Archive for March, 2010

Children are constantly learning; they are sponges for whatever is around them. The magnificent web of life in nature creates a gentle learning environment.

When my son was learning to walk, I took him into our pine forest and he’d teeter-totter around on his wobbly legs. We spent a bunch of time at one special very small hill he’d crawl up, then run down; or toddle up then roll down.  He was learning gross-motor skills.

Last week, I took one of the babies I care for out to our garden and showed her the flower heather. She grabbed it with her little hands, worked at taking individual flowers off the stem. Of course she wanted to take it into her mouth, but that’s how babies learn! She was practicing her fine-motor skills. 

We go to tons of playgrounds, but my son’s favorite is the one where he can play with his squirrel friend. Yes, he loves squirrels, but this one grey squirrel really plays with my son. Through this relationship my son is learning stewardship and care for the earth {and socialization!}. 

There are the tough lessons too, our two rabbits died, and we’ve lost two chickens and one rooster. But life and death go together and children can understand this especially when they experience it through nature. This is the gift of understanding life.

 Playing outside in the elements, experiencing the seasons; listening to the ways the animals communicate, or the way the wind sounds on a breezy day or a windy day. The feel of the salt air and sand at the beach offers a deep and real experience of the senses. 

Unstructured child’s play is the best way for kids to learn these things- because it’s on their terms and their experiences are guiding their development.

So the next time you or I send our kids outside… watch closely and learn something!

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Thanks for joining the first Backyard Mama Nature and Children blog carnival. I am so honored by your participation and interest.

Remember to follow the rules and to link back to this post.

And now the drum roll….. next week’s topic: share with us a favorite outside hide-out/ place from childhood.  

See you next week…. now head outside! ~ Backyard Mama

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My Childhood

My fondest memories of childhood are from a time when my family lived in a cabin in the woods, we walked down a path to get to our two room home and we had no running water or electricity.  

All this was so fun for a little 7 year old girl, but the best was that my parents let us wonder the surrounding woods freely.My father made up a system for “tracking” us- he would whistle once and we would respond with one whistle back; if he whistled twice- it meant we better get home fast.  

This worked, no one got hurt or lost or kidnapped, we didn’t sink into the swamp or get attacked by animals.

My style

I am sort of a “free range parent” I previously posted about allowing my son to take risks.

Last week we were playing out in the backyard and my son wanted to go down the street to the big puddle (oh yeah, it was raining out-big surprise!). I explained that there were children asleep in the house and I didn’t want to go that far away…

A few minutes later I looked up and Jeremiah was gone. Hum, I went inside and looked around… well it didn’t take long for me to head out the front door and find him…

He’d gone off by himself to play in the puddle.

I got nervous- what if someone saw? What would they do? I let my three year old play in the street alone.

Now, he’s a smart kid; he’d get out of the road if a car came. He’d run through the woods if a weirdo came… he’s not a big fan of anyone he doesn’t know. 

{Or maybe what’s important is that I believe this about him.}

Dad’s Style 

Charlie’s style is very different. He hovers and worries and limits activities. Jeremiah is much “safer” with him than with me.

Yesterday we went to Jeremiah’s soon-to-be-school and he climbed up a big wooden boat that’s outside. It has a mast with a ladder and my little dare devil went right up and onto the roof of the boat.

His dad was there to remind us this wasn’t all that safe. There were sharp corners on the boat, it was rickety, and a number of other things I don’t remember.

A Winning Combination

I’ve come to like that we have different approaches.

I give him a cup without a lid and he pours his own milk; his dad gives him a full cup of milk with the lid on.

But I like taking risks; they help me learn to have faith.

I still think I am going to instate the whistle rule to keep my ducks in a row!

How bout you, what’s your style? How was it for you growing up? Or what’s it like to co-parent?

This post is part of the 30-minute blog challenge of Steady Mom.

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Spring is so wonderful. Everything is bursting with life and vitality. The sun is warming and it seems impossible to get enough outdoor time.

I’ve been doing everything outdoors: my laundry, working in the garden, coloring, tending chickens and taking walks in the woods.  This doesn’t leave much time for blogging and less time for looking around for all the great things you write.

But I love this community that enriches my life and so I am really excited to share my newest idea: create a weekly blog carnival!

The rules:

1) The carnival is open to all outdoor enthusiasts.

The topic with change weekly but the theme of connecting children (and adults) to nature will remain constant.

2) I will announce the topic each Wednesday for the following week.

3) Write your post at your convenience.

Each Wednesday come over and enter your permalink through McLinky. Please include blurb at the end of your post such as “this post is part of the Backyard Mama Wednesday link-up” and link back to me.

The Goals:

1) Create Community.

The primary goal of this carnival is to encourage a community of nature lovers to share ideas, offer support, ask questions and communicate.

2) Offer one-stop “shopping”.

I want to encourage a “grand central station” of ideas and information for connecting children and nature. Each specific topic will have links to a an array of blogs which will offer a variety of perspectives and experiences.

