Playing by the Last Light of Day

Perhaps it was just that the evening was clear, or perhaps since winter solstice has passed, yesterday seemed longer.  It was as if the sun hung above the horizon just a little longer than it has been.  In any case, it beckoned us outside.  The boys and I mostly watched the neighbor get their gutters cleaned.  It involved multiple ladders, buckets, and ropes; truly engaging for three year olds.  But then just as darkness started to come on fully and the roof cleaner's headlamp went on, we began a game of "birds" flying to trees.   We used multi-colored cones that I had purchased for our play and learn group and the kids took turns saying which color tree we should run to, then the game morphed and it became just follow the leader with the littlest leading us all.  We ran in circles from one tree to the next, flapping our arm wings, smiling at the night in the occasional on and then off beam of the motion sensor light.

We were truly just playing.  It reminded me of the book that I just had found in the library A Running Start, How Physical Activity and Free Time Create a Successful Child, by Rae Pica.  The book was well written and basically reminded me how important free play is for young people.  One of the messages that it stressed was the children have to lead the play and how that making sure that not every moment of children's lives is planned.  The book also stressed allowing children to just play with other children.  I think that in the past this latter point was so much easier when neighborhood children just played with one another.  Now I find that due to so much childcare, to so much traffic, to so much fear, that parents don't just let their children head out and play.   I find myself needing to set up playdates -- which often don't work out due to illnesses or situations that arise for families.  Spontaneous play is sparse.

It is for this reason that I set up a local urban nature play and learn.  The idea is that children will just get together and play.  The challenge has been that not that many people have been attending, perhaps it is our location or perhaps it is that we have not publicized it enough.  I also wonder if outside play is a challenge when it requires having the right clothing in order to be comfortable in any weather.

Being Squirrels

The books I ordered from the library for last week's play group did not arrive until the day after the session.  So the boys and I have been reading them.  They are written by several of our favorite authors.  Louis Ehlert, Nancy Tafuri and Don Freeman and then a new for us nonfiction author Lisa Bullard (her book actually being about leaves). In anycase, they are a good collection of stories that show how squirrels live in the wild and also through interactions in an urban environment and with people.

 A couple of days after reading the stories,  I noticed the boys using their stuffed finger puppet squirrel in new creative ways.  Also yesterday when we were staying in from the rain and were looking for movement activities we pretended to be squirrels finding nuts:scampering around the house, pretending to climb trees and eat, as well as stuff (puff out)  our cheeks and carry food back to our homes.

November Urban Nature Play and Learn

At last Friday's Play and Learn we focused on animals getting ready for winter and also did a little bit of leaf art.   Since there was a new family joining us, and a child who seemed a bit shy, we started a little bit differently than just jumping into activities.  I handed out stuffed animals and read a story by Denise Fleming called Time to Sleep.   Then as we discussed signs of winter we moved into doing loom art.  This was an activity that took a bit of preparation (cutting cardboard, hole punching it and then threading it with yarn) but led to nice looking autumn art.  The leaves that the children thread through it dry up quite quickly, but it is beautiful nonetheless.  One of the children decided to thread paper instead of leaves, that was nice too.

After art we did a counting game where I put out plates with numbers on it and then had children go to the number and place that number of things on each plate.  Next time I will put the items on the plates and have the children just go to the items.  If I wanted an extension I would give each child a piece of paper and have them make their own number art board to share with one another.  Placing items like: leaves, seeds, sticks and other natural finds on them.

Finally we had quite a long parachute session.  Singing songs.  Popping balls up and down.  Doing Ring around the Rosie.  We were going to go for a hike but the time had mostly passed so we decided not to try to head to the woods (as it takes 15 minutes just to get to them).    As the play and learn continues we may alternate one week doing a hike and woods exploration, the next month just outside play.

Here is an example of the loom art-- this child enjoyed threading paper, leaves and string through the loom.

Play dough inspiration

Playing outdoors is terrific; however playing  indoors can be a valuable time too.  Just this morning my boys and I were doing play dough when I realized they were making things from the natural world.  Of course, it started with volcanoes, and we discussed the volcanoes that can be found here in Washington State.  Then we went on to making animals, discussing their habitats and talking about their body parts. This kind of play is so VOCABULARY enriching and fun too!

I think part of the reason todays explorations went so nature-focused was was because I added some mint smelling green playdough to the Halloween orange that a neighbor had made.  I think color can make a difference.  

At the class I was in this past weekend people shared other home made "playdough" ideas,

Incorporate dirt/ coffee grinds/ flower petals or seeds into the dough

Add a color

Add a scent, pumpkin, peppermint, or lavender

I haven't looked for these recipes yet but I know they are out there!

After seeing the inside of a beehive

Today my boys were playing with their blocks in a new way. They were making honey combs- or as the boys call them- "honey boxes" for their pet stuffed animals. It has led to a discussion on how bees make honey... And is a great example of how play allows kids time to understand their world.

Reflections on Learning an Early Childhood Curriculum: Growing up Wild

The reason I write this blog is manifold.  Primarily, I believe in reflection and this is my journal.  I use the lens of how I am raising my children and helping shape my community be aware of urban nature and how the choices my family and others make effects this environment. I also try to document ways that I am can become a better environmental educator & hopefully enter in a conversation about how to do that.

