Jane Goodall: Awakening a sense of wonder

World famous conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall visited Wellington last October. Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzee social and family life. She is an accomplished speaker, you can watch her latest September 2008 TED talk here. As an environmentalist and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall has a firm belief that young people, when informed and empowered, can indeed change the world. She believes it is essential that parents and other mentors of children guide them to make meaningful connections with the natural world. To help accomplish this, she founded Roots & Shoots in 1991, an international environmental and humanitarian programme for youth of all ages. With tens of thousands of young people in almost 100 countries, the Roots & Shoots network connects youth of all ages who share a desire to create a better world.

Recently I came across this video, shot in 1997. In it Jane Goodall expresses the importance of enabling children to form a close relationship with nature, joined by several other environmentalists. If you have 26 minutes to spare it is certainly worth watching.



While the video was shot more then ten years ago, the concerns expressed then are very real today. The increased urbanisation and increased population around the world has strained the relationship between children and the natural world, says Goodall:"I find it terrible sad because I believe children are losing their childhood".

In the video Goodall expresses her thought that more and more people are aware of the fact that children do need to get closer to nature, but most schools and places do not take this into account. She is also terrified of what the internet is going to be, what it is going to do, with children watching more and more tv and playing more and more video games. More then ever our children do need help to reconnect with nature.

I enjoy the holidays, time seems to be irrelevant. Yesterday, after a hot sunny day, it had started raining in the evening and we admired a beautiful rainbow just before sunset. After finishing of some work and some reading I went into our spa pool, at a time the family and the neighborhood were already fast asleep. There was a silence I don't often hear. The rain had now stopped and nature seemed to be asleep. There was no hedgehog fossicking through the bushes, no insect chirping for a mate, no breeze rustling the leaves. The only sound was the occasionally raindrop falling from a leaf onto the earth and a morepork calling in the far distance. The stars twinkling above, the silence all around and the smell of the wet earth, created the perfect setting for some introspection about the year gone and contemplation about the year coming. This is the time of year we sit back, and think about where life is taking us, or where we are taking life, depending on how you view your life. Many of us will use this time to cast our minds forward into the new year and make resolutions.

I hope that nature and children will feature in your thoughts. Our children need us to take them outside, to put them in touch with nature, to let them play free. Let's go outside in the new year. While in 1997 there were Roots & Shoots groups in 29 countries, in 2008, there are well over 8,000 Roots & Shoots youth groups in almost 100 countries. In New Zealand there are currently Roots and Shoots groups in Auckland, Christchurch and Lower Hutt. Why not green your child and start a Roots and Shoots group in your area this new year?

Links:

• Children and Nature: Awakening a sense of wonder, with Jane Goodall, 1997
• TED talk: Helping humans and animals live together in Africa, by Jane Goodall, 2008

The greatest of all, our most precious resource

Christmas in New Zealand is the start of the summer holidays. Our preschool is closed until the end of January. Closing the doors for summer happens with mixed feelings as I look forward to some rest and family time on one hand, while I will miss the children and fellow teachers on the other hand.

This year especially has been a year of unforgettable memories with the children. We have watched butterflies emerge from chrysalises, observed black birds take a bath, rescued beetles from drowning,moved spiders into the garden and shared many more moments of wonder. We've also had many, many visitors to our preschool, visitors who are especially interested in our outdoor programme and naturalised environment. It has been inspiring to share thoughts and experiences with each other and to receive wonderful feedback.

For us the year has been a year of consolidation, review and reflection as we strengthened our programme of reconnecting our children with nature and created more opportunities for our children to be involved in their natural environment. We have taken a step back and worked with them to find a better balance and give them more quiet time. A time when they can just "be" and experience stillness, reflection, and calmness. A time to connect. We listen to a special story or relaxing music. Sometimes we listen to the howling wind, or the rain on the veranda roof or we move our mats onto the grass and watch the clouds. We have taken time out of our busy programme to go for "walks" in our garden and to stop and marvel at the little treasures we find on our path, a pollinating bee, a humming dragonfly, a sprouting acorn. There is so much to see and do outside, and by sharing this with our children we open our hearts to the daily wonders we can find right at our doorstep.

