After Sunset: Walking and the Parade of Boats

It has been a joy to keep a blog for several years now because it helps me realize traditions that come with each season.  Nights in November and December are dark, cool, and sometimes windy, but that doesn’t keep my family from walking after dark.  There is a magic that happens walking together in the dark.  Conversations flow.  The world seems different and in our community many neighbors put up lights.  The lights become an excuse to walk after dark.  No idling engines: we walk.  

The other night we walked to a new light experience at Lake Washington.  Each winter the Argosy has a Christmas boat that then is followed by a parade of other boats lit up with lights of all colors and designs.  The Christmas boat stops at certain points along the lake and sings to the crowds both aboard the boat and also onshore. This year we went to the Ferdinand Park about 1.5 walk from our home.  As we got to the lake luminaria- candles in paper bags adorned the path for as far as the eye could see.  There was the bonfire, myriads of neighbors- most who had arrived on foot.  Enjoying the night out together.  This type of community gathering brings out all ages.  A grand celebration of lights and singing. 

We all finished the caroling with a grand Jingle Bells and then walked home, making a special effort to pass the blocks with the most Holiday lights.  What made this year extra grand was walking with grandparents and our neighbors.  Each family had equipped our children with light sticks or blinking snowflakes so that they could be seen in the dark and together we wandered the many blocks with nary a complaint and many a good conversation. 

Another tree felled.

Whenever I see a tree cut, I stop to wonder:  What has this tree experienced.  How long has it been there? What parts of the ecosystem are depending on it.  I also think of Aldo Leopold, an early 20th century conservationists, and his essay February: Good Oak in which he ponders the life of his felled oak as he counts the rings and then watches its wood burn in his fire.

November seems to be the month for cutting trees.  I follow my ears to find where the tree cutters are today.  Today just a few blocks from our home: a couple of old fir trees and an old cherry and a third site somewhere not far away. I realize in the city trees can be planted in the wrong place or that there is a fungus that is affecting the health of cherry trees.  Perhaps all the trees being cut down are for good reasons.  Nevertheless, it makes me sad.  Crows, owls, birds of all sorts have homes in those trees.  Tonight our local Audubon Environmental Learning Center is putting on a book talk on the new book called Subirdia- it is going to remind us of some of the birds we see as we are on the outskirts of the city.

Our developing neighborhood has always been near the outskirts and hence we have had great bird diversity in our community...but with each tree that is felled, I worry.  A recent article in our local paper on A fight for Urban Trees: Seattle’s Wealthier Neighborhoods Leafier and here is also a city link on canopy coverage maps and reforestation plans.

Paying Attention to Birds

A couple of weeks ago I started a post about birds that I never finished. I noted what was happening outside our house in the city.  Now I realize that I although this shows some understanding of the local ecology that with deeper investigation, observation, and a good mentor I could understand so much more.

Fall is an amazing time for birds in the city.  If you listen the trees are alive with them calling one another.  This past week I have seen a flock of cedar waxwings eating our grapes.  A Towhee under the Hawthorne.  Bushtits flying through the cherry trees in the side yard.  Black capped chickadees inspecting the empty bird feeder: as though they are saying "it is time for you to feed us again!" Flickers calling loudly & eating the grapes as well.  Meanwhile squirrels are scurrying all about: All but one of the sunflowers in our yard have been beheaded.  The crows are heading home to roost earlier and earlier. 

Last night I attended a talk by Jon Young on Nature Connection.  He has been working on getting children connected to nature since he was a youth and in 1983 as a culminating research project found common elements from cultures that exhibit nature connection. From that he named attributes and developed a model of Nature Connection that he utilizes in programs across the US and Canada and founded the local Wilderness Awareness School.   Although he now has moved to California he continues to study and write books  such as Coyote Mentoring and What the Robin Knows as well as be a speaker and consultant.

This consulting has led him to his newest endeavor a project called Bird Language Leaders with the National Audubon which will be trying out a new program in the coming year with twenty launch sites.  It is already being tested in places including a preschool in the Presidio in San Francisco to great success.  One of the reasons that Jon says it works so well is that as part of the sessions not only do the kids watch birds they also gather together afterward in what he calls a structured layered gathering where everyones voice is heard.  It also includes mentoring which Jon points out is a very important part of cultures that connect people to people, people to ancestors,  and people to nature.  He is working with UC Davis to test and accredit the program.  In April there will be an opportunity to take a workshop on the is program at Wilderness Awareness School.

