This article got my attention from Pinterest in the title. How can you hate Pinterest, I wondered.

I'm a boomer and Pinterest is one of my favorite hobbies...and I will brag that people have called my carefully curated Pinterest "One of the wonders of the world."

I use it to pin visual treats, from jewelry I admire but can't afford, to textiles I appreciate, to beautiful gardens I no longer have the energy to plant. I think I have maybe 45 boards.

I'm very happy to find that at the end of your experiment with your toddler you found that letting him experience the world around him in his own way, in his own time is better than a messy play project inside of your house.

When my daughter was a toddler I would bring her with me outside, work on my vegetable garden and give her a little plastic trowel. She would dig and find worms. It made her squeal. She picked unripe veggies and gave them a taste. She once even got stung by a bee she found so fascinating she grabbed in with her chubby little hand.

She'd be a total mess by the time it was time to go back inside so, I'd take the hose and clean her off. Easy peasy. She loved being naked outside while the sun dried her and warmed her--hose water can be shockingly cold.

How's that for a sensory experience?