Yesterday I attended a workshop on a curriculum about how to bring environmental education to young people. My biggest take aways were:

That every child should have access to a nature center or nature based preschool.  This idea is not new: it only reinforces why kindergarten came into existence.  
That since many children and their parents have become disconnected from spending time together in nature that we need to model & learn to do it together.
That maybe there is another type of "park" we should have in our communities, something like adventure playgrounds, but natural exploration areas for children--by creating something new perhpas we can get away from some of the standardization that has occurred in our playgrounds.
That books and puppets are absolutely wonderful tools to help kids learn about nature.
That touching the REAL thing is always the best.  An example is that it felt wonderful to be touching real sea shells for a counting, measuring, sorting activity.
Use natural materials as often as possible, even in art projects.
Add essential oils (and even objects) to playdough for another sensory experience.

This class also made me reflect again on why I am struggling so much to organize my Urban Nature Family Play and Learn.  Our location is basically an empty lot.  The area we hike is three blocks away.  It is not a simple transition; but the challenge is actually a microcosm of what so many experience on a daily life and so it adds urgency to showing families that it can be done.  I think I have been caught in the trap that I need to be entertaining during play in learn, when actually the acts of small discoveries (or new friendships) right in a lot and then taking an urban hike is as much of the experience as is the time in the woods.  This is critical because in the ideal community I envision, children will never have to ride in cars as they will be able to walk or take mass transit in their communities.   It is an ideal that my family has largely lived by--and it has not hurt our boys rather only given them true adventures & connections to their community.

Just yesterday while I had the car to attend an out of town workshop my boys experienced urban trekking with their father including a ride on a light-rail train and two busses.  They hadn't even meant to do so much of it: but on their journey to downtown they ended up walking a couple of miles- because when they finished their activities they were going to take a different route home than when they came.  However, they are putting a new street car track in on the road with their return bus and the signs at the stops said, "this bus stop closed, head south two blocks" however,  when they would get to that stop they would see another sign saying "this bus stop closed." They never found their bus and finally found another route to get back home but not without seeing: "a crane,and signs that said keep going southbound"says T "then we found a full bus"says both boys.....and more and more that I have been hearing about since yesterday.  These boys know their city.  They are learning how it works/ and also some of its challenges.  They are engaged citizens at just three years old!

Measuring Success by the Smile

On Friday our boys participated in  a class at the local Arboretum.  It was fabulous.  Although it had a topic of the day- bats; the children and adults enjoyed it because of the delightful pacing.  Planned activities were interspersed with the children's own discoveries.  Mushrooms were bountiful today and the kids seemed to find them all.  Compost piles were heaped in different areas & Teacher Sarah allowed the children to explore them by climbing up  and over them.  For one child every pile of dirt begged poking at- and he found plenty of time to poke & dig.  Meanwhile,  a story about bats was woven throughout the day with science, art, literacy and physical activities.

The day started with open ended activities until everyone had gathered
Then the kids were able to touch a real bat specimen.
Kids were handed out a "rubber" bat and they learned the parts of the bat as well as developed a connection to it by carrying it around all day.
The kids began the day by using "echolocation" and learning one another's names.   The teacher said her name; the kids repeated it.
The kids were bats: looking for insects, looking for shelter.
Then they heard the story of  Stella Luna.
The children also learned about how a mother bat finds her baby bat with her own particular sound:Old film canisters were filled with different objects and the kids had to find the child who had the other one that sounded like theirs.
Then the kids played a game where the children had to find a tree to "sleep in" and when the sun came up and then when it was night they ran around catching insects.
In closing there was a painting activity.   A silhouette of a bat was taped onto a large piece of paper the kids were told to paint around the bat and then the bat was removed and they were supposed to see the "bat" on the paper.

As an observer/ participant mother along for the adventure I saw kids engaged all day, but also thriving with just some of the "free play" opportunities:  stopping to throw leaves, lay in the leaves, and look at the leaves.  Investigation of a nurse log that was filled with shelf mushrooms and had isopods crawling in and out of cracks.  Discovering HUGE leaves that were big enough to be umbrellas.

The day was so lovely &  it inspired my family to stay and experience the arboretum for another couple of hours....and bats became a topic of family discussions as well as other nocturnal animals.

Trick or Treat

As a parent you get to choose what traditions your family celebrates.  For many families religion and other beliefs mean that they don't celebrate Halloween.  However, my family has a very strong belief in community. For us that means Halloween is a great time to see neighbors and celebrate the season.

Neighbors and businesses owners ask my children: "What are you going to be on Halloween?"  We look forward to seeing you this year.  We remember the year you were: a lion, giraffe, firefighter & now this year a "pirate."   So we enjoy the season & spend quite a bit of time preparing for the big day.

This year was the year that my boys chose to be pirates.  They have had only very little exposure to pirates as we do not watch television or movies with the boys yet.  We also have very few books about pirates. Yet they have picked up on the basics that they: ride boats, have treasure maps, and are sometimes mysterious.  Thankfully at this point they don't know that they were often sword wielding fighters.

In any case their costume was rather benign...and it changed daily until it was actually Halloween.  Basically the boys costume included a black cape that I made for each of them out of fleece and masks that they had made at preschool.  It was homemade and rather simple, but left lots of room for creativity.  That is my goal with Halloween: to inspire creative fun.

Anyways, even though it was slightly raining the family headed out for the community trick or treating.  It was like a river of people- flowing in a circle over about six blocks.  We covered four of them and were already asked by folks why we didn't stop by.   Truthfully, we already had 100 % more candy than we needed and our costumes were starting to feel ragged.  We also wanted to stop by some neighbors' hmes.  We hit just one & then exhaustion hit.   We needed to get home and give "crow", S's stuffed animal his candy.  We agreed the candy was not for the boys to eat.    But, that brings up the question: is there a way to transform this holiday so that it is not surrounded by artificial flavors, high fructose and hydrogenated oils?

Blustery Fall Days

Today the boys and I made our escape out into the fleeting sunshine.  The light seemed to dodge leaves and poke in and out of branches making the world a speckled glory to behold:  Orange leaves, red leaves, and even green leaves danced.  It is surprising how so close to November there are still so many leaves on the trees.