I love the idea that even young children can learn the language of birds.  It is also critical that young children connect to nature.  Richard Louv identified in 2005 in his book Last Child in the Woods that our children are losing this connection.  He continues to research this problem with the Children and Nature Network. He also seeks out solutions.  Jon knows him and says that even though in the years since the "nature deficit" problem has been identified and many people have tried to create programs to counter this,-- that really the best way that has been to get children connected to nature is for families to gather together for potlucks in the park and let their children run off and play on their own.

This talk inspired me to continue to work on creating great livable neighborhoods that offer gathering places and nature in their midst so that families can gather, connect and build experiences for sharing and learning together.   It also reminded me that I am still working on watching the TED talks that were gathered on  placemakers which I discovered when I was recently sent an article about what makes a strong community.

It is all about CONNECTION!

Poetry

Autumn begs for poetry.  A local school choir that performed for the school board last night sang a song about autumn that they wrote after going out and looking at signs of fall and leaves around their school.  Songs are poetry combined with music and the choir was magnificent.

This month my children have the assignment to memorize several poems as well as write their own poem.  Poetry is a beautiful compliment noticing the world around you.   I am thankful that the poems they get to learn are accessible and relevant.  One of them is Rachel Field's City Rain Poem, with the beautiful line about rain "Slantwise where the buildings crowd"  The words allow a new way of looking and describing rain.  It also allow my children to think of their own words to describe rain. 

We don't always make our walks outside poetry excursions- but the experiences that our children are building allow for words to tumble out later especially when we allow them to notice the magic of the  world and their own experience within it. 

More thoughts on Recess

The Importance of Recess

There are too many children who have lost recess time ever since the beginning of the No Child Left Behind Act when many schools began to say that every minute of the school day had to be accountable to standards & that recess was just too big of a distraction.   But, recess is not a distraction if we recognize that it is an important part of the social, emotional and physical well being of our children and a critical part of our students' day.  

Not only is their a myriad of research that talks about the benefits of outdoor time for children, see the Children and Nature Network for an amazing amount of information on this topic.  There is also a lot of research that says that students actually perform better when their social and emotional needs are met and that play is a great way to develop these skills.  

As a teacher and now as a mother of twin boys  I am very concerned about the amount of time and the quality of recess.  I alway inquire when my kids come home.  What did you do at recess?  Their answers tell me about how they are learning to get along with others, how they are processing what they are learning academically (with my kindergarteners I notice whether themes and ideas from class are coming out in imaginative play).  How they are feeling about school.  When kids don't have adequate recess time or lose it due to rain.  I am truly sad, because I feel that one of the most important aspects of the day has been lost.  Often the replacement includes screen time which is non- relational.  

Now a large group of parents, teachers and social justice advocates are putting out the call for a Seattle wide lunch and recess policy to make sure that all children get enough time for food and play- critical components of healthy learning.    I am in support of this issue on a number of levels. 

1. All children need time to play.  For many students school is the only time that children get outdoor time and unstructured play.  

2. The brain needs time to process and play allows for that.

3. As we let our children play more, we will also focus more on what great play environments look like.  We will add things like loose parts and more nature to our school yards so that we have children who come in refreshed from play.  

4. Many parts of the world actually give their students more time to decompress than we do.  See the book Parenting without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us

By Gross-Loh, Christine.

5.  Healthy bodies lead to healthy minds. No child should forgo or rush eating so that they can play.  BOTH food and play are critically important. 

The recess issue is not one easily solved, because so many of our schools are struggling to handle all the things placed upon them, but this is a topic worth advocating for because it is good for kids and it is good for communities.  It will not be simple, but education should not be simple.   This discussion and taking action is important. 

A list of book on Planning Playgrounds and the Importance of Play are listed on my library page  list. 

Staying in touch with the sun and moon

My students have a master kindergarten teacher.  She has taught for forty years.  Not only does she know how to teach reading and writing, but she teaches history, citizenship, and the earth sciences.  The day starts standing on a "shadow line." The children stop each day to notice their shadows before lining up to go into the building.  This connects to their understanding of the world, time, the calendar concepts which are developed further in the classroom each day.

