I was gardening with my preschool group. For some of them it was the first time having this experience. We prepared the soil, planted the seed and watered our “garden”. As soon as we were done some of my students said – And the plant? Why don’t we see it come out? I explained to them that we needed to wait a couple of weeks to see a sprout. I said -Maybe before Christmas we will see something growing. They were content and ready to care for the seeds we just planted. Their initial reaction helped me reflect that we need to create environments for children where not everything comes fast and easy. Childhood is not just about magic, fun, novelty and excitement. Our children should know how to wait, how to be still, how to work for the pleasure of working not for a prize or external recognition. As teachers and parents we can try to hold the praise, we can delay gratification (you can have the toy you want for your birthday not on Friday when we run to Target). As adults we can model the joy of doing activities that take time and work like wood working, reading, fishing, knitting, nature walks. Let’s provide our children with experiences where their sense of wonder becomes alive, where they take risks, where they get bored and where they have a REAL life.