Stories connecting us to the past. New ones for the Present.

Last night our family went to see Estella Leopold as part of the the Urban Naturalist Series with the Seward Park Audubon and Royal Room.  Estella was sharing stories from her newest book, Stories from the Leopold Shack: Sand County Revisted. I wanted the whole family to hear them.  Stories are so powerful!  They allow us to build community, connect to times and worlds that do not always remain, and they feel good!  Her stories were wonderful!  They meant even more to our family as we have visited the Aldo Leopold Shack and Leopold Center. Also,  despite the fact that we live in the city our family has collected our own stories about chickadees, crows, and time spent in nature.  

As summer wound down I have been thinking a lot about storytelling.  We attended a family camp at the North Cascades Institute where stories was the theme. We spent a weekend making stories.  Then when we came home I happened to be reading the book, Let them be Eaten By Bears : A Fearless Guide to Taking Our Kids into the Great Outdoors by Peter Brown Hoffmeister and within it was a section about the importance of storytelling.  In the book Hoffmeister refers on page 78 to a study “ According to a team of scientists at Princeton University, functional MRI scans prove that stories link the brains of the storyteller and listeners. During a Story, the brain activity of all the people involved becomes synchronized, identical activity wise.” I can’t help but feel grateful to have been connected with those in attendance at the Royal Room last night and especially with a Leopold.  I am full of gratitude and awe.    

It is now time to collect our own family stories, especially those memories which connect us to nature.  

Reflections on Summer

During the summer there is almost no time to write.  My twin boys and I are busy with play, art, and work together and alongside each other.  In the end I hope they feel like they had great adventures, learned skills and developed deeper connections to nature and community in a way that complements the rigidity of school. We explore mediums for artistic expression. We invent. We play in the yard as well as go to urban parks for playful afternoons and long evenings.  It is important to me that we play often until the light of day has flickered away.  We built forts in the woods and we camped.  We tried to eat local food and chomp on corn on the cob outside as much as we could before the bees and wasps found us.  Here are some of the things that make you feel connected to the world  in the city or country:

Time with sky  I want the boys to grow up knowing to pay attention to the clouds above them and the horizon away from them.  They have learned the old adage "red sky at night, sailors delight and red sky in morning sailors take warning." I also want them to experience the crows flying over and the sounds of the world around them as the sun sets.

Stars and the Moon  We spent a couple of nights in New Halem and Colonial Creek away from City Lights, but ironically near the dams that provide so much of the City of Seattle's light.  We also look out the window or stand on the porch when brushing our teeth...looking for the moon.

Water, Exploring it by throwing rocks, searching for invertebrates, watching streams flow and experiencing the tides.

Wind  Playing with kites, hearing the trees, and knowing when to stay out of the forest.

Temperature Variations I am thankful that my boys can experience the hot humidity of the midwest on visits with family as well as that they can survive the cold rain on a summer camping trip in the NW.

All of these experiences occur by making time out of doors as part of life.    There are so many more, but by experiencing the elements, by paying attention to them, it seems we must be making memories more meaningful.

Reflections on Summer

During the summer there is almost no time to write.  My twin boys and I are busy with play, art, and work together and alongside each other.  In the end I hope they feel like they had great adventures, learned skills and developed deeper connections to nature and community in a way that complements the rigidity of school. We explore mediums for artistic expression. We invent. We play in the yard as well as go to urban parks for playful afternoons and long evenings.  It is important to me that we play often until the light of day has flickered away.  We built forts in the woods and we camped.  We tried to eat local food and chomp on corn on the cob outside as much as we could before the bees and wasps found us.  Here are some of the things that make you feel connected to the world  in the city or country:

Time with sky  I want the boys to grow up knowing to pay attention to the clouds above them and the horizon away from them.  They have learned the old adage "red sky at night, sailors delight and red sky in morning sailors take warning." I also want them to experience the crows flying over and the sounds of the world around them as the sun sets.

Stars and the Moon  We spent a couple of nights in New Halem and Colonial Creek away from City Lights, but ironically near the dams that provide so much of the City of Seattle's light.  We also look out the window or stand on the porch when brushing our teeth...looking for the moon.

Water, Exploring it by throwing rocks, searching for invertebrates, watching streams flow and experiencing the tides.

Wind  Playing with kites, hearing the trees, and knowing when to stay out of the forest.

Temperature Variations I am thankful that my boys can experience the hot humidity of the midwest on visits with family as well as that they can survive the cold rain on a summer camping trip in the NW.

All of these experiences occur by making time out of doors as part of life.    There are so many more, but by experiencing the elements, by paying attention to them, it seems we must be making memories more meaningful.

Toddle Tales and Trails: Inch Worm Connections

This month I led a story activity about bugs. Since my two seven year olds favorite activity is putting out the stuffed Audubon birds- we started with them: Each child who came to the session was given a stuffed bird. Then I asked specific details, such as," if your bird has blue raise your hand."  When they raised their hand, they showed the class the bird and then I gave them the birds name if they didn't know it and the child played its call. Then we sang a version of a song taught to me by a fabulous naturalist, Anastasia,  "Blue bird, blue bird fly through my window... who will the next one be. " I called out a new color until we had heard and seen all the birds.

Next I asked what birds eat and we talked about bugs and worms.  My boys assisted me and gave each child a cut out string (one inch) and I told them to measure with them.   Since they are young children I asked them to find something smaller and something bigger.... Then I read Leo Lionni's Book called Inch Worm.  Next we read the book Sing By Joe Raposo and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Thankfully some of the parents and adults attending helped sing as well.  Kids joined the second time through.

Then it was time for our hike.  We did a bug hunt.  We stopped and played with the parachute.  I showed the kids a preserved mole and we found mole holes...and then sang as we did the parachute...a version of the song I wish I were a mole in the ground....