The calendar is not just a simple routine done at circle time.  It is a time for deep understandings about numbers, the season, weather, and patterns.   For our family who spends so much time outside- the activities from class give us new ways to reflect.   We read the poems the teacher sends home each month & play with the language & the ideas within them.  Homework is also a daily  discussion or activity to do.  In September it included: draw pictures of the moon.  Collect three different types of leaves.  Discuss what is the autumn equinox.  Cut open an apple and find the seeds.  Have the children retell the story about the little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside.

The children also received a tree book. In the book they are supposed to choose a deciduous tree to draw each month of the school year.  The students are learning to observe with a new eye at the same time they are just starting to develop their small motor and drawing skills.

I am thankful to be a parent participant in the new awakenings of my children.

Relaxing in Nature after School

Seattle in September: The air is crisp and clean.  The light is clear and bright.  Tinges of color are starting to appear on the leaves.  Fruits have sugared, many have already peaked.  It is time for school.

This year my boys have begun their formal education. They are in an all day kindergarten.  They were ready for the challenge, but it is challenging.  Six and a half hours of being present and accountable to other people's schedule.  There is not much unstructured playtime.  So I am even more thankful for these beautiful, long days.

Each day after school our walk home is the beginning of unwinding.  By the time we reach the yard the need to roll on our hill, climb a tree or dig a stick in the dirt is all that matters to my young scholars.  We don't even enter the house- I just see them cut loose and play. 

As many people these days observe there are not many nearby neighbors to play with. Many kids play organized sports or head off to lessons-- riding in cars leaving the neighborhood.  But, we settle into our own place.  The boys have a snack.  Then we play our version of soccer or baseball in the backyard...but it is when they are ready to depart from this more structured play that I know the good stuff has begun.  

Tonight one of my boys re-discovered the playhouse "kitchen." First he was just using sand and mixing and making me tacos.  Soon his brother joined and added in new ideas.  "Lets get herbs from the garden to add to the soup."  Then off he went, brother following.  Each boy picking, smelling and occasionally tasting the herbs.  Next came the addition of water.  The simmering soup.... then the mud chocolate bars.  DELICIOUS!

Finally the boys found the allium stalks.  At this time of the year they are beautiful dried wands with exploding dried flower seed pods that are the size a basketball.  They become fireworks- as the boys pull the heads off.  Then they wave the stalks.  Break them and investigate.  Twenty minutes later they are still playing with the same plant.  The sun is going down.  They have experienced the day- fully. 

Little pieces of paper

Every once in a whole my little scraps of paper pile up and it is time to send them to press: Here are some notes that I have written of activities to get young children interacting;
Group juggling
Pattern games
What has changed memory games
Name games including songs and movements
Parachute fun
Bubbles
Chalk
Art activities including: making natural mobiles, painting ( paper and wood as well as natural objects)

Playtime!

This summer we are inviting a flow of kids to our house.  Since our street is sadly without many youngsters I like to help organize playtime with others.  We have been having big kid play dates with other four and five year olds.  I am hoping this age distinction is not setting up hierarchal behaviors, rather I hope it is just allowing for uninterrupted big kid play. 

Then in order to promote positive open ended and imaginative play I try to keep a list of activities up my sleeves & also add new elements into the yard.  I also suggest always having a snack break & even an art activity (play dough, pastels and watercolors have worked well for us).  

Here are a few of the elements we have introduced so far:

The boys had an idea that kids would want to make tools out of cardboard so we had created a “creation station”… and one of my kiddos said, we could even make boats.   The station has grown and now includes scissors, string, a hole punch and pipe cleaners.  There is starting to be pipe cleaner art all over the yard. 

I set out a laminated card of Washington Birds  and when the kids discovered it and went bird watching.   

We have scrap wood all over the yard (without nails) and it is perfect for building/ stacking/ and painting with mud and also for making balance experiments and activities by putting boards on bricks.  This was a child’s discovery and a great way to explore fulcrums, balance & catapults. 

Last week I hid little animals and had the kids find them in the yard and then build an animal habitat. 