This is one of the longer fall seasons than I can remember in the Northwest.  Perhaps it is because after over two months of no rain it was only about 2 weeks ago when the blustery winds of autumn and the drenching drizzle returned.

Our oak tree is just now turning red.
The serviceberry: red.
Cherry trees and plum trees: just changing from green to yellow and orange

It seems as though only the big leaf maple has lost its leafs & they now make up a patchwork ground cover.

The Indian Plum still has green leaves, even though the boys and I discovered today that new buds are already formed- a sign that spring will come.
The thimbleberry is yellow and has lost the softness  you can feel when it is green.
The salal is mostly yellow.

The shore pine has a fair share of reddish needles- but will stay green all winter.

There are three plants that are flowering.  One I don't recall its name- but it keeps blossoming bright pink.
There are some dahlias.
There is one echinacea cone flower.

Indeed there are so many colors to note, that I am trying hard to remember each one from our walk around the yard.

Today we just took in the breeze.  Looked about.  S commented that he heard a bird and while we were quiet in a cozy hawthorne covered corner.  A squirrel stopped to lick its paws only a few feet away from us.

Today we "walked" the yard.  It is a tradition that I have written about before & yet sometimes it seems hard to slow down so much.  Nevertheless, it is magical when we do.

We found a "purple" snail.  It wasn't so much its shell that was purple, but its body was an iridescent purple.
We found a "white" cocoon in a leaf.   We wondered what it will become and hope to watch its progression.

Then we went inside for warm cocoa.
It was a lovely fall day.

Outdoor playgroup can happen even on wet ground

A tarp and a blanket made for a cozy art space. Here Grandma and my boys practiced with a hole punch and later practiced using scissors while waiting for other folks to show up.

Making a tree house for an imaginary bear and elephant

Making a tree house for an imaginary bear and elephant during the last rays of light on a fall day.

I find it wonderful to have young children whose imaginations are so alive. Today, even after T came in to get ready for dinner, S stayed outside under the plum tree. I am not sure if he was continuing to add to his tree house or if he was just imagining bear and elephant in the tree. In any case he stayed outside for an extra ten minutes- just having time to himself under the tree, the last rays for light twinkling through the leaves.

Adventure Playgrounds & Dinosaurs

Yesterday the boys had a great play time with the neighbors. In reflecting on what made it work, besides the fact that it is a lush garden with a maze of paths and chickens- is that there are various "loose parts" in the yard. Here the boys are using pieces of wood to build a "shelter" for their dinosaurs.

Upcoming Tot Hikes By Seattle Parks

Today we had another great family day at Carkeek Park, between the meadow, the forest and the beach- it was a day of bliss.  We even saw a red tailed hawk hunting, although I think the boys mostly observed the crows and seagulls behavior surrounding this event. 

In any case,  I was very happy to see on a bulletin board that they offer Tot Treks at their three Environmental Learning Centers.  I hope to see and hear of more classes in the future!

Parachute Games

The last few times that I have done my Play and Learn I have had a parachute.  It is always a success and yet I have had a hard time remembering some of the great activities to do with it.  Thanks to a really helpful book Great Games for Young Children by Rae Pica I have some reminders.   Just looking at the parachute section titles --games came flooding back.  For those of you interested in planning your own detailed lesson plans her book  gives details on the games and also explains what cognitive, physical and social emotional development themes each activity addresses.

Here are a few of the activities I thought were the best:
Rotate it...
Circle with it ...on tiptoes, marching, galloping, jumping and hopping.
Play Elevator....as you raise parachute talk about elevators going up.
Simon says where people move the parachute to different parts of their body....or doing different activities with the chute.
Roll around a ball around it.  ( I remember this being challenging even when I was working with teenagers)
 Making Waves ( In which I would tell a story about a storm on the water.)
Popcorn: Using balls, or leaves or cotton, or flower petals try to keep "seasonal" things on the parachute.
Get the ball through the hole in the middle.

Years ago I worked at a camp where we had Hmong Family Day.  From elders to the very young there were smiles as the parachute went up and down.  Just as circle games have been played throughout the years and across cultures, the parachute brings people who might not "dance" together, collaborating and laughing.

Rope Swing

Today the boys were able to go to their grandpa’s home where he has a wonderful rope swing.  It didn’t take long for the boys to figure out how to hold on tight and how to balance their weight.  At first S asked, "why doesn’t it have two strings?"   He wanted it to be like the swings at the park.  But, as he rode on it I could tell that he was having much more fun on this swing.  He said, “let the wind push me," feeling the element of movement and wind combined.

I can’t help but think about how I once read that we have often made playgrounds too safe & that they no longer give children a full  rush of joy or even the motion that the inner ear requires.  Today on grandpa's swing the boys experienced, joy, challenge, and relationship- since they were assisted by the loving arms of family members.  It makes me think we need a few more rope swings and slower time so that families can truly stop and play together.  Thank you grandpa for allowing us such an experience. 

Can you see the smile?

This was actually taken last month at the farmers market, but it captures a bit of the spirit of it. Kids playing on the hillside. Chalk drawings.

Market Day

Farmers Market Bliss

Our community is blessed to have a great Farmers' Market and for it to be located next to a community green space.  This "Green" was once a slough, then it was a dump, and finally it was covered and turned into a green urban corridor/park that borders the, street held, once a week, Farmers Market. 

On Market day the street is alive: a swarm of people moving this way and that way. Flags blowing in the wind to greet neighbors who have gathered to shop at the market, find a bite to eat for dinner, or to just enjoy the festive feeling of seeing neighbors, hearing buskers, doing community art, and just being.  In a society filled with planned activities and rushing around, families that make time for market day carve out a unique "unstructured" time for themselves and their children.

