when my monsters were old enough to grasp and kinda understand through demonstrations, the world of teaching opened up far beyond their store bought toys. life itself when growing up is all about learning while playing, and in truth the accomplishment of mastering something new is what drives each of us to success today.
bringing home massive tractor tires and filling them with dirt was the first step in the art of creating life as it's one thing to play in the sandbox or down at the beach with your shovels and pails but when using those same tools for in a different manner is how a garden grows.
being handed a packet and opening it up to reveal what still looks like specks of dust, planting them with stubby little fingers and then carrying sand pails full of water back and forth from the kitchen sink all to bring the look of awe and amazement when that first little green shoot poked its head above the dirt. after the whole neighbourhood not only heard about all of the goings-on but were given the whole tour of their garden began the process of learning something new, whether it be for gardening or perhaps not, as not everyone has what is called a 'green thumb'.
looking back upon that time shows us our own growth, as at first one methodically following the instructions written on the back of the seed packet to now, winging it to see what can happen when you experiment while doing something like this or like that.
this is how my nursery does things as it's hard to play by the rules when there are no rules to be followed. it's something like having a whole handful of seeds, placing them into that same sand pail and then scattering them all across the garden. my guess is that this is how faeries are made.