Some of the imaginary events that have occurred:

fishing with sticks (pipe cleaner hooks + fish)

tide pool games

play house

zoo & zoo keeper

The best play comes from the kids themselves so beyond props I try to stay at the periphery.  

The Adventure Begins

 My boys are enthralled with the Mercer Island Adventure Playground  They went on opening day and enjoyed being checked out  construction worker hard hats and toolbox.  They walked with pride and excitement to begin their projects- making an idea come to life with real tools.  

The first day they found a place to work that was on a hill.  It made all the measurements, sawing and hammering a bit difficult but nonetheless a bench and table were made.   Projects that were no where to be found just two days later- turned into something else.   I worried that they would feel frustrated to see their projects gone, but it just allowed them a clear slate for today.  

All around us kids and parents were busily working on projects.  I was amazed at the creative projects.  It was truly an adventure playground: kid made rides, forts and furniture.  As a parent I had to try to hold back my own concerns and fears and realize that the learning was greater than the risk.  The greatest challenge for me was the amount of boards I saw with nails sticking out of them.  Sometimes pointing straight up.  There were also many nails just laying on the ground.  There is a reason that you are not allowed in the fenced off area with sandals on: closed toed shoes only.  It is also why I am not yet allowing our backyard to become an adventure playground.  We like to go barefoot on occasion.  

I also realized that it took full concentration as a parent to make sure my kids knew basic sawing and hammering safety.  But, already by our second visit I was much more at ease.  

It is amazing that Mercer Island staffs such a great learning and play activity.  So far it seems that the staff is mostly new to the Adventure Playground concept themselves, but they were always present and are learning quickly.   When we were in need of assistance someone in a bright yellow vest was never hard to find.    They were always friendly and helpful.  It will be interesting to see how the playground progresses during the summer. 

If you are planning a trip- plan to make it a full afternoon.   The adventure playground is set with in a lovely park.  There is also a great trail nearby for hiking and exploring. 

For more on adventure playgrounds: 

Adventure Playgrounds
http://adventureplaygrounds.hampshire.edu/index.html

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/adventureplayground/

Early Childhood Nature Games

I am trying to write down some of the games that the boys have played in these past years with other friends and teachers because this time is so fleeting and I don't want to forget the wonderful learnings both the boys and I have experienced.  Also, as an educator I want to be able to remember them and adapt them.   I have been very inspired by the teachers at the Arboretum.  They do a wonderful job of creating simple games that connect to the themes the children are studying.  The teachers are great mentors in less is more during early childhood.  Many of there games are based on the "run and find" theme.   For example, last week we were studying colors in nature.  The teacher had the children each take a paint chip (color) square and find that color.  Then, they came back to her and got a new color.  All the children had a wonderful time playing this game & parents were involved by their child showing their glee.  This game can have many versions: it can simply be run and find something with a specific attribute such as wet with dew, soft and fuzzy,  rough.

Another delightfully simple game that the boys have played include make a bird nest out of grass and twigs, hide it, then come and get food from the teacher.   If the kids want they can choose to be a specific type of bird.  One of my boys was a chickadee and the other a crow when we last played this.  They ran back and forth, back and forth to and from the teacher many times trying to get "food" for their baby birds.    I am thinking we may play this game today at big kid Monday!

My favorite days are when they close roads to cars and the pedestrians take over.  In Seattle they have a Summer Streets Day in each neighborhood when this happens.  it is glorious to revel in the  open space and the quiet.  So much of our lives are filled with noise that to have it silenced is a remarkable and peaceful event.

On Saturday our family rented canoes at the UW Waterfront.  It just happened to be on a day that the 520 bridge was closed; meaning that trip to and from and around Foster Island on Lake Washington was remarkably quiet.  There was not the whir of traffic, or the jostling of the bridge joints as cars went over the freeway to Montlake.  Instead it was mostly quiet , just the sound of the red wing blackbirds, the quacking of ducks, and the calls of Canadian Geese as we paddled past. 

I was slightly nervous about taking two children out in a canoe.  Due to UW waterfront policies each boy had to ride in a separate boat with a separate parent— as there is a three person limit for canoes and the four person rowboats were all checked out.   However, the boys did a terrific job. They each sat in the bow and were very enthusiastic about the short yellow paddles that were provided for them. 