Our family often meets at the market.  The boys and I travel by wagon the few blocks from our home & head into the fray.  We never get further than the entrance before we meet at least one neighbor or friend. Then a bit later with calls of "Daddy!" we are reunited.   This allows both mother and father to have a few moments of time shopping, grabbing hot quesadillas for dinner, or chatting with other adults while the kids play.  JUST PLAY!  Although we usually bring a ball or chalk or frisbee along with us, there is also plenty of just rolling around on the hill and running with big smiles across their faces. Smile invitations to one another to play together:  It is beautiful.  

Urban Nature Families September

On Friday we had our Urban Nature Families Play and Learn . Our group ended up including seven children and their caregivers.

It was a slightly grey day, with a very slight drizzle, however we set up for outside activities. One of our goals for this play and learn is to encourage families and caregivers to just be outside with their children whatever the weather. It is a great lesson for children to learn that they can go out almost every day. It is also a great way for children to learn about their world, gain vocabulary, and have fun.

Our activities were mostly stations which allowed children to ramble from one area to another as they desired. We had a bubble station with both pre-made bubble mixtures & homemade bubble mixtures. The latter being a bit more finicky- but it allowed kids to make their own pipe cleaner bubble forms & slightly larger bubbles.

There was also a station with pre-cut leaves which kids painted on with liquid watercolor paints using eye droppers. I had paint brushes on hand in case we had very young children. This was helpful.

There was the parachute which this time the kids mostly wanted to sit on while the adults "made" waves. There were many smile & a few tears (when someone got bumped by a ball). It reminded me that I need to do a refresher on parachute games and songs.

Finally we also had two stories: Leaf Man by Louis Ehrlet and a book with kids yoga called "You are a lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses" by Taeeun Yoo in which the children got to act out animals. It was a nice continuation from a poem we acted out... "Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel." In which the kids act out a squirrel shaking their bushy tales. Some of the kids wanted to add their own animals so we were also all were bunnies hopping around.

Another goal of the group is to get families hiking in Urban Greenspaces; however this has not yet happened since our site does not back onto a forested greenbelt or natural area and the walk to the woods is about three blocks. Perhaps we will add an alternative site for hiking every first week of the month. That would bring us to two meet-ups a month.

Urban nature families are Wonderful!

I will record the whole lesson plan from today with specific reflections, but mostly it was just great to see kids and their caregivers enjoying an overcast day- making eyedropper painted leaves, bubbles, and stories. Thanks Jen for your encouragement and help making this happen!

Slow Play. Big Imaginations.

Every once and a while I think that maybe the boys have run out of things to do in the yard.  Then I take a breath and realize that it is only me.  I get tired of the same dirt pit and water play. My inkling is to try to get the boys to do something else; which they will but it isn't their need just mine. 

So,  sometimes I  do a wee bit to encourage them to explore something new by turning off the water,  or rediscovering some props (like sticks) or sometimes I just start to putter in a different part of the yard; harvesting, planting, or weeding.  Then it won't be long and the boys will gravitate to a new area (unless they are totally engulfed in what they are doing--which is the best thing ever!).   Then I try to follow their lead. 

The boys are full of a imagination and it isn't long until a plain stick has turned into:
a seed planter or a plum smoosher
a part of a campfire,
an oar
a stir stick for a large pot

The fluidity of young children's thinking amazes me.
The sound of snapping twigs could be a squirrel (real)
or one of their elephants moving through the brush (imaginary).

The play goes on and on as their worlds are created.   I try to let them extend it until the last moments of daylight,  remembering my own childhood - of getting to play outside until dark.  Their experience of play is something I treasure.  It takes practice: paying attention from the first rays of light until the til the last of the sun has disappeared and we all collapse exhausted.  It takes not signing up for single focus activities, still not exposing them to tv or movies, and choosing raising boys as my primary focus.

With imagination our yard is full of endless adventures for a three year old.  Now it is just a practice for myself to find such richness in a small space; it is surely there.  The boys smiles, joy, and discoveries show me the way.

Urban Mama: Biking Again!

It has been three years that we have had a bike trailer, but my road bike was not working and so I never could get it to go into the easy gears to help me pull the two boys up hills.  Three years of forgetting that I had an old mountain bike collecting dust in our basement cellar.  Only when we did a recent house project did I remember it.  “Pumpkin” as I called it almost twenty years ago when I bought it.  It is totally equipped for mountain trail & has always been slow on city roads –but  it does get me up big hills.

So the day before preschool was to begin- I got the tires pumped and the trailer hitched to it. Then on their first day the boys and I were able to ride in fresh city air to preschool & keep the car parked.  I was joyful to not yet be the "car driving mama" plus the boys enjoyed the trail banter that we had along the way; from singing songs to noticing landmarks.

Then after a moment of mama’s heart breaking just a bit as I  left my little ones in the hands of another  for the first time– in the children’s first “classroom” I rode off.  Freedom on bike.  Time my own…Blissful but worried: How will the classroom transform my little ones?  How will it build or break their confidence, their creativity, their love for nature for creativity?   (Just today we rescued a spider and then took him outside to see where he chose to go.  S noted that he found a crack & was probably headed for our basement.) 

We will see…but I am sure the riding will be  good for me.

No mud; just a bath

Dinner had just ended and S said, "I want to make mud."
It is already evening of a long day and both mom and dad are tired. We are ready for pajamas and not mud outside.
Dad suggests, "what about a bath?"
S replies, "but there is no dirt." Then he wonders,"Is it nighttime?"
"Yes, we reply- but it is summer so it is still quite light out. We can make mud tomorrow."
S decides that it is okay to take a bath, especially since his brother has said he will show him how to make bubbles.
A nearly two hour bath of bubbles, song and play entails. Then bed.

