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.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Walking the yard: searching for a rainbow
Walking the yard. I try to make it a practice to walk the yard with the boys. I do it because there is a deep satisfaction in it for me & I hope the boys feel it too. Today we started it by me grabbing a cup of chalk and saying to the boys: do you think we can find all of these colors in the yard?
T led us to the first find. The compost bin! It is a great big green barrel, the color of our green chalk- and a magnificent wonder to the boys as it has a great big crank. This "man-made" thing was not what I had hoped for at first, however it was a wake up to where my boys are at- they are thrilled with this new addition to our yard, given to us by friends who just don't have a yard anymore. In anycase, after a giant rotation around with the crank we were headed off to find the next color.
Yellow - the leaf of a broccoli plant.
Purple! The color of the sage flower. The color of our irises. And later we would find it the color of our mysterious allium flower.
Then S found pink on one of the plastic balls on our patio. We found red on a poppy.
And so many greens. I wanted to point them each out- however I don't know if the various shades in different texture has as much meaning to them as it does to me. Nevertheless, we continued our walk now noticing the newly forming apples on the apple tree....and the flowers on the huckleberry bush did they notice they are white?
One thing drifts into another when you walk the yard, so I don't know how it was that the boys decided the yard needed watering, but it did not! "Look a river they cried" as dad ran over to turn it off. It has been raining for the past couple of days. S who had not napped and was close to delirium tired (but it was too late for nap and too early for bed). Had a tantrum. He wanted to water. I tried to rationalize. I shook leaves and as the water dripped on us I hoped he would realize --maybe things are already wet. I tried to get him to touch the grass. I even said thank you for being so considerate to the plants, but lets save the water. I was utterly useless in reaching him or calming him from the tantrum but I decided to do what I need to do when I want to calm down: walk and get distracted.
We didn't have to go too far when I said "blue!" It is S's favorite color. He was still teary but as I brought him nearer the ground-covering radiant blue flowers he calmed a bit. Then when I showed him there was a path amongst the flowers made of concrete stones he stopped and watched as I went hopping from stone to stone. He followed. We did it again. S was calm. We continued a walk up and down the street. We stopped to watch some kids play at their tree house and after a short conversation walked on. I saw colors, but I didn't call them out. I wanted him to have his own experience. I wonder what it was that he noticed. Dinner beckoned and I never got a chance to ask, but private experiences, moments and reflections are important too.
T led us to the first find. The compost bin! It is a great big green barrel, the color of our green chalk- and a magnificent wonder to the boys as it has a great big crank. This "man-made" thing was not what I had hoped for at first, however it was a wake up to where my boys are at- they are thrilled with this new addition to our yard, given to us by friends who just don't have a yard anymore. In anycase, after a giant rotation around with the crank we were headed off to find the next color.
Yellow - the leaf of a broccoli plant.
Purple! The color of the sage flower. The color of our irises. And later we would find it the color of our mysterious allium flower.
Then S found pink on one of the plastic balls on our patio. We found red on a poppy.
And so many greens. I wanted to point them each out- however I don't know if the various shades in different texture has as much meaning to them as it does to me. Nevertheless, we continued our walk now noticing the newly forming apples on the apple tree....and the flowers on the huckleberry bush did they notice they are white?
One thing drifts into another when you walk the yard, so I don't know how it was that the boys decided the yard needed watering, but it did not! "Look a river they cried" as dad ran over to turn it off. It has been raining for the past couple of days. S who had not napped and was close to delirium tired (but it was too late for nap and too early for bed). Had a tantrum. He wanted to water. I tried to rationalize. I shook leaves and as the water dripped on us I hoped he would realize --maybe things are already wet. I tried to get him to touch the grass. I even said thank you for being so considerate to the plants, but lets save the water. I was utterly useless in reaching him or calming him from the tantrum but I decided to do what I need to do when I want to calm down: walk and get distracted.
We didn't have to go too far when I said "blue!" It is S's favorite color. He was still teary but as I brought him nearer the ground-covering radiant blue flowers he calmed a bit. Then when I showed him there was a path amongst the flowers made of concrete stones he stopped and watched as I went hopping from stone to stone. He followed. We did it again. S was calm. We continued a walk up and down the street. We stopped to watch some kids play at their tree house and after a short conversation walked on. I saw colors, but I didn't call them out. I wanted him to have his own experience. I wonder what it was that he noticed. Dinner beckoned and I never got a chance to ask, but private experiences, moments and reflections are important too.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Prayer/ Wish Flags for the Garden
Yesterday I attended a workshop for teachers at the Seattle Tilth. So far every program I attend by them is terrific. This one was about Teaching Art and Music in the garden. It was a wonderful way to spend three hours. We started the day with a great activity of decorating paper bags with pictures from Garden and Horticulture catalogs and magazines. Then the teacher Lisa showed us some other projects she has done with children. One of my favorites was "Prayer/Wish Flags" which she makes with young people by just using fabric and cheap acrylic paint. Then hangs them in the garden. Interestingly enough today I saw a post for the same activity on the blog the Artful Parent but made with just a little more time.
I am now thoroughly inspired. I just need to procure the materials and we will be off. Our garden which is growing wonderfully and magically surely awaits some fluttering flags.
I am now thoroughly inspired. I just need to procure the materials and we will be off. Our garden which is growing wonderfully and magically surely awaits some fluttering flags.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Toddler Tales and Trails
It was wonderful to get the opportunity to volunteer at my local park and lead the Toddler Tales and Trails. I am always talking about the benefits of getting children out in nature and while I take my own out I realize that leading large groups of young children (ages 1-3 in today's situation) is a huge challenge.
I decided that I would focus on looking for what birds eat because I knew that kids would find insects and worms at ground level. I try to keep in mind that kids want hands on things. They also want to move their bodies. However, they are also capable of connecting to stories. Here is basically what we did in just one hour:
Introduction to names, a weather check in , and a song, "Open Shut Them"
Then I asked how the kids got to the park and shared with them that we often bus to the park and in some cities you can even take the train to the park. Then I opened the book called Subway Sparrow and out came a feather. We used the one finger touch to gently pass it around. Then I read them the story. It is about how three people who speak all different languages help a sparrow out of a train. It inspired me to ask the park naturalists if this was indeed the correct way to get out a bird and they said yes, but usually a dark scarf will actually help to calm the bird down more. Even if a bird crashes into a window and gets disoriented by putting it into a dark box and leaving for a while it will get re-centered and then about an hour later you can safely release it. At the end of the story I had a stuffed sparrow wrapped in a cloth and we opened it, listened to its call and passed it around.
We sang "Little Bird, Little bird fly through my window."
We then discussed what birds need to eat and the kids came up with insects and worms...so I did a "walk and talk" through a book called An Earthworm's Life which is all about worms.
Kids were getting wiggly so we did sing "Way up in the Sky" as a repeat after me song.
Then, it was time to go hiking. Hiking with probably 12 children and their grownups is a challenge. I wanted it to be as hands on as possible and so I found open places for the children to look for insects. We did use a bug jar magnifier and passed around a rolypoly. The kids all did a one finger touch of a worm and later a slug. The kids hiked. We stopped a couple of times to sing and I did open an insect counting book for a brief time along the path so that we could get the whole group gathered together. The naturalist who accompanied us led us in a song about wiggly worms and some kids even crawled about on the ground wiggling. We also sang a song that the naturalist had provided about a Five Little Robins.
All in all it seemed like most kids were engaged. The naturalist said when I asked for advice that sometimes with such a big group she tells the parents to look with their child along the trail together and ask open ended questions about what they see. This was a great suggestion-- I was trying to decide as I led the group whether I should focus purely on the children or also the adults. It is a grand balancing act. I think it is most natural to focus on both, plus the experience is hopefully one that will inspire families to get out with their children even more.
Closing song was "The More we get Together"
I decided that I would focus on looking for what birds eat because I knew that kids would find insects and worms at ground level. I try to keep in mind that kids want hands on things. They also want to move their bodies. However, they are also capable of connecting to stories. Here is basically what we did in just one hour:
Introduction to names, a weather check in , and a song, "Open Shut Them"
Then I asked how the kids got to the park and shared with them that we often bus to the park and in some cities you can even take the train to the park. Then I opened the book called Subway Sparrow and out came a feather. We used the one finger touch to gently pass it around. Then I read them the story. It is about how three people who speak all different languages help a sparrow out of a train. It inspired me to ask the park naturalists if this was indeed the correct way to get out a bird and they said yes, but usually a dark scarf will actually help to calm the bird down more. Even if a bird crashes into a window and gets disoriented by putting it into a dark box and leaving for a while it will get re-centered and then about an hour later you can safely release it. At the end of the story I had a stuffed sparrow wrapped in a cloth and we opened it, listened to its call and passed it around.
We sang "Little Bird, Little bird fly through my window."
We then discussed what birds need to eat and the kids came up with insects and worms...so I did a "walk and talk" through a book called An Earthworm's Life which is all about worms.
Kids were getting wiggly so we did sing "Way up in the Sky" as a repeat after me song.
Then, it was time to go hiking. Hiking with probably 12 children and their grownups is a challenge. I wanted it to be as hands on as possible and so I found open places for the children to look for insects. We did use a bug jar magnifier and passed around a rolypoly. The kids all did a one finger touch of a worm and later a slug. The kids hiked. We stopped a couple of times to sing and I did open an insect counting book for a brief time along the path so that we could get the whole group gathered together. The naturalist who accompanied us led us in a song about wiggly worms and some kids even crawled about on the ground wiggling. We also sang a song that the naturalist had provided about a Five Little Robins.
All in all it seemed like most kids were engaged. The naturalist said when I asked for advice that sometimes with such a big group she tells the parents to look with their child along the trail together and ask open ended questions about what they see. This was a great suggestion-- I was trying to decide as I led the group whether I should focus purely on the children or also the adults. It is a grand balancing act. I think it is most natural to focus on both, plus the experience is hopefully one that will inspire families to get out with their children even more.
Closing song was "The More we get Together"
Art out of doors
Just getting children into the out of doors is great. It changes how kids play. A great first step for classrooms is to just put stations that are regularly indoors and place them outside!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Two eyes!
My oldest boy (by five minutes),loves to stop and smell the flowers. He also likes to check out interesting plants. Here he is with a small sample of euphorbia. He thinks it looks like two eyes an I am glad he has come up with a way to identify with this plant, the challenge is to remind him not to pick plants without permission as plants such as euphorbia can sometimes have a milky sap that is an irritant or even poisonous. So while I don't want to discourage his investigations and connections I want I foster a healthy respect of living things. We will do this by continuing to make connections to what he sees: finding other "two eyed" creatures, planting in our own garden, and continuing to learn that we should always ask before picking plants!
Likewise, I should become a better model for working with plants and use gloves as I garden around plants that might be skin irritants. We also can continue to discuss both how plants attract pollinators and also how they protect themselves.
Likewise, I should become a better model for working with plants and use gloves as I garden around plants that might be skin irritants. We also can continue to discuss both how plants attract pollinators and also how they protect themselves.
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