I am thankful that the boys are learning about the Lake Washington ecosystem.  We have hiked much of the area near the waterfront. The boys have even searched for water bugs in the water with nets.  Now they experienced this place by water. They were experiencing it from the other side.  The trip allowed us to see more ducklings and goslings than we could count, a blue heron, red wing blackbirds, and two beaver lodges.  We also saw the long line of cliff swallow nests that lined the sides of the 520 off ramp. 

My wonders are: how do we get all children to know so intimately this place we live in?
Does it change we drive- when we know the amazing world your road is passing through?

Versions of Games: Red Light/ Green Light

In my next few posts I am going to write about versions of summertime games that I have led or observed recently.  Games are great in that they pique children's interest, get them playing together, and can lead to imaginative play as well as healthy movement.  The challenge is always to make sure that kids get to do all the roles.

One of the things that I have noticed is that kids love the traditional games and with small variations you can adapt them to a subject you are focusing on or various age levels.

Recently, I have been experimenting with versions of red light/ green light and how to make it fun & not always just a race.  Of course for some the competition is the fun.  However, there can be a balance.  Ultimately everyone loves to lead and the kids love the power.  But, it depends on what purpose you  are trying for- how to set it up.  I have notice that some children truly enjoy getting "to become" and animal.

Here are a few ways I have played it:

High tide (green) low tide (freeze)  All the children choose a sea creature to be as they run. The leader is a sea gull.  If she catches them they go back to the staring line.  Seagull makes gull cries and flaps her wings.

Owl and mouse.  At the hoot of the owl the mice must freeze.

Stop and Go with leader using just sign language.  In the version my son taught me yesterday, if one person continues after the go sign is put up everyone returns to the start. It makes it a bit more of a cooperative challenge.

This game can also be made into a game such as fire in the forest, where all children choose to be an animal.  The it calls out "fire in the forest" and the animals must run from one side of the forest to the other-  if you become tagged you are a tree ( you put out your arms out but cannot run).

Games can be simply transformed; like folk music they are meant to be owned by the people. The main goal is fun and connection.

All Children Deserve Time for Play

I advocate for all children to have access to great outdoor spaces and and ample time out in nature because when children are outside they learn about their world and each other.  I also believe that we can also measure the health of our communities by the opportunities that all children have to play.

Research is showing that unstructured play time is critical in terms of learning self regulation and developing socially and emotionally, as well and other skills that will lead to later success in life.  Unstructured play also leads to JOY! I can attest to this from watching my own children play both at home and at their play based pre-school.

However, the challenge is that schools are not always providing this opportunity for children- and it may be the only time that children have safe access to outdoor play.  KUOW recently did a three part series on this topic: no time for play.    If this is a concern of yours I hope that you will find some of these resources helpful.

National Association for Environmental Education publishes amazing information the benefits of outdoor time for a myriad of health related pieces on Children and Health.

Peter Gray writes about play on his blog and in Aeon Magazine  as well in his scholarly article for the Journal of Play 

Some of my other favorite books and online-articles that focus on the importance of Getting Kids in Nature include:

Christoper, Todd, The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids , Trumpeter Books, Boston, MA,  2010

Louv, Richard, The Nature Principle, Alonguin Books, Chapel Hill, 2011  (He also wrote Last Child in the Woods)

Books and articles by David Sobel including an inspiring article on Outdoor Kindergartens in YES magazine

Finally a few other resources:

City of Mercer Island- Links to Outdoor Play Research

There is a 2010 report on KUOW about recess disparity in the district


There are some local health resources here:


Green Cities:Good Health

Family Nature Clubs

The Seattle Public Library and Woodland Park Zoo have begun working to promote Family Nature Clubs funded in part by a Thrive by Five Grant.  Recently our family has begun attending a club in the nearby neighborhood of Rainier Beach.  The boys love it!

So far the direction and leadership has been by zoo staff:  Zoo staff have started each session with great stories and activities to gather everyone together and to promote thinking about nature and living things in new ways. Then they have given activity ideas to give a slight direction to our time out in nearby urban nature.   The reason I think it is such a success is the casual gathering of neighbors and families.  The carefully thought out materials that lead to wonder as well as and the time spent in nearby nature.   The children love to explore nature while spending time with the people who care for them.

