Joy Burton

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since May 17, 2020
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Recent posts by Joy Burton

Like others have said, it’s important to reframe what it means to be productive. If you think of it as “gosh I only got X done today” you are missing the bigger picture. I started telling myself, “I did 16 hours of hard work building sturdy, loving, smart, educated, productive human beings... started from scratch! And as a bonus I got X done too! X is the garden chore, laundry, cooking, etc.. Gardening alone might get more done that day but gardening with kids adds another lifetime of gardening on top of your own, if you’re lucky!

Scavenger hunts/I Spy and teaching kids while working were natural things for us to do. Who can find something pink? I spy a square shape... This is a tomato plant, T-T-Tomato starts with what letter? Let’s count how many tools are in the bucket! Letters, numbers, shapes, names, colors! Your hands can be working while you are communicating, engaging, teaching.

Tracing paper or making leaf rubbings are lots of fun when you need to keep kids occupied too.

Now our kids are 13, 13, and 15. (And we recently adopted an older teen who is now 21). They are in the phase now of being complete morons glued to phones and games but with advance notice and bribes they do help with yard cleanup and outdoor activities like hiking. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and am betting when they are adults they will enjoy skills of self-reliance and oneness with nature. You can’t push teenagers to enjoy gardening, the outdoors, or anything- or you risk turning them off and rebelling against it completely.