3) To have fun.

This is an idea, keep it fun, creative and vibrant. We’ll try it and see how it goes!

Last Wednesday I announced this weeks topic: learning through play in nature.

I can’t wait to see what we all muster up!

Come on over and link-up on Wednesday, then see what’s in store for next week!

Thanks for joining me I look forward to learning from you!

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Here I am, getting into the grove of tilling our newest garden row.

Photo credit: Jeremiah, 3 years old.

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Rhode Island

The Film “Where do the Children Play” is being show:

Tuesday, March 30
7:00 – 9:00 PM
University of Rhode Island
Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences
Flagg Road, Kingston, RI 02881

Following the screening, a panel of “instigators”  including Children’s Museum director Janice O’Donnell; Meadowbrook Waldorf School faculty chair Su Rubinoff; RI Families in Nature founder and director Jeanine Silversmith; and URI Child Development Center director Sue Warford will lead an audience discussion.

Around the Internet

I’m not sure which of Debi’s recent posts is my “favorite”, but since someone has suggested that I add more information for city folk, I want to include her Finding Nature in the City post here. And I also want to point you to Backyard Wildlife Watching, cause it doesn’t take a country or suburban setting to find great critters in your own backyard!

This post, All About Bird Nesting is full of resources and information about helping the birds build their new homes this year! What fun!

Everyone I meet is springing with joy for this new season and the new growth of this year, Suzi created this amazingly beautiful post Spring Inspiration, and I gently recommend that all lovers of poetry and pictures take a minute to check this out!

If you strive for a Litter Free Lunch, read this review from My Green Side and check out this special offer to green your snacks!  

In case my post about Gardening with Kids didn’t inspire you, check out this one from Frugal Philly Mom and see how she incorporates learning and gardening!

Another of my passions is childbirth and care of young children. I was delighted to read that the Navajo have some of the best safe birthing statistics in the country.

On that same note, obesity prevention really needs to start when babies are little, even in the womb. It’s really time to look at the nitty gritties of this vicious cycle.  (More time outside would surely help!)

For those of you looking for good reads on your picnic, or perhaps you’re looking to garden or teach kids about healthy eating through reading about gardening here are 5 Great Reads for Kids.

Back Home in My Backyard 

Seeds just came in today!

Kids are all sleeping right now we’ve been playing outside so much lately they are pooped!

Rototilled a new row and planning to pick up some manure tomorrow as additive to our wonderful soil! Yum!

Lettuce has sprouted!

And I am thinking of making some changed to my What’s Happening Wednesday. Time makes it difficult to find all the best articles out there each week… so I want to make this a link up.

It will go something like this: Each Wednesday I will write a post on a specific topic, I will invite my wonderful blogging community to link up to this post so we as a community have a resource of great information on roughly the same topic.

So, next wednesday’s topic is “learning through play in nature“.

Check back Monday for details and all the rules!

Hope you come link up next week!

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My 3 year old gave me a run for my mothering today.

He whined. He cried uncontrollably. He manipulated. He tattled. He pushed.

And underneath it all there was a little smile and a little frown.

I went to my trusty Positive Discipline book and looked up a few of these “behaviors” and decided I really had a little boy who felt a little neglected and wanted some special attention.

I went to a place in myself where I felt guilty for not giving him enough attention. For “leaving” him this weekend with friends while I went to my yoga teacher training. But….

I figured that while he’s a little boy and missed his mama, he still couldn’t be rewarded for being naughty.

So I crafted a solution, and I am blown away at how well it worked!

I usually allow him to watch TV while I cook dinner… it’s his “reward” for being good, it’s my reward for getting to dinner time; tonight I told him no, his could not watch TV but he could help me cook dinner.

This would give us some special time together without giving him a “reward” or a “punishment”.

He made the salad almost entirely on his own (what a big boy!).

After dinner we went outside and he watered all our plants with kelp spray, then played in the backyard, and finally went on our special walk to our pond and through the woods. This time was special though, daddy came with us!

Jeremiah was so excited to show his dad all the special places that he plays in the woods.

When we got home he asked again if he could watch his TV, I said no. He didn’t even whine (for the first time all day!) He got on his PJ’s picked out a book and was in bed and asleep by 8 pm.

I think all his acting out came from wanting special time with his family and it added such a wonderful twist to the whole experience that he got to “show off” to his dad (oh what a big boy!).

I have a feeling that we’ll have some great behavior tomorrow… not because he’ll want to get his TV reward, but because he feels so full and so rewarded to begin with, that he just won’t even need to act out. He’s coming from feeling whole and loved and connected to his family, not running on empty, he running full of love.

I never even raised my voice… and it worked like a charm.

What do you do about whining? I go nuts… any tips out there mamas and papas?

This is part of the Steady Mom blog challenge. Post time start to finish 28 minutes (but I haven’t published yet!) 