So far we have attended only two sessions and already the boys are looking in new ways for colors, patterns and texture in nature.   The first week they had a handout of colors that they were to search for in an small-but sweet outdoor space behind the library.  The second week they were given play dough to take outside and make impressions of things they found in nature at a nearby park.   It was a different way of seeing.

Here is a picture of one of the "impressions" on of my boys made in his play dough.

Investigating Rotation

The boys play with their bikes in a myriad of ways. Friday they turned them upside down along with a wheel barrow and a toy truck. At first it seemed that the challenge was just to get the wheels spinning. Next, they discovered if the wheels touched one another you only had to spin one wheel and the second wheel would spin as well. Finally, they made observations about speed and how many rotations different size wheels made in the same amount of time. A playful moment:emergent scientific discovery.
We certainly are relishing the start of spring with lots of unstructured play.

Forts, Structures and Ice Cream Shops

Today the boys and a friend built an The Three Bears Ice Cream Shop using scrap wood, bricks, a piece of fabric and a few other odds and ends found about the yard.  They gathered writing materials and tape for their sign.

Although the structure is not fancy the children felt very proud of their work. It took a bit of guidance to actually get the idea going in a solid direction but as the kids started to explore the idea and manipulate the materials they quickly owned it. They made a freezer of ferns and were looking all around for roofing material which I eventually helped them with by suggesting fabric. In retrospect maybe I should have let them come up with that idea.

They were figuring out how to make ice cream as the day wrapped up and it would have been fun to see what they discovered. Sadly, the players may not all be gathered together tomorrow to continue the idea- but we will see what may transpire.

Reflection on the Movement

My posts often coincide with the developmental stages of my own children so if you have a younger child you may want to read older posts.  However, embedded throughout I have tried to list resources from my own journey as a parent and educator which can pertain to anyone interested in urban nature play and human development.

I began this journey when my boys were two almost three years ago.  At that time there was much less access to outdoor preschools and natural play areas were not as widely discussed.  It now seems like there is a large community conversation about these issues and also the benefits of unstructured play.

Research continues to come out showing how play helps children understand their world in a myriad of ways.  There is even a recent article about how young children can learn calculus through play.   However, my desire to get children outside playing is not to make brilliant children, but to make amazing, lively communities.  I believe that the more children play outside the healthier our communities will become.  I also believe that the roots of environmental awareness come from exposure and that all children should have a right to experience nature.  Finally, I believe that children who have played a lot are much more ready for school.

Great play can happen anywhere without too many resources.  From basic elements that you can have in a backyard or playground to amazing play areas and children's museums which take the work of childhood and curiosity seriously.  I recently was able to take my kids to the Bay Area Children's Museum and although my boys and I spent five hours there I wish I could take them again and again.  I wish every child could experience such a place of play, imagination and creativity.  Just a few elements that made it great:

• It had a huge outdoor play area with different scenes woven throughout a natural environment with hills and trees.  Examples of the scenes include a buried in sand pirate ship, with brooms and shovels and sifters in which kids dug through and looked for treasure.  There was another area that was a boat that the kids could climb upon.  There was a construction site for little children with plenty of diggers and dump trucks for all. 
• The kids were able to hike up a hill and chime a huge bell.  They could stop in a dinosaur nursery or at a grove full of frogs that when played (they were instruments) sounded like a choir.
• Inside rooms there were plenty of pulleys and scenes from real life in the city
• there was also a place to experience building boats

Digging for treasure

Although this museum did things fabulously many of the concepts can be built upon just by encouraging imagination and giving children access to a few tools. Likewise,  it can be enhanced by simple material- fabric, glue, and cardboard boxes.  There is an organization that encourages "pop-up" play that will be touring the US to show how simple this concept happens to be.

Adventure Playgrounds

I have yet to have visited an adventure playground, although there is one at Mercer Island I am hoping to get to this summer with my twin boys and it sounds as though Teacher Tom offers one at the Woodland Park cooperative a play area that is very close to an adventure playground.  In fact I think it was his webpage where I found this link talking about adventure playgrounds.  It sounds like there will soon be a movie about these amazing playspaces.  In the meantime I continue to work on making our own yard have as many "loose parts" as I can.