Carkeek Park

Saturday we went to Carkeek Park in the NW part of the city. It was a wonderful place for the boys to use their no pedal bikes as the main trail did not say "No Bikes" and was a gentle grade for a good long distance from the beach all the way to the orchard. T loved how the trail followed Piper's Creek. He was hoping to find where the water began, but he was content to see how it travelled as well as tributaries that joined it.

Learning about rivers in the city is a different experience than in the wild. Day-lit channels go into pipes under sidewalks and roads; so the boys observations were about both the natural aspects of the water as well as the human-made pipes and measuring posts.

Carkeek on a beautiful sunny Labor Day weekend was full of families enjoying picnics and play. People of all cultures and speaking a myriad of languages were in attendance. It truly is inspirational to see so many people out enjoying nature. It is also wonderful to reflect on what forward thinking it was to develop these parks. How do we make sure they are maintained in perpetuity? How do we engage families to explore the parks in new ways- especially as we realize that the people of our nation and nations around the world are facing the health issue of obesity? Is the key to health in these natural spaces?

Blueberry picking

Blueberry bushes dripping with berries, taller than children, taller than adults: making shade. Today we found our second blueberry u-pick patch. 40 miles from the city and under the looming jagged cliff of Mt. Si. We went with one other family and their two and a half year old. It was so much fun!

Everyone picked.
The adults conversed.
The children played.
Everyone had fun.

The total bill for five pounds of berries and a delightful time. $10.

Then we headed to the nearby Rattlesnake Lake where we picnicked by the the beach. Hundreds of cars and families and friends packed the beach, yet fun was had by all. No one runs out of rocks to toss, canals to build, water to splash. You just need to provide the opportunities. A park does that. A bench here. A portable toilet there.

Of course some people bring toys:

from buckets to bikes with trailers
from inflatable kayaks to stand up boards
bbq grills of all sizes
Peanut Butter and Jelly to Indian food

Finally my favorite game of the day- a game no one taught the kids but they just played.

The kids said "Ha ha! to one another
First one said, "ha!" The next one said "ha ha!" with even more expression and laughter.
The third one joined in and it went around and around.
Since it happened at the waterside splashes abounded.
Smiles were infectious to all the adults that watched.

Urban Nature Families Play Together

 

Today was a gorgeous sunny day for our first Urban Nature Families Play and Learn.  We had a total of five children attend, three parents, and two grandparents.  The kids had a great time – expressed by the way kids and adults were engaged and how they attended for almost two hours, as well as several positive comments.  Today’s activities were:

A watering station, where kids took small containers of water and scooped water from a larger container and then delivered to the very thirsty plants.  ( This activity reminds us that there is much we could do at the center in terms of the small garden beds) Future activities could include- making garden flags, adding to beds, making signs to identify plants, or even just welcoming signs.

An art table that included both natural items as well as feathers, and the beloved googely eyes!  At this station the kis used a glue water mixture and stuck items/ objects on “matte” board – which was just cardboard

Story time:   The story was Subway Sparrow one of my favorite preschool stories since it has trains and diverse people (young to old, English to Polish to Spanish Speaking)  working together to solve the problem of getting a sparrow off of the train. Then during snack we also read another story: The Tree in the Ancient Forest.

We had a couple of other activities set out including balls and rings, but these were explored by kids only briefly.

The parachute: We started this activity with Ring a Round a Rosie and then play some “wave” games, ball toss games and general kid mayhem.  With so many adults and so few kids the games all felt safe. 

Finally we went on our walk to the Cheasty Greenspace.  It was a hot day and the walk is all uphill, but there were no complaints, just pleasant sighs of joy and amazement when we got to the woods.   In the woods kids mostly played in one relatively open area.  They touched moss, made tree rubbings, and had a generally nice time.  One boy and his dad ran the hiking loop!  My boys slowly walked the loop and found BIG sticks.

Future activities may include: more crayon  rubbings, but using leaves, and cardboard to make a firm backing.  We also could give more time to explore & build forts or make homes for imaginary friends.  S worked quite hard on making a moss covered bed for his elephant.

Future questions to consider are:  Do we just start play group in the woods?   Do we use a form of transportation?   We just want to be as family friendly as we can be- while encouraging outdoor play.  Maybe I will even make a flyer to share with parents about how to add outdoor play to their lives/ the benefits of it.

A Children's Garden

Today the boys attended a Children's Garden Preschool Class put on by the Seattle Tilth. The boys loved it.  Actually S. was happy from the very beginning.  He loved entering the garden from through the archway.  He liked discovering mosaic tile steps that led him up into a garden bed.  He enjoyed being a butterfly.  T was slower to warm up to the activities, but they were so hands on, there was no way for him not to engage.

The activities were  the kinds of things you would expect from a garden:

• making suntea with the herbs

•  collecting seeds from the flowers and then decorating the seed envelopes

• studying things with magnifiers

• finding snack 

• and making crowns/ and bouquets. 

The teacher even read the fabulous story: The Reason for a Flower

What made the day work however was the way that the teacher and student interns connected with the children: their genuineness & calmness.  The way they casually led them to the worm bin after snack and started discovering worms and slugs with the kids & songs at just the right times.

Leading activities with children is an art: part planning, part spontaneity, and lots of love.
It is also allowing children to make connections to the natural world around them.

