"A Seed is Sleepy" Book Review and Seed Planting Activity

We started out this morning with purple markers ... what to do next - plant seeds!

A new and fabulous addition to our Spring Reading List, A Seed is Sleepy, arrived at our house a few days ago. This was perfect timing to get us motivated for seedlings. Somehow the February winter has been weighing on us all and the soil, seed starter kit, and seeds we bought weeks ago has been moved between the kitchen and basement at least three times. This book is a gentle and lovely way to get in the mood for spring and planting. The illustrations, diversity, and detail on how a seed starts out and slowly grows roots down and unfolds a plant up, as well as the many different characteristics of a seed are easy and beautiful (yet detailed and informative) reading. We bought this after reading A Nest is Noisy, which is similar in that it is a beautiful addition to a home library as well as perfect for our Spring Reading List.

Today, we read it as a "calm down" from the euphoria of purple body paint and immediately after I was told,

"You want to plant your seeds inside. Mama get the soil."

And so we did ..

I think the reason it took so long after buying the seeds to actually get them planted was my vision of what the floor / house would look like after we were finished planting. This vision definitely actualized, however took only a few minutes to vacuum and made for a very proud three-year-old. It was fascinating to watch the focus and interest (in contrast to the mania of painting on his face) as he carefully scooped the soil, laid in the seeds, gave them a drink, and "patted them down to snuggle in the dark", just as the little girl does in the book Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, also just added to our list.

I actually credit this book for easing us out of the lethargy of winter and infusing the first energy of spring before the sun finally started warming us this past week. It is somehow so gentle in approach and graceful in description that before you know it, you have been through winter, cleared last year's growth, planted a new full garden, harvested, and been welcomed home for a warm bowl of soup. It resonated with me in the same way that full days with two toddlers require an easy and gentle approach to welcome reading after a long morning and a tired cup of tea.

Before I knew it, we had five full trays of seeds planted, watered, and marked and were cleaned up and ready for lunch.

Stay tuned for what happens next!