 It is amazing the creative play that comes from adding elements to the play yard.  From scrap wood that becomes forts, bridges, stir sticks and tools- to  our Christmas Tree which is in the back yard still drying and preparing for its final use in a bonfire but which currently gets a myriad of attention.  For example the other night when we had children over one child just wanted to swing at it with a stick and knock it over.  Then stand it up again.  Yesterday T asked if he could "prune" it and he began cutting off the boughs.  S and I used these to make wreaths around our blueberry bushes.  Then both boys decorated the play house with evergreens and made soups for a party out of the needles.

Here is an article that was recently in the Atlantic about Adventure Playgrounds

Watching Ducks

Taking slow time in nature is always the best. You never know what you might see.  After a class at the Arboretum last week we stayed and explored the areas of Duck Bay and Foster Island.  We do this regularly and the boys notice seasonal changes. They watch ducks and they also see other people interacting and enjoying nature: photographers, dog walkers, friends, and park employees.

In this picture a duck came wandering up close to the boys, moments later it swam away when a person in a beautiful wooden canoe paddled past. The boys were impressed watching the boat go under the bridge.  They watched peacefully.   I wondered whether the scene inspired them to travel or experience the world by boat?  I certainly was inspired!

Great Fun at the Arboretum

I have written before about the great Parent Child classes at the arboretum.  This year is a new teacher, however the program has stayed strong and has been a wonderful experience.   It is a lovely mixture of naturalist led activities around a different topic each week, student centered choices and exploration- all peppered with games that include the children and the parents.

This week we played a wonderful version of freeze tag.  It involved one person being "it" who turned whoever they tagged into a snowflake.  It involved another person being the sun and they ran around unfreezing the others.   Since class I have found the boys playing freeze / unfreeze many times since our most recent class.   It is through play that children develop deeper understanding and questioning.
I am so thankful for our preschool time when play is such a large part of life.    I just hope that this type of teaching and learning can stay a part of life as kids embark on more formal education.

Here is an article on the importance of outdoor play to child development that I recently came across about play and how other countries are trying to work for more outdoor play and naturalized playgrounds in their students lives.

Pine needle wreaths

At least once a month the Beacon Food Forest has a community work party. What was once a barren hillside is being turned into a lively community space: where neighbors and urban farmers are working together to learn and practice permaculture techniques while meeting neighbors and working for food justice and a sustainable food supply.

Yesterday it was once again a busy event with people of all ages in attendance. Although we were not there for long we tucked in some blueberry plants with shore pine needle boughs. We listened to drummers and enjoyed the sunshine.

New Understandings on Importance of Nature

I  regularly read the Children and Nature Network articles for inspiration and research.  I loved reading Richard Louv's books Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle.  I also am working on a creating a list at my local library of my favorite books for educators and parents.  However,  relevant to families in the NW  Louv recently wrote for the local Parent Map--from this link you can access many resources on nature preschools and parent child classes that just three years ago were still hard to find.

I feel like we are at a turning point in terms of education and early childhood understanding.  While No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top seemed to push out some of the "slow" experiences of raising children- research is now proving that we need to give children time to play.  It needs to be unstructured, but occasionally guided for social emotional growth.   It most likely will even be muddy!  The Washington State Early Learning Guidelines make it clear that outdoor time is great for development, but we have a ways to go in terms of making sure all children have this access.

Two years ago when I presented at the SOAR conference on the benefits of nature,  local preschool teachers at the conference said that they were often limited by regulations regarding the outdoor experiences they could provide for their kids.   As I investigate the schools in my region trying to find out what kindergarten will look like, I am sometimes concerned that there is so much standards based teaching and academics that it often hard for teachers to make the time for unstructured play and outdoor time.   I hope that we will make the time for all children.   As I reflect on Martin Luther King Jr's life and legacy this weekend with my family and community--I realize that is an equity issue to get all children opportunities for great  play and learning out of doors.

