Last evening we had a lovely, unexpected visit from Curly-Locks. Although, it didn't start off so happily because he came to us because he had an ear-ache. The rest of the family and visitors were off elsewhere.
At first he only wanted to sit quietly and have me read a couple of his favourite books for him. Fortunately, Apis Levisticum soon had him feeling better and as the evening was warm and completely still, when he wanted to play outside, I felt that was okay for him.
And then I had an idea. Cheryl's birthday will be coming up before long and why not let Curly-Locks plant some radishes to give to her? Yes, she likes them, and they're fast.
So that's what we did. Then they needed watering. This summer we have water restrictions in our area and we're making use of our waterbarrel. Oupa fixed a short length of hose onto the tap, and we fill the watercan from there.
Curly-Locks decided he was going to do this all by himself. First of all, the tap was tight so he had to battle to open it. I stood by, so tempted to help, but holding back. Lo and behold, soon he succeeded and managed to turn it off properly as well.
He syphoned water into the can. "It's heavy," he said. "Can you manage?" I asked. "Yes." So, getting totally into it, he watered the newly planted seeds, the flowering beans and the fruiting tomatoes.
We both came back inside with a sense of accomplishment.
Sometimes it's hard not to step in and help, but it's hugely advantageous to the child if he or she can struggle a bit... and often succeed. If help is needed, that's okay too because already they've put their will into the task. A good lesson and practice for later on in life.
