1. Your kids take to the natural world.
Dandelion
Unsolicited and on their own. Our daughter Nanna found this dandelion wildcrafting and then took this incredible photo (both unbeknownst to us- a surprise while uploading the photos!). Dandelions are pretty rare in Central Florida, which prompted her fascination of this natural creation. (Photo credit: Nanna, age 9)
2. You give your kids plenty of unstructured free play.
Free and in the wild. Where creativity and fun flow rampant.
3. Your desktop grounding mat makes an excellent sketch pad.
Grounding Mat
Family traditions. My Dad’s famous words for us kids, “You’re grounded!”, now takes on a whole new meaning for the next generation. Artistic pursuits have no end in our house. If it is a solid object, then it’s fair game! (Art credit: Mase, age 3)
4. Your slow juicer doubles for an awesome racetrack.
Green Star Racetrack
Health Speedway. Finding unexpected signs that little people are at creative work is a delight. (Well, almost always :).
5. You embark on surprise Easter Egg Hunts, finding tops of eaten peppers and strawberries.
Trail of Pepper Tops
Wild Decor. Common hiding places include the couch, bookshelves, chairs, desk, counters, and in the garden…anywhere, really. Good times! At least they like healthy snacks! And it is pretty easy to identify who left what, as they are all drawn to different favorite foods.
6. You teach your kids where their food comes from at an early age.
Pappy’s Patch U Pick Strawberries
Pappy’s Patch, Oviedo. On this fun outing, our kids made the front page of the local newspaper. Farmers are important. Supporting the local food community is important. Find some new Pick Your Own traditions below.
http://www.pickyourown.org/ For USA and outside of US.
For Florida.
7. Your planting containers make great sandboxes.
Grow Box Planter
Party in a box. Here, some newly emerged cabbages were challenged for hardiness and resilience. The weight bearing test included sand and some local eucalyptus mulch. The cabbages under the load passed the test, unscathed (this time).
8. Your home harvest is picked as soon as it is spied.
1 Year Old Picks Cucumbers That He Sees
Eye Spy. Sure, I’m only 1 1/2. But I know what good is! (Green tomatoes, baby sprouts.) Mommy, I found your produce in the garden again…
He makes the cutest produce delivery guy, ever! His love of gardening is gene deep now.
9. Being in nature is NORMAL.
Outdoor Play
Bear boy. My kids always seem happiest when they are outside and in their element. “When you are out in nature, you feel like you belong out there. If you look up in trees, you can see more than just leaves. You can see the world.” -Nanna, age 9
10. You teach your family that growing your own food beets buying it from someone else.
Homegrown Beets
Just do it! Grow whatcha can, when ya can, where ya can. Some are better than none! These beets were grown exceptionally east in a Central Florida winter, in a GardenPatch Grow Box on a large screened patio.
Kathryn van Zwieten is a Natural Health & Life Coach, Researcher, Lecturer, Author, Creative Chef, and Executive Director of Healing Harvest, L.L.C. Known as a visionary and entrepreneur, Kathryn fuses her high creativity and passion to bring the education of natural and restorative healing to many. She inspires others to live a healthy lifestyle, by having learned from her own miraculous healings and those of her children, as she shares the latest scientific truths and giftedly guides others to fill in missing gaps in their own health journey. Helping others achieve their ‘highest human potential’ is her mission. Her favorite question is, “What is humanly possible?”- because she is ready to trail blaze to find out.
Kathryn’s most passionate areas of interest include human brain development beginning in the womb, biological pathway communication (cellular and relational), mitochondrial restoration, the gut/brain axis connection, epigenetics/nutrigenomics, genetic SNPs, consciousness and quantum physics.
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