Earlier related blogs:
Organizing your brain. By the age of 7.
Baby’s Busy First Month
Two and Three Months: From head to hands

Nathan thinking that the best way to help his 3 month old brother to have a steady head is to hold him up by the ear...

From Head

If you remember from the last blog on month one of your infant’s life, the head and neck are the first body parts a baby learns to control. This ability aids in visual perception. In order to be able to focus your eyes on an object, you have to be able to hold the image still, even when your head or body or the object is moving.

In addition, to see clearly, the brain has to coordinate gravity and movement sensations from the inner ear (the vestibular system), and sensations from eye and neck muscles. Babies are born with all the necessary pieces of the visual system in place, but can’t use them properly yet. They have to literally learn to see.

At first, infants have to move their whole head to move their eyes. But around 2 to 3 months, infants learn how to shift their gaze from one object to another without having to move their head.  (As a side note, it’s not until between 4 and 6 months that babies can see the colors blue or violet. So when your 3 month old doesn’t jump for joy every time she sees those purple striped nursery walls you so carefully hand-painted, just wait a month or two.)

Just as the sensations of gravity stimulated the part of the brain that activated the neck muscles of the one month old, the same sensations stimulate the brain to contract the muscles in the upper back of a 2 and 3 month old. Your baby is literally commanded by his brain to raise up his head and upper body when laying his tummy.

Since your baby’s brain is stimulating those muscles, tummy time becomes of utmost importance. I remember Rob’s Occupational Therapist saying how important tummy time was for developing muscles in the back and shoulders, and that she was seeing a lot of Kindergarten and early elementary aged children for fine motor skill issues, and the connection between them seemed to be a lack of tummy time as infants.

One word of encouragement – if your baby doesn’t like tummy time, that’s okay.  Keep trying. Frustration is the catalyst for change. Meaning… she’ll to pull her head and neck up with enough practice, because she doesn’t really want to see the carpet; she wants to see what is around her.

To Hands

As an infant begins to see better, he begins to reach for the objects and people in his space. Unfortunately, hand-eye coordination isn’t very well developed at this point, so he appears to be “batting” at objects with open hands.

When he does grasp something you put into his hand, he’ll only uses three fingers and the palm of his hand (not his forefinger and thumb).  The touch sensations have yet to integrate with the sensations in his muscles and joints in his hands, but when that happens, he’ll be able to make that pincer grasp he will eventually need for the glockenspiel mallets in Young Child!

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who is amazed that children can go from floppy to walking in just 12 short months.

To begin with, a gardening project from the smallest pot on your back porch to a full-fledged vegetable garden requires planning.  Being able to plan a project, implement it, and see it through to the finish will bring great satisfaction and increased self-esteem as you and your child work together as a team.

Meresa in her garden at age 4, with her cat Max.

Gardening together can be such a positive bonding experience. Some of my earliest happy childhood memories are with my mother in our family’s vegetable garden planting green beans.  We would set up the bean poles and string twine between them for the vines to grow up; then my Mom would show me how to poke a hole in the dirt with my finger, place one bean in, and cover it over again–a great exercise of fine motor skills!

Did I mention that as a child I absolutes loved green beans?  I devoured them every time my Mom made them.  When I was four, my Mom took me to a u-pick field, gave me my own bucket and went a little further down the row and left me to merrily pick.  When she returned about 15 minutes later, she was shocked to realize I had picked enough to fill the entire 5 gallon bucket.  (Did I mention I loved green beans?) I figured, the more I picked the more I got to eat.

This brings me to my next point.  Children who grow or pick their own food are more likely to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and make healthier eating choices. Now, I can’t guarantee your children will love vegetables as much as I did (and still do), but I bet if your child has the satisfaction of being involved in the process of growing and harvesting what they eat, they will be much more likely to at least try it.  And, who knows?  Maybe you will turn out to have a ravenous green bean, broccoli, or tomato eater.  We can all hope.

Furthermore, planting and tending a garden provides real-life examples of life processes and opportunities for an increased understanding of ecology, interconnections in nature, and responsible care of the environment.  An easy and inexpensive small project you can do indoors any time of year is to make a terrarium. There is a fantastic guide on how to make one from a soda bottle at www.nationalgardenmonth.org.

Another great resource for gardening with children is the Parents’ Primer at www.kidsgardening.org.  It will help you learn all you need to know to get started gardening with your children.

-posted by Miss Meresa, who encourages you to let the horticultural adventure begin!  And wishes you the best of luck as you start planning, planting, and growing together.