Reclaiming the Wild

In small pockets across the city, volunteer work crews are reclaiming greenspaces and returning them to a natural state.  They are removing the years of invasive overgrowth, the layers of garbage and finding beautiful old growth trees, snags, and vegetation.  Then they are planting new native plant starts and designing and placing new trails so that people can enjoy access to these great natural areas. I just recently learned about an amazing organization the Nature Consortium that helps organized work parties and even includes art as part of the restoration process. 

However on a purely neighborhood level the other day my family visited a local greenspace.  The Cheasty Greenspace.   It was volunteer work day and folks were working hard at adding gravel to the trails.  It was on a steep area and it wasn't really the type of job that 3 year olds could help with, however, papa joined the crew and the boys and I played in the woods with another neighborhood child.   The other boy showed my boys a fort in the trees.  And it was wonderful to see the kids scramble over logs and under boughs in order to get to the "hideout."

This week I will be leading a play group for kids 0-4 on a hike in this same place.  It is always hard to imagine how the day will unfold as children always bring their own interest.  My goal will be: Make families feel like this greenspace is a good place to just go and explore.  Watch. Learn, Plan for future events. 


Finally, here is just an interesting link for making birdfeeders with young children.  I have yet to try it but it looked interesting.

Block Party

 

Mostly I write about sharing nature in the urban environment, but what keeps my family here in the city,  besides work and car less commutes, is the community.  It is the backdrop of our lives and we wind through it on a daily basis.  We are always aware of it, but just as on a hike in the woods even when we think we are aware many things go unnoticed or nameless.  Today people we had previously only passed with a brief nod of the head or smile- had names.

Last night our neighborhood celebrated Neighborhood Night Out, a nationally celebrated day for block parties.   It is in part to know your neighbors and fight crime, but is also to develop relationships.  It was amazing!  A small group of neighbors who barely knew one another communicated by email to plan the event pulled it off with remarkable success.

Kids were biking and scootering around the street as soon as the block had been closed to vehicle traffic.   Tables were converged to make a giant potluck buffet and dinner table.  A five year old was the official face painter.

A street pinball game was constructed to take advantage of our street’s slope.    The construction of it being nearly as exciting as the myriad of ways that people played the game. 

In another area t-shirt paints and t-shirts were set out.  Artists emerged from the very youngest of neighbors to the oldest!

Later the ax and wood came out.  Young city folks split wood; learned by doing.   A fire was built and s’mores were eaten. 

Our block ,where most of the time the only walking and biking occurs as people pass through, showed that it truly is a community.  We just had to have the opportunity to get out of our houses, past our front yards and into the street.

It made me wonder how we could encourage this type of behavior more often.  Carless Streets are one way......Community art that slows people down or makes people stop and interact.   Nature that invites investigation & conversation and brings people to their boulevards to water and pull weeds. 

Suburban vs. Urban Nature Kids

The first two years of my children's lives we spent completely locally in our urban community.  We traveled almost solely by public transit or on foot.  When the boys turned two we started to venture out a bit more.  They could face forward in their car seats and we could talk about where we were going.  We became regular visitors of the Mercer Slough and my kids new the route by tunnel, lake, tunnel lake, and then exit.  We hiked on the east side of the park again and again so that my kids could tell the seasons were changing based on what they saw.  On our return trip we would stop on Mercer Island at Luther Burbank Park where we would go down to the water and then spend time at the playground.   I figured if we were already out of the city we should enjoy the sights and make a full day of it.

Now I realize that the suburbs, having been placed more recently in nature, tend to have terrific places to play in nature: only you must drive to most of these sites.  Nothing is made for walking and there is very limited mass transit.   This raises the question for me: is it worth it to take these excursions or should we stay truly local, truly urban?  And if we do then what is it that we will find?

My thoughts are that we will mostly find areas that  the community is trying to return to natural states, with volunteer work parties.  The result is beautiful places and greater community: however there is also a lack of just wildness.  The type of wildness that comes from having old growth trees and snags - home of hawks and bears and cougars.  But, do children really notice this difference?  I have to say that they do.   If only I can judge it by the smiles that my boys have when hiking in a woods filled with moss and layers and layers of old growth forest.  Or as they walk across the furrowed land of a blueberry field that has been there for almost a century?

So if there is this difference, then how do we make these suburban nature areas accessible to everyone?  And why don't suburbanites demand it?  Do people really like to ride in their cars from one parking lot to another so they can experience nature?   And will this nature be preserved?   A recent hike after a class offered for children by Tilth near the Pickering barn in Issaquah makes me worried.  We were on a nature trail, near a river and beautiful old trees when we hear and then see construction vehicles.  It doesn't seem like you should see bulldozers clearcutting an area in the middle of your natural area?  What does the osprey we saw perched on the old growth snag think?  What is the future for this place?

Is it Summer?

It was a busy month.   Sam's almost daily question from May through June: "Is it summer yet?"   It has finally been answered in a myriad of ways this past month even though only recently have the temperatures in the NW felt like summer.

Now it is I who ask, "Is this summer?" and the kids smile and say yes while they
are eating strawberries, then raspberries from our garden
watching butterflies and hummingbirds flit from flower to flower
swinging shoeless in the hammock
swimming in a lake
riding bikes to an outdoor concert
hiking in the woods and then picking blueberries
and finally wrapping up the day with a piece of corn on the cob or a special ice cream treat.

How does your family recognize the seasons? What traditions do you celebrate? 

Identifying Barriers: Beginning to Overcome them!