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Gardening with kids can be messy. They don’t always “follow the row” , although this makes for a very beautiful garden, some of us with mild OCD  might go nuts as the spinach and lettuce get mixed together.

As a very loving and nurturing mama, of course I want my kids to enjoy planting and growing their own food, so what do I do as the seeds get sprinkled together and I just “know” it will be a mess?

I let it go. Peas taste great if they grow next to spinach. (And I always thin it out later).

But kids with big smiles showering seed into fresh turned dirt is so fun, healthy and exciting.

My son has learned to plant in a straight line… can you guess why? (Mama had something to do with it). But he likes to plant 4 varieties of peas in the same row, and he does.

Here are my suggestions for gardening with kids:

1) Start small. Or if you have a big garden, give the kids their own smaller space and allow the children to pick what they want to grow and let them do it!

2) Plant in containers: use pots and window boxes to contain the dirt or create containers using straw bales or tree stumps (get creative!) Give the kids some special area that it theirs.

3) Always honor what the kids want to do in their space; and be clear about the boundaries with where their space begins and ends… make garden signs or build a special “fence” with sticks or stones.

4) A one-year-old can plant a seed. Get kids in the garden as soon as they can walk (actually a sitting baby who doesn’t crawl yet is a great garden companion! And littler ones can come along for the ride on your back or in a stroller.)

5) Plant veggies you know your kids will eat, then plant a few new ones, most kids will eat “their” vegetables.

Happy Spring! May your garden abound with delicious foods!

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To plant your own grass seed follow my post at The Grass Stain Guru.

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Rhode Island

The Providence Children’s Museum is open from 5-7pm this Friday the 19th and it’s FREE! Oh it’s so fun!

Coastal Growers Farmers Market is having a fundraiser this Saturday at the Lafayette Mill in North Kingstown 7-10 pm. Great way to bring in the spring!

Around the Internet

From the Children and Nature Network… What’s Your State Doing to get Children into Nature?

The Let’s Move campaign is asking for your suggestions. Might I remind you that the plan is lacking one great link to…. you got it NATURE! 

The Active Kids Club is seeking friends! Check out this video on all the fun they are having! Now who wants to stay indoors?

With spring coming I think we’re all ready to romp and stomp outside, but here are the pictures from one mom’s adventure with her kids… so much fun!

Tastefully timed tribute to the potato! Happy Saint Patty’s Day friends, now sit down and bake a tater!

Slow down folks! Here’s a great reason why… we miss so much when we’re running here and there.

If you’re thinking towards school next fall for a soon-to-be-preschooler (like me!) or re-evaluating educational choices… think about the places where education is free! 

Back Home in My Backyard

We planted grass for our Easter baskets! Here’s how… and yes, we did this in our kitchen not our backyard….

Yesterday we spent a grand total of… can you guess? 6 hours in our backyard! Here’s what we did:

• Cleaned up pine branches that had fallen in the rainy, windy storm earlier this week.
• Ran barefoot.
• Made mud pies and mud puddles and got totally dirty.
• Looked for signs of spring we found 1) daffodils and tulips coming up, 2) a small iris flowering, 3) garlic shoots in the garden, and 4) buds on the trees.
• We planted lettuce seeds (and I am planning to plant spinach today).
• Played- our jungle gym turned into a myriad of wonderful things courtesy of the children’s magnificent imaginations.
• When we were tired, we took a “nap” in the backyard on blankets (but didn’t actually sleep because it was too exciting!

Our chickens are producing eggs… yesterday we got two perfect blue eggs and two perfect brown eggs. My son says that the blue eggs are just for him… laid by his special chicken.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day my friends… as a tribute to the day, get grass stains!

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Debi over at Go Explore Nature gave me this idea, so I figured after the thrill of thinking about it, I’d share my discovery with you!

Our Backyard

We currently spend at least an hour a day outside, usually more… I want to keep this going.

I also want to explore our backyard more by:

• making a nature trail through our woods
• expanding our vegetable garden
• building a sunflower house (ref. Roots, Boots, Buckets and Shoots)
• having many backyard cook outs
• camping out in our pine forest this summer
• pick blueberries while canoeing on our pond

Local Exploration

We have an incredible number of local hiking places, yet we have so much fun at home, we rarely venture out… I want to:

• canoe or kayak down the Wood River
• wade in tide pools at low tide
• hike in Ninigrit Park
• visit Kettle Pond
• hike and take pictures at Trustom Pond through the seasons
• go to Normon Bird Sanctuary
• swim in the ocean
• take the ferry to Block Island

Further A Field

These are long term goals, so if I only get to one or two this year, I’ll feel successful but I’ve enjoyed thinking about some adventures for me and my little tree climber.

• go on an overnight backpacking trip with my son
• drive across country staying at National Parks and camp grounds
• go snowshoeing or cross country skiing in really deep snow
• visit organic or biodynamic farms locally and across the country

I’m excited, stir crazy and rearing  to head outside!

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