Tactile Stimulation for children away from video game consoles

Get your child some tactile stimulation that they will squeal over that doesn't involve a video game controller.....helping in your garden. I read an excellent article a month ago entitled "Nature's Wonder in a Child's Hands" that inspired this blog. We all remember being given that styrofoam cup with the blackest soil ever and a little seed to plant and watch grow every day we went to school from a seed into a seedling into a little plant. Imagine your child who loves playing in the dirt anyway being able to plant potatoes and then dig his/her little hands in the soil to harvest the food he/she grew. What an experience with so many teaching lessons built right into the experience. Little ones can learn about the power of nature, self-sustenance, and their own power to create. Think about a little tot growing a giant sunflower that will tower over him/her by over 7 feet. What a thrill for the little one! What a great picture for the frame on the mantle. So get off the floor or couch and out into the sun with sunscreen of course and enjoy Mother Nature. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/07/AR2008050701034.html