At the recent SOAR conference we had a discussion about the things that made it challenging to create great outdoor opportunities for children, especially if you were a  licensed care provider.  Here were some of the challenges that our group identified:

Creating a "sit space" that is quiet and private for children to enjoy contemplation and private thoughts - since areas need to be visible
Water play is basically out, since you can't have standing water
Bikes might be a possibility but helmets are a challenge to manage
Sense of green space when surrounded by buildings on all sides
Not enough natural elements
Can't jump in leaf piles
Fear of insects and general safety 

Although their were suggestions:

Such as what about planting native plants or gardens around the border of the play area
Using a hose for "watering" and occasionally adding water to the sand area or for small amounts of play
Having a helmet for all students, see if they can be donated by the children's hospital
Filling the sensory table with different elements: from acorns, to maple seeds, to leaves

Even many of the ideas that are suggested in the Green Hearts documents were hard to incorporate with licensing

25 Easy Nature Play Ideas for Early Childhood Centers  

And so, somehow we need to do some type of activism to the Department of Licensing especially when it is so clear that the latest Department of Early Learning Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines   show  how  Exploring Outdoors is a great way for Interrelated Learning across the six areas of development:

1. About me and my family and culture

2. Building relationships

3.Touching, seeing, hearing and moving a round

4. Growing up healthy

5. Communicating

6. Learning about my World

Getting Dirt in the Diet and Recess

Last Friday I gave a presentation at the SOAR conference sharing the importance of nature and outdoor time for kids.  I feel so passionately about this issue that I am not sure what my next activism piece will be; however, I definitely want to share two great links.

One is an article is  on the importance of dirt, even in our diet. 
 
The second article is on what is happening to recess time right in Seattle.  This news link strikes me as particularly relevant because I am passionate about outdoor play for children.  This passion was sparked after one of the high poverty elementary schools I worked at canceled afternoon recess.  Then I went to a wealthier school across town and the kids had so much more outdoor time.

 It begs looking at: what makes successful recess?  What kinds of play is promoted?  And is there a greenspace /  or natural area for children to play in?   According to so much research outside time, access to green space,  and physical activity promotes learning.    We have to stop looking at recess as just a "break" - it is an important part of the school day and for many kids it is what keeps them excited about school.  The goal needs to be: how do we make recess better ?

Rocks, gravel, dirt and water: Boys make a Lake

 

My boys always amaze me.  Yesterday they were digging holes and filling them with water.  Then they would sometimes make channels and watch the water flow out.  S made the comment that he needed to load up rocks and dirt and gravel to haul it away in his little dump truck.  I thought his vocabulary for a describing soil was remarkable.  The National Wildlife Federation encourages children's play in dirt and even have written a report on the benefits of dirt!   So this play is good for physical, mental and academic development.  This play is perfect preparation for the fifth grade Land and Water Unit I taught when I taught fifth grade.  If only so all my students had had so much time exploring dirt- the models that we made in the classroom would have had even more meaning. 

This play is also great preparation for being a farmer and understanding whether your soil is going to be ready for planting. 

A sense of place

    I love it when our normal routines are comfortably stretched.  Recently we have had a couple of opportunities to have gone further into Seward Park than the border trails we have followed in the past.  Joyfully, we have found a cleaner beach than that towards the entrance of the park.   On this occasion the boys also found  a gaggle of geese and great grassy reeds to use as fishing poles.  These discoveries would not have been made if we did not have friends to show us where they like to go. 

In order to connect the new locations with the paths we usually travel I drew a map of our trip for the children when we got back home,  I started at our door and included the bus we took to get to the park.  I labeled pictures and added details as they suggested.  Then we read it as a story.   The boys enjoyed my crude art and it allowed them to see that even though the route we explored was different it connected to what they knew.

Tide pooling

This past week was a great week for tide pooling. It motivated us to take a twenty minute drive and get to the beach. The lesson learned is that it takes many trips (maybe a lifetime) to the beach to fully appreciate its wonders. In my boys' three years they have probably only been to the beach a dozen times- and not to the same one. Therefore, low tide was not as special to them as to me. Why should the creatures of the inter tidal zone be any more special than those higher up the beach?

It was a slow journey out to the best tide pooling. First we has to stop at the driftwood...and then the sand-as pictured here and the only reason we were this far out was because of a preschooler named Mathew said, "come with me and I will show you where to find hermit crabs!" My own boys were slight interested in the crabs.  They know a bit about them from various stories we have read & from playing with a hermit crab puppet, but in real life at that moment they were no sure that they were ready to gently touch these living creatures.  Only after playing in various areas ( digging in sand/ pretnd fishing in a tidepool, splashing in puddles ) did they finally decide that tide pooling was quite great especially if it meant PLAYING!

Keeping our Neighborhoods Safe

One of the reasons that I choose to walk with my children almost everywhere we go is because it is good for neighborhoods to have people walking the streets.  It makes them feel vibrant.   It is also just good for us. It allows my family to feel connected to people and nature.  Every walk we go on it seems that we meet at least someone we know and exchange greetings and updates.  We also always notice at least one thing about the environment that is different.   This is important.  I write this listening to the birds.  Both of my boys woke up at the sound of the first bird of the day  and while luckily they have gone back to sleep, the birds continue to sing for me and I am glad.  In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring.   The title refers to a spring without birds singing (due to pesticide, DDT in particular).  In 2012 it is up to us to pay attention to our world.  Are we changing it? For the worse or for the better?  Our walks are a check in.

Last night for example our boys said, "Can we go on an after dinner walk?"  Even though both my husband and I were tired and I had a headache; it sounded like a beautiful idea.  The boys  even requested the urban greenspace they wanted to go to.   My husband and I looked at each other with a question.  We have debated it before:  the loop we take when we walk this greenspace takes us through a drug trafficing center.  While mostly this activity has ignored us it has felt uncomfortable at times.  We also have even had to detour the greenspace when teenage activities not appropriate for young children were taking place.  Nevertheless, it is our urban park and in it are native plants that even I assisted in planting ten years ago.   It is also a park where before we even get out the door S says "I want to sit on my log and rest when we get by the big tree."  We all know this park.  So we went.

