a few weeks ago, we received the sweetest crate from our friends at annie’s full of everything we needed to plant a spring garden on our kitchen windowsill! along with the garden kits, the crate was full of some of our favorite snacks, and several vegetables and fruits with tiny notes attached to them so eleanor and samson could learn what kinds of things are inside their favorite snacks and treats. we enjoyed a fun morning of learning where some of our favorite food comes from and also planting our own tiny garden!
^^^since one of annie’s biggest missions is to connect kids to real food, it was a lot of fun to see which vegetables are inside some of our favorite snacks and treats. like potatoes in fruit snacks, or beets and carrots in their cookies!^^^
^^^perhaps a highlight for all of us was watching the dirt “grow” as we added water to those tiny soil pellets before transferring the dirt to the planters. ^^^
^^^as josh and i think more about what goes into our bodies and into our little ones, one of the things we love about annie’s is how their food and snacks are made with real fruit and vegetable extracts as opposed to synthetic food dyes. so no artificial flavors, synthetic colors or preservatives, too.^^^
^^^we also enjoyed coloring some of the learning sheets from the crate! the kids kept talking about grandma and grandpa’s chickens while we did so and now they are anxious to meet and milk a cow one of these days.^^^
^^^i put eleanor in charge of watering our tiny garden! she is taking it pretty seriously so far, which makes me proud. i hope the little plants get enough sunshine from the window until it’s warm enough to transfer them to our fire escape outside. always a little tricky in an urban setting, but we’re determined to keep this little garden going as best we can this spring! wish us luck!^^^
thank you to annie’s, who this post is in partnership with, for thinking of us with this sweet care package!
sausage fingers and crayons…what dreams are made of! ;)
I love creating little gardens, such a cute idea. Makes me look forward to spring!
http://www.mintnotion.com
This is so sweet and smart! My mr. and I always talk about having a garden some day with fresh fruits and veggies, especially once we settle with kids but I worry that we’re both city people as well and the cute solution from Annie’s seems perfect! Good luck E, I can’t wait to see it all grow!
Liefs,
Yara
This is too cute! Is this something they only send out for promotional reasons or do they offer it for purchase? It would be a great classroom project!
What fun your kids got to have on this one!
Thanks for sharing.
http://absolutelytara.com
What a brilliant idea! I love that you are teaching your children about food at a young age, whilst still allowing an indulgence here and there. It’s all about the balance, and it looks like you are finding yours! It’s so amazing that you got to do this in such a kid-friendly way!!
Fingers crossed these things grow – if not, I have found that using seedlings as opposed to seeds speed up the process and work better in urban settings. Our flat has a balcony and last year we even grew tomatos! Herbs (I think) are by far the easiest to grow and definitely up there with getting the most use. Also, it’s super special to get to use your own herbs when cooking – I’m sure your littles would love snipping some fresh basil for lunch ;)
xo
Container gardening is totally doable, and easier than you think! My cousins live on the upper west side and have a bountiful garden on their fire escape. :) I run a children’s garden and it’s so much fun– kids will try ANYTHING when they’ve helped it to grow. My favorite is watching kids try radishes for the first time.
how cool! I want one! too bad I’m such a plant killer
This an awesome idea to get kids fired up about growing their own food! This is the best way to teach kids where our food comes from :)
Hope it grows fast!
Rita
http://heyrita.co.uk
oh my gosh, annie’s is the best. i don’t even have kids, but i love (and have since i was a kid). i travel abroad constantly for work and try to maintain a gluten free diet. i always load up on their snacks before i fly.
So cute! What a cute way to teach them <3
i love this! we love annie’s in my home. their macaroni and cheese is great !
This is so so cute! I saw bleubird got a package a few weeks ago, love the ages of your little ones- so very sweet :)
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
i love this! having a garden in my yard is one of my biggest dreams! living in an urban apartment right now too, this might just be what i have to do!
such a great idea!
http://www.everydaysisters.com
Oh my goodness! How cute is that!! I need a little windowsill garden.
That’s the most clever idea! I bet Eleanor and Samson are so excited to eat healthily after this experience :)
Circus & Bloom
♥♥♥
That looks way too cool. I would love to see how those plants grow up to be.
Love,
Janika
oh my this is sooo cute and convenient for NY appartament! Also such a lovely activity to do with your family, so adorable <3
xo
http://www.evesbreeze.blogspot.com
How neat is this!? Annie’s is such an incredible company – they really hit the mark with providing such great, organic food to littles and bigs alike! Your garden looks amazing, I can’t wait to see it grow!