Prior to being the  full-time mother that I am currently;  I was a teacher.   I am confident that the more  unstructured outdoor experiences that children have will lead to greater mathematical, scientific and language arts understanding and success down the line.  The fact that my children play day in and day out at a mud pit in the back yard helps them understand their world today and will help them understand the land and water models that they will do in fourth or fifth grade.  Their explorations are teaching them about the elements, about what living organisms need to survive, and how to work together!   Does your local school have a play place for nature discovery?

I feel lucky that I have been able to immerse my children in the urban outdoors.  I invite neighbors to come by and play with us.  I have hosted a local urban nature play group at the library.  I still feel like many children are missing the access to nature.  Today as I march with the local preschool; I dream that all kids will have the ability to learn in nature.

Urban Birds

Even in the city there can be a plethora of birds.   Our part of town is not pristine nature.  We hear a constant hum of traffic and the echoes of the booms and whirrs of building that is going on in our valley.  We also usually spend mornings identifying the different motors: cars and trucks rumbling and zipping up our street.   Nevertheless, our yard is still a stopping place for so many different birds.

Yesterday the boys and I had long morning of indoor play, but with lots of watching out our windows.
And it is a daily experience that we note what is happening at our feeders and with the various wildlife around our yard.  Usually we talk about the crows, chickadees, juncos and the sparrows because they are our most frequent visitors.  For the month of December we talked about the Towhee that was in our yard-- its habit of staying low, collecting seeds that dropped from the feeder and scurrying back to its hideout in the laurel.  It was so fun to watch with that tail that sticks up & the bright orange.  But, then we were away and there wasn't food for a while.  Our towhee moved on.    But yesterday was mighty exciting out our window:  We saw a downy woodpecker at one of the cherry trees & the feeder and a flicker came to the suet.  We also saw a Bewicks Wren, a hummingbird and some finches.  We heard the Stellar jay kept company in the back yard with the robins.

So far we only have two feeders: one with Hot Pepper infused Suet and the other raw sunflower seeds. But, we have been working on making our yard a good habitat.  We have covering brush, an old Hawthorne trees. a big old holly and then the native plants we have been adding: including a fir tree, Indian plum, snowberry, huckleberry, salad.  We also have many  perennials including summertime flowering plants.  And while we have patchy grass we have lots of rich mulch that makes perfect habitat for slugs and worms as the boys were noting yesterday when we played out in the yard.  We noted that we do need to come up with a water source for these visitor.   We also discussed other plants we could add to make our yard even better.

It was a perfect day to have checked out from the library a fun and silly book about woodpeckers: Peck, Peck, Peck
By Cousins, Lucy

Packing up Tools & Walking the New Trail

The Cheasty Trail system continues to grow with lots of hard work from neighbors and plenty of support from community grants. This past weekend a cold crisp January morning did not stop families from getting out and hiking the woods, spotting hawks and trail-breaking. This was true trail breaking using a McLeod trail digging tool- for adults only.  It was also a morning of planting: snowberry, wild rose, oregon grape and a few cedar trees found themselves planted.

Each time we make it out to the community work party days I am so thankful to be a part of a new era for this forest.  Meanwhile, I hope that some of the friendships that are developing as the kids explore the hillside together will blossom.  I am certainly thankful for the new acquaintances that I am making with neighbors.  

Umbrella fort

Two boys, three cars huddled together in the rain fort.

Evening Playtime

"It is raining!"  T announces.   "Do you want to come outside?" 

I am cozily drinking tea in the house, reading a book just checked out from the library called "Parenting without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents around the World Can Teach Us."

I say, "In a few minutes -would you like an umbrella?" 

T smiles as he takes two umbrellas.  One for both of the boys. 

I soon see them both working on setting the umbrellas up over the outside chairs. 

 "Rain fort! " says T proudly when I come out to join the boys.  I ask whether I should bring down another umbrella for me.  "Yeah!" T shouts enthusiastically.  We add it to the fort.  

In reality the umbrella fort is only big enough for two boys and three toy cars which are being used as a game that I don't understand the rules.  S is squished between chairs and chimenea holding out cars  as T shouts them out.  S makes sounds for each care as he holds them out.  It is like a car orchestra: T is conductor and S musician.

Night has come yet the boys don't seem to get cold or hungry and continue to play outside as I go in the house to start dinner.  I am thankful that our sink looks out over the yard and  I can check on the shadows / silhouettes of the boys who are happily puttering about.