Children and Nature
When I looked at the projected temperatures for the day I knew it was going to be very warm. I knew it might be our last chance to get to the park. Of course, I have the same small worries that everyone else has but I think the benefits far outweigh the risks. When we arrived there were no other children there and the children played with their whole hearts and whole body.
We did have a visitor arrive later with a two-year-old and one of our friends promptly told his other friends “don’t play with him he might have the sickness.” 😳🤷🏻♀️ That’s not untrue .
As more children arrived at the playground we decided to venture to the volleyball sand pit. This was like heaven to our kiddos that love sensory materials. I watched as several children found loose leaves and built castles and poked leaves in the top as the flags. Many of the children dug for treasure. Oh to be a kid again and have the anticipation of the unknown with unwavering excitement and determination.
Taking a walk about a in town teaches us so many things, like how to be safe in traffic, when it’s safe to talk to strangers ( or not ) and just the general feeling of “what is our community?”
As you know I am a student of the Reggio Emilia Philosophy . Why I say “I’m a student” is because I continually learn more about this way of teaching and how it affects the way I live with my children. I found a quote today that sums up why days like today happens in our school .
Learning is life. Learning is not seperate to life, it is the experience of life. You can’t stop living so that you can learn. It is something you need to participate in. Learning is the act of exploration and discovery. It is the building of relationships. Relationships with each other, relationships with nature, relationships with objects, relationships with the world. As we build a relationship with something or someone we develop a connection. A connection built on love.
So today, we built relationships more with each other as we took our walk. We built relationships with the people in our community that we came across. We built relationships more with nature.
As the children are falling asleep outside in the fenced in yard I wonder what they are thinking . Are they listening to the cars as they slowly meander down the street?Are they listening to huge black birds above us have a conversation? Do they wish they could understand a birds language? Are they enjoying the wind chimes that Mr. Randy put on the porch? Is the gentle breeze and the sound of rustling leaves lulling them to sleep ??
Days like today is why I say family child care is the best environment for young children. I say that without apologies as I watch my children fall asleep holding leaves of every color worn out from the amazing day we had.
