So yesterday I decided to can some apricots. The Mr. brought some home after he ran his crazy 1/2 marathon on Saturday (straight up a mountain. What a man.). I don't know what I was thinking trying to do it while The Bug was awake. It had the potential to be a ginormous disaster.
In fact, however, it turned out to be really fun. At first I tried shoeing him outside to play with the dog. That only worked for a few minutes; he wanted to know what I was doing. So, I showed him what I was doing. And then he helped. First I would hand him the apricot halves and he would put them in the jar. Then he wanted to half the apricots, and he had his own way of doing it, too. He would basically smash the apricot until he could see the pit and then he'd pull it out. You can tell which jars he filled himself, because they look more like jam and less like apricot halves.
I have to say, I am surprised at how much he understood, how well he followed directions, and how delightful it was to work with him. Even if it added a teeny tiny bit more stress and some extra cleanup time, it was totally worth it. Besides, it's not really about canning apricots, is it?
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That is so awesome! You are right - it isn't really about the apricots anyway. I can just see him squishing the apricots to find the pits. He is going to learn to find the joy in everyday activities and also learn that "work" isn't a dirty word. Way to go Mom!
ReplyDeleteHow adorable that he was your little helper! He sounds very smart.
ReplyDeleteYea! I don't think I've ever had my kids help can anything yet... It looks like he had fun! :)
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