The journey to the park was lovely.  A friend pulled over in her car and talked to us.  We talked and made our way up a giant hill and even though S kept saying he was so tired, he only required carrying for a short while.   Then we wandered the greenspace.  We were all in awe how in the past month everything had filled out.  It was so green!  And somehow all the green revealed to us new pathways we had never noticed.  It was lovely.  Then we were out.  As we headed home we had to make our way down a long block which bordered the greenspace and we noticed two men standing, smoking, shifting back and forth obviously waiting for us to pass by.   It was uncomfortable and of course the boys wanted to dawdle more than ever.  When S said when we passed some stumps,  "this is where we used to picnic," I was sure he was going to sit down and want a snack- but we went on.  As soon as we finished the block I took a look back.  The men were gone.  They had disappeared into the woods.  They were not hiking.   A camp?  A stash?     

I wonder if it was wrong to go on this route?  Mostly I think it was right.  We just need more people doing the same thing.   Enjoying the evening light.  Getting to know neighbors.  Listening to the sounds of our neighborhood.  Solving community problems together and making our neighborhood safe and comfortable for everyone. 

Little bird, Little bird

The sound of a hummingbird is distinct.  It sounds like a buzz, but it is not like the buzz of mosquitoes that I heard growing up.   It is the sound of a fast moving bird.  The males when doing their mating dance dives can go up to 51 mph and make a loud squeak with their outer tail feathers.  

This spring we had the marvelous opportunity to not only see the male mating dance, but then the female made a nest and raised two chicks right in our holly tree.  Today as we walked the yard we heard the buzz.  Although the Anna's Hummingbird momma and her two chicks had disappeared quite quickly after their birth, today I think we saw the juvenile.  It was not as colorful as a fully developed hummingbird and it seemed even smaller than the typical minute adult.  Lucky for us it perched.  First I lifted S and he saw it.  Then I lifted T to see it -- in a branch only about 8 feet away.   I don't know if it is as impressive to them- the petite quality and yet the strength of this bird.    I am always held in awe.  Today I was especially pleased because I am hopeful it is one of those 2 little babies that you can see poking their heads out of the small moss/ lichen covered and spider web lined nest in the picture.

Seeing a hummingbird so closely- and noticing its long beak reminds me of how to teach kids how to identify birds and understand their adaptations by their beaks.   Basically use tools as a metaphor, for example from project wild :
Hummingbirds
Use long, slender beaks to probe flowers for nectar
Use a Turkey baster or eye dropper and then for their foodTall vase or cylinder with colored water

Beach Time

The intention today was to make it to low tide at the beach, but Saturdays mornings are sometimes slow at our house and we missed the low tide point by a couple of hours.  I was disappointed, however I need to remember that just going to the beach is wonderful enough.  It didn't take long for our family and dear friend Martha to find a perfect driftwood "train log" as the boys called it.  S & T were content to play imaginary games while the "grown-ups" talked.  Sitting on a train log is much like wandering slowly with a friend- words just seem to spill out to one another: dreams discussed and plans made.  Every once and a while someone notices something on the horizon and everyone stops to watch.  Today we saw many sails unfurled as the boats pulled out of the nearby marina.

Slow time.

I realize that my original intentions for the day was to "show" the boys tide pools, but that would have just been too much for the day.  We did exactly what we needed to.  In the Coyote's Guide to Connecting with Nature (a book I have just begun reading- that feels like talking to an old friend). There is a section on the importance of both wandering and unstructured time. Within it is a great quote by Wendell Berry from his Essay An Entrance to the Woods

"The faster one goes, the more strain there is on the senses, the more they fail to take in, the more confusion they must tolerate or gloss over-and the longer it takes to bring the mind to a stop in the presence of anything."

One day we will wander further than the train log...but it will not be without some intention, a good picnic and planned dawdling along the way.

A trip to Muir Woods

Our family traveled this weekend to California and lucky to get to go with grandma to the Muir Woods. The trees there are amazing! The interesting challenge with young children in seeing such a place is that the forest is preserved like a museum and not so much of a touch and explore forest- rather a contemplate and observe place.

Luckily S and t love bridges and water and so while the adults gaped at the trees the boys tried to find the start of the river- and guided us down the trail next to the water, inspired by the bridges... and then there would be the occasional tree that you could go inside and the boys were awed! "A house!" they called out. We talked about all the animals that must come out when the humans go home. We also found plants like we have at home in our woods. It was great that the boys identified with the sword fern, the horse tail, and the thimbleberry reminding me that each experience in nature connects to one another.

And when the time came to enter "the cathedral" where you are supposed to be quiet out of reverence the boys did a fantastic job.

Leaves in the Water: Boys on the Trail

Yesterday the boys and I hiked at the Mercer Slough.  It was great fun to hike the trails and to let the boys explore.  I think that T is really picking up a knack for directions, as the trail would wind around he would turn and point to where we came from.  I had him try to lead us back to the car as well- and he did a pretty good job. 

Both boys are starting to be aware of landmarks such as the two distinct snags that we saw.  They wondered what had happened to them, why was there a hole, and why they had no bark. 

The boys also explored how water moves.  They would drop a leaf in one side of the water and see if it came out on the other side of the boardwalk.  As young scientists they would test their hypothesis of which way the water was moving.  In the slough this can be challenging since the water runs in different directions along the path. 

Hiking with three year old children is so much easier than hiking with the boys when they were younger.  They are more confident on their feet.  They really notice things and are engaged -so it is so much easier to go a longer way.