Its been a year full of wonders and treasured moments, many thanks to our wonderful teachers and fantastic parents. But the most joy came from our most precious resource, our children. You are the greatest off all. Thank you for sharing with me the joys of learning and a love for the natural world, teaching me to take time out and appreciate with you the beauty and mystery of the world around us.I wish you joy, love, and peace this holiday season. Arohanui.

Cricket galore

Insects play an important part at our preschool (see here and here). There isn't a day going past that we haven't stopped and marveled at one of our tiny little friends, be it a worm, a beetle, a bee or one of insects close relatives, a spider.

We currently have a cricket breeding tank set up in our classroom. I bought the crickets (teleogryllus commodus) from the pet shop where they are sold as feeding insects for lizards, frogs etc. With some help of the internet we set up a bigger home for the crickets, and included a breeding dish. We put wet sand in a small dish and kept it moist with a sprayer. Any eggs deposited into the soil need to be kept moist and warm, but not too moist and not too warm. Once we found little white deposits in the soil, we assumed they were cricket eggs, and I took the dish home to make sure it would stay warm and moist 24/7. I put the dish on my computer router for warmth and sprayed them daily. To my amazement the set up seemed to work and we now have over a hundred little "pinsize" cricket hatchlings, called nymphs. The adult crickets stayed at preschool, to great amusement of the children. We enjoy listening to the chirping of the crickets, it adds a soothing background noise to the hum of the classroom. It is also fascinating to watch the crickets so closeup, as they will come out from their hiding places and "sing", by rubbing their wings. Remember as a child, every time you would get close to the chirping cricket in your backyard it would stop singing and you couldn't locate the little creature?

Children have a natural fascination for insects. They enjoy watching caterpillars, moths and butterflies. Summer is the time of year you can listen to the songs of nature with several insect singers in your garden. Many insects sing to impress a mate. If the weather and temperature is right you can hear crickets, cicadas,or katydids. Here in Wellington the cicadas haven't really started yet, although I heard some the other day. Once the cicadas start, summer really has arrived, and we will be deafened by a cacophony of singers (click here to hear a cicada).

Below is a jukebox of insect singers from songsofinsects.com. Although these are recordings taken in the US and Canada, some of the songs are similar to their New Zealand counterpart. Why not take your child outside these summer holidays and listen to the songs of nature? How many insect songs can you identify?

The gift of lasting memories

"If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in." - Rachel Carson

In this day and age we are raising a generation that is more separated from nature then ever. A separation that has made us "inside" creatures, that has led us to a fear of the outdoors and that has fostered an unease with silence. A generation that is no longer part of the natural world around us, but lives in a virtual world of online communication, online shopping and online socialising, a virtual world where we can pretend to be someone else -- without being who we actually are. We are living in a world that places importance on going, doing and becoming.

In the next couple of weeks we will run, race, shop and hunt for presents and gifts. With the festive season upon us, we will be frantically browsing through toy catologues, online bargains and watching sales for the latest fad and newest gadget. But what do our children need most? Studies have shown that nature is important for our children's health. Our children today are out of touch with our natural world and they need us, the adults to teach them to love the nature around them. Childhood is the time to discover and enjoy the wonders of nature.

From the Children, Nature and You website:

"Allowing a young child to experience the natural world is not just a nice thing to do; it is their birthright, and is essential for their academic, physical, emotional, and spiritual development."

So when you are running around, trying to find that last minute gift, stand back for a moment and think about that one gift that only you can give. The one gift you can't buy in a shop, you won't find on sale, is not available online and will last long after the plastic toys have broken. That gift is YOU. Give the gift of YOUR TIME to your child and take them outside. Spend time with your child doing things that you love -- hiking, camping, fishing, beachwalks, stargazing, cloudwatching, bushwalks. Take your child outside, and let them pick up, touch and feel a prickly weed, a slimy worm, a hard rock. Let your child get their feet wet and their hands dirty. Show them how to be respectful to all living things.

"Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives." - Thomas Berry

There are so many lessons that can be learned from being outside in nature, lessons that children can not learn from playing with the latest fad and newest gadget. This Christmas it is time to give the gift of lasting memories -- YOU.


Links

• Conserving land, preserving human health, by Howard Frumkin and Richard Louv (short version)
• The powerful link between conserving land and preserving health, by Howard Frumkin and Richard Louv (long version)
• Movement to reconnect kids with nature growing nationwide: Working to improve children's health, by the American Public Health Association
• Adding awe and wonder to children's lives, by Children, Nature and You

Beaver and beech replaced with blog and broadband

Adder, ass, beaver, boar, budgerigar, bullock, cheetah, colt, corgi, cygnet, doe, drake, ferret, gerbil, goldfish, guinea pig, hamster, heron, herring, kingfisher, lark, leopard, lobster, magpie, minnow, mussel, newt, otter, ox, oyster, panther, pelican, piglet, plaice, poodle, porcupine, porpoise, raven, spaniel, starling, stoat, stork, terrapin, thrush, weasel, wren.

Acorn, allotment, almond, apricot, ash, bacon, beech, beetroot, blackberry, blacksmith, bloom, bluebell, bramble, bran, bray, bridle, brook, buttercup, canary, canter, carnation, catkin, cauliflower, chestnut, clover, conker, county, cowslip, crocus, dandelion, diesel, fern, fungus, gooseberry, gorse, hazel, hazelnut, heather, holly, horse chestnut, ivy, lavender, leek, liquorice, manger, marzipan, melon, minnow, mint, nectar, nectarine, oats, pansy, parsnip, pasture, poppy, porridge, poultry, primrose, prune, radish, rhubarb, sheaf, spinach, sycamore, tulip, turnip, vine, violet, walnut, willow

These are some of the words Oxford University Press has removed from its Junior Dictionary and replaced them with words like blog, broadband, celebrity, MP3 player, voicemail, attachment, database, export, chatroom, bullet point, cut and paste, and analogue and other "plugged in" words.

In the last 30 years, says journalist Richard Louv (I wrote about his book "Last child in the woods" here), children of the digital age have become increasingly alienated from the natural world, with disastrous implications, not only for their physical fitness, but also for their long-term mental and spiritual health. Advances in technology, while opening up a wealth of "virtual" experiences to the young, have made it easier and easier for children to spend less time outside. Says Louv: "It's one thing to read about a frog, it's another to hold it in your hand and feel its life".

The loss of the names of so many plants and animals from the dictionary will hinder children's understanding and appreciation of the natural world, contributing to the disconnection with nature. Well known Canadian wildlife artist and conservationist Robert Bateman said in an interview with The Canadian Press, the decision is telling children that nature just isn't that important.

"This is another nail in the coffin of human beings being acquainted with nature," Bateman said."If you can't name things, how can you love them? And if you don't love them, then you're not going to care a hoot about protecting them or voting for issues that would protect them."

"I find it frightening what is happening, that people are losing a connection with nature," he said. "And the younger generation are losing a connection with nature much more than the older generation. That's why when it's a children's dictionary it's all the more horrifying."

Now let me share an incident that happened at our preschool today.

One of our four year olds found a bumble bee on the garden path. It was alive, but not flying. She carefully picked it up, using a piece of bark and examined it. She discovered it only had one wing. She was very concerned about the bumble bee and didn't want it to get trampled on.

So she took it to one of our outside tables. There she nurtured it. She "build a home", using pine cones, twigs, and bark. She then picked some buttercups and put those near the bumble bee. "It wants to pollinate" she said. The other children nodded in agreement, not in the slightest puzzled about the word she used.

At our preschool we teach our children the names of the plants and animals we find in our garden. Sometimes the children teach us (see here). And if we don't know the names we help the children looking it up in our reference guides. Words like "thorax", "carapace" and "lamallae" are regularly used as we teach our children about the natural world. Children at this young age love language and absorb new words easily. They are intrigued with names like "arachnid" and "invertebrate". Like Bateman said, how can we expect our children to save the earth if they can't even name a dandelion or buttercup in their garden.

How many four year olds do you know who can say "tyranosaurus rex" without hesitation? Do you also teach them words like "tentacles", "spiracles", and "pistil"?

Playing video games versus catching frogs, who is the real winner?

Watch this NY Times Magazine video from YouTube, check out the faces and expressions of the children playing video games.




Now watch this video from YouTube, one of our preschool children and his older brother catching frogs. Check out their expressions.




Which one do you think nourishes positive lifeshaping memories?

Who are going to be our environmental leaders of tomorrow?

Today, 7 years ago, New Zealand lost one of its heroes. Sir Peter Blake was tragically killed by pirates, while working on his expedition boat in the Amazon where he was monitoring global warming and pollution for the United Nations. Sir Peter Blake was the most accomplished sailor of our time, winning the Whitbread Round-the-World Race, setting a nonstop round-the-world record and winning two American cup races. When his active racing days were over, he remained at sea. First as head of expeditions for the Cousteau Society and later on his own. He sailed on behalf of oceanographic research and environmental awareness.

Together with Sir Edmund Hillary (another great New Zealand hero), Sir Peter Blake rates high on my list of New Zealand people to admire. Both have left a legacy, not only because of their unsurpassed achievements in their chosen discipline, climbing, or sailing, but for what they did with their success and fame after they achieved the highest standards. Sir Edmund Hillary devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust which he founded. Sir Peter Blake set up his Blakexpeditions, leading expeditions aboard the Seamaster, collecting data for environmental purposes. Rather then retiring, these people worked hard and shared their amazing vision and passion. In Sir Peter's words:

"Having vision is not enough. Change comes through realising the vision and turning it into a reality. It is easy to espouse worthy goals, values and policies; the hard part is implementation."

In December 2003, the Sir Peter Blake Trust was established in his memory. The trust aims to help New Zealanders make a positive difference for the planet through activities that encourage environmental awareness and action, and leadership development.The Trust wants to carry on Sir Peter’s work and keep his spirit and values alive for future generations through a range of initiatives, including the annual Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards.

Sir Peter Blake had outstanding leadership qualities. With our planet in dismay, it is people like Sir Peter we desperately need. People who poses the, what I call, PICC attributes, Passion, Innovation, Creativity and Curiosity. Studies have shown that our environmental leaders of today were influenced by two main reasons. First, as young children, they were given plenty of opportunity for outdoor play. Secondly, parents or another respected adult were part of that experience. Here is a short YouTube video why nature based play is vital to early childhood education.



It is these hands-on experiences that nurture the PICC attributes. Time for children to explore and discover on their own lies at the heart of childhood. It nurtures children's artistic and creative capabilities, flexibility, intuition and their ability to internalise and to think outside the box.

Children who experience nature firsthand are far more likely to develop a joy for life and grow into caring adults. Our children today need opportunities to interact with nature in order to grow into the responsible leader of tomorrow. As a parent or teacher you can give them this time and model the enthusiasm, respect and care for our environment every time you are with your child.

Nature teaches many lessons

Today I learned a big lesson from a three year old. When he was busy fishing the grass grub beetles from the water in the bucket (read previous post), I asked him what he thought the beetles were called, as I, myself, had no idea (I am learning as much as the children are). He gave me a name with this typical three year old pronunciation, and it sounded rather foreign to me, but something like “Christmas beetle”. I thought it was something he made up, as Christmas is looming, and I suggested looking it up in one of our books. He was rather adamant that it was a “Christmas beetle”, but I dismissed it and we identified the beetle as a grass grub beetle. How surprised I was when today I showed his mum one of the beetles and she called it “Christmas beetle”. In New Zealand the grass grub beetle is known as “Christmas beetle” as that is the time of the year the beetles come out and are abundant. How right our three year old was, how wrong I was in not listening to him. There are several lessons to be learned from this. It made me think, but I am very excited about the knowledge of this three year old and how much I can learn from our youngsters, no matter how old they are. Children often know more then you think they know. We are all learning from each other, we are all on this journey. The connections we are making, sharing nature with each other, are a wonder in itself.

The wonderful world of insects

Our preschool catches the rainwater from our roof and stores it in a small watertank. This water is used by the children for gardening. There is a bucket underneath the tap, usually filled with water.


One morning we discover several bugs floating in the water. Closer examination reveals that they are still alive. Without any hesitation, one of our children starts fishing the little bugs out of the water. Soon he has several of them crawling over his hand and arm. He places them in the garden under the bushes. Next, of course, we want to know what they are. We know they are beetles, but we are not sure what kind of beetle