~ Samantha
Oh my goodness is E’s little smile INFECTIOUS!!
xoxo
http://brookiewords.blogspot.com/
This is such a wonderful idea! My dad is an avid gardener and my siblings and I grew up working in his garden along with him. I can’t say I loved every minute of weeding carrots or picking beans, but there is such satisfaction in growing (and canning) your own food! Not to mention it helped feed a family of 10 and taught us how to work hard. I’m 42 and I still get a kick out of watching the peat pellets “grow” when you add water to them. :)
How cute is this little set up! I love Annie’s! World’s best frozen burritos!
xo
Michaela
http://michaelajeanblog.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MichaelaJeanArt
Hands down, this is my FAVORITE sponsorship you’ve ever done! (and I’ve been reading since before you took on sponsors!)…This was SO SO SO SO SO SO SO CUTE! AND educational!
This is just too adorable! I can’t wait to be able to do this kind of stuff with my kids one day!
good work, Samson & Eleanor!
probably the cutest partnership so far ;) love this!
I hate to be that person , but unfortunately General Mills bought Annie’s and they are pro GMOs.
I love this idea! we plan a garden with my little one every spring and he loves it! He is also in charge of watering the plants, which is so much
Dresses & Denim
Awww! What a cute project..wish they would’ve had something like this when I was young!
Your family is the cutest. Urban gardening is a great idea! –Hanna Lei
Gardening at home to grow your own real food is awesome! Unfortunately, Annie’s has recently been bought by General Mills, a company that is pro GMOs. It was sad to see such a great company sell out.
Hi Taza!
I’ve been a long-time reader, and though I love reading about your life now (especially your happy, positive outlook) I’m pretty far away from babies and having a family myself. I know that some recent college graduates like myself read your blog and I was wondering if you’d consider doing a reflection post about that time in your life. What you liked, didn’t like, or what you know now that you wish you had known then. I always appreciate that sort of wisdom and outlook from someone who has been there recently. Either way, I love your blog and please keep writing!
Much love to you and your family,
Kelsey
What a fabulous idea for little ones. Love it!
Oh my goodness! I love this kit and the idea behind it! I so wish they sold these because I would pick one up in a heart beat. My son loves gardening. We are currently gearing up to buy our first house. My son asked if we could paint it green so we could have a garden the whole year! Hahaha. My husband always talks about how much he wants a green house and I guess our four year thought they were actually green!
I love Annies!! So happy your partnering with them. There food is so clean it squeaks!
Such a cute project – hope your little garden turns out well!
How cute! Such a nice and fun idea. I love to plant and grow things together with my daughter. She finds it so interesting to follow the way from a seed to a plant. Great partnership!!
Hi,
I just found your blog and it’s so inspiring. You’re kids are just so adorable and this activity is really wonderful for them. There’s so many great stuff to read on your blog. I love it.
Stay Wonderful Always,
Heide
heidepadilla.blogspot.com/
That is such a good idea to teach all of that stuff to the children. That is so important they know where their food come from. I like the way you and your children eat bad and good things, I think that is a good balance between eating healthy and sometimes don’t care about bad food and simply enjoy. All is about the balance (for everything !)
Unfortunately, to the people who are planting vegetables or fruits on their balcony in the cities, it absorbs all the pollution in the air so that’s cool to teach that to the children and eat little fruits or veggies sometimes but I don’t think that’s really safe to eat all that things every days.
SO cute! love your family. My goal is to try and grow a little garden this year too
this is such a sweet idea! i always love hearing about your little family, you’re such a lovely mama xx
Oh my goodness, so much fun!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
love this! sooo cute!
xx nikki
http://www.dream-in-neon.com
I love this! I have zero green thumb but it seems like this kind of garden project might be just simple enough for me to wrap my mind around. And nothing says “spring is here!” like watching those shoots emerge from the soil :)
-Zanna
http://zannassky.blogspot.de/
This is so cute! And such great thing for little ones to get involved in. We started an urban garden on our rooftop and we’re already loving watching our little veggies grow!
Maria xx
http://www.sunandshineblog.com
oh I can’t wait for my daughter to grow enough to help me with gardening as well. Your post is so inspiring!
Ina
oh I can’t wait for my daughter to grow enough to help me with gardening as well. Your post is so inspiring!
Ina
http://www.OZofAdventure.com/