Family Hike

Yesterday we went on a Family Hike.  It was a joy to see so many mothers and children heading into the woods on a cloudy day.  It was an experience to get to be with  many children who are so comfortable in the woods.  Many of them have been a part of the Vashon Wilderness School and have a nature connection due to spending days weekly in the woods at Camp Long.  These children headed immediately off trail and found challenges and adventures throughout the forest.  This program is one of several that aims to teach children about nature from safety, to exploring, to honoring and respecting.   It is an organization inspired by Wilderness Awareness and the children who attend it definitely feel comfortable in the wilderness.

  

I realize however that all families do not always have the same background or comfort in this "off trail" exploration.  I also realize that different parks have a different tolerance of off trail exploration.  So in leading a family nature hike I realize that in general it is particularly important to set ground rules that everyone can follow and feel good about that journey.

When I was at a camp in Minnesota leading teenagers into the woods, the counselors followed the belief that you had to respect the boundaries of the leader most restrictive.  Therefore, if one counselor said, "these rapids are too dangerous" then the whole group would go around the rapids.   This motto existed after a few particularly scary runs down rivers: when canoes capsized, luggage was lost, and boats needed to be repaired.   No one had been hurt, but the lesson had been learned to respect the wild river and the skills and comfort level of the counselors.

Yesterday I had inspired this group of families to get out into the woods, but I realized that I did not fully understand my role.  For the future it made me realize I need to clarify what role I am to have when I plan future hikes so I know whether it is  just an informal event where everyone does sort of their own thing or if it is something that I am guiding, leading and therefore setting parameters and expectations.  The Children and Nature Network has a Family Nature Hike program that has somewhat formalized this role of facilitating Family Nature Hikes and while I never felt it necessary to use it, I can see its place especially when you are getting groups of people together who you may not know.

I plan to lead many more groups into nature.  Each experience I have gives me new insight and reminds me to feel confident in my own gift of teaching nature.  I have a unique perspective as a mother of twin boys and over 20 years as an educator and urban naturalist.  I have much to learn and much to share.

A few activities that I did do on this hike was at the start of the hike get us prepared for animals we may see by having children pull stuffed animal puppets out of a bag.
An group art project where we looked for different colors of green.
A group game of imaginary ball toss where you pass a ball to one another...1st it might be a tennis ball, then a watermelon, a feather ecetera....

Bedtime story: What we do

The other day has become a bedtime story that was repeated by both T and his dad for the past couple of nights.  

There were once four boys who played outside for a long time.  They biked.  They dug out a road.  They played pirates.  When it was dinner both families ate outside.  You could hear the happy voices from each yard.  Our family ate really good food.  After dinner S and T went fishing with sticks and string over the pond (which is just our hillside).  They caught lots of salmon and S cooked them.  Their friends joined them.

Then a big black cloud came overhead.  It got suddenly cold.  The wind began to blow and snow began to fall (really flower petals from the cherry and plum trees). The boys chased the flakes and tried to catch them.  J and T caught the most.  They were fast. Everyone laughed and smiled.  Then it was time to go into the house.  It had started to rain big cold wet drops.  We watched out the door as rain and hail fell down.

After it rained T went out to investigate the cold soaking grass the hail that had lingered and where water had collected.   A crow called then mom called, "time for bed."  Everyone put on pajamas and snuggled up for bed.

Investigating cones

Today the boys and I went to the Arboretum for the fiddleheads program. Teacher Sarah does a great job balancing play, games and explorations  during the two hour sessions.  The boys enjoyed looking at the cones and noticing their different colors and shapes.  They also enjoyed playing the game where they had to "run and find"…."a stem"…"a flower"..."a leaf"….and "a root. " S was always particular proud of his discoveries and would run back to Teacher Sarah to tell what he had seen.

Later this afternoon we played this game in our own yard taking turns calling out what to find: "something red and wet," a yellow leaf, "something dry"...a tulip..a laurel tree leaf.. a hidden spot under the wheelbarrow.  This game can be played with older kids and the added element of something chasing you and the only safe place is "a huckleberry bush" or "a rock" or anything that can be found in the environment.

Puttering

Yesterday the boys and I were outside most of the day.  It went from slightly blustery and rainy in the morning to beautiful spring sunshine.   While we finished a few tasks in the yard more moving dirt, pulling weeds, and planting some patio thyme we also just played.

The boys are amazing at finding things to do and invent.  At one moment S was "riding"our upside down wheelbarrow and he had pulled his bike onto to it and said,"I am Santa fixing a bike that someone returned."  T was working diligently on his roads and mountains.

Meanhwhile the boys were also "harvesting water" from wherever they could find it in the yard and adding it to their dirt to make mud and then using various toys/ tools for funnels.

At one point the boys next door asked us "what we were doing."
I replid, "puttering."
He said, "What it that?"
I said, "it's just doing stuff."

I am not sure that definition is adequate, but it made me realize how happy I am to know that I can putter and how happy it makes me to look out and see my boys putter about, making inventions, rolling down the hill, and then moving things about.

We invited the neighbors over and the play changed from quiet puttering to active building and chasing, laughing and occasional crying...thats what happens during unstructured freeplay.    In the end the boys also built "cobblestone" roads  and this lovely campfire made of stones and flowers.

Planting Community

Thanks to  dedicated neighbors,  Green Canopy Seattle and the Washington Native Plant Society our communities have great opportunities to reclaim forest lands and greenspaces that have been taken over by invasive species such as English ivy.  My boys are particularly pleased that they get to plant trees and native plants in their own neighborhood.  It is one of our families favorite outings!

GOOD DIRT!

I've just come in from playing with the boys and renewing the garden with two yards of fresh compost and I feel good.  The research isn't that new, but I was recently sent an article on the benefits of dirt and thought I should share it, especially if by adding a little dirt to our lives we can improve our immune systems.

I realize that dirt is much more complex than I can begin to imagine & that understanding soils will be key to becoming a solid gardener and now I realize  important to becoming a healthy being.

Bird Egg Hunt

On Saturday our boys attended the preschool Tales and Trails Egg Hunt at the Seward Park Audubon.  It was a fabulous way to use something exciting for children-an egg hunt-and provide a lesson in how different birds make different nests and even lay different colored eggs.  There were stories, songs, bird calls, and opportunities to touch real nests that all led up to an activity of painting bird houses and then searching for specific eggs.  Each child was supposed to gather 6 eggs...all different colors and marked to represent true eggs even though they were plastic.  The kids had a grand time and the bird houses remind the boys of a wonderful event.  Thank you amazing Teacher Naturalists!

Inventing Games

The privilege of parenting is that you get to watch the amazing process of young people growing up.  Each stage is so delightful and especially in the early childhood years when change seems to occur daily.  On Saturday I had the delight of getting to watch just one of my four year old boys playing in the backyard with me, while his twin brother had the more urban adventure of a walk with his dad to the park.  

In anycase, S was ready to play in the peace and safety of our own backyard.  In fact as soon as we got back there he started to pick up his play from where he had left it-- Was it hours or days before? He had a plastic planting bucket that was for his fish and a stick and he was using for fishing. Soon he was giving me fresh cooked salmon. 

Minutes later after we had eaten he was ready to play some games; which he has just started to invent. In this case he used a ball, a plant carrying flat and a plastic scoop catcher's net.  He started to think about how to get the ball to land in the "flat", but first it had to bounce over a stick.  He would try it one way and then try it another way.  Then he would feel success!  He always was checking to see if I was watching- even though I was also pulling weeds.    

I was amazed at how he is refining his coordination, coming up with a system of rules,  and creatively using objects that all had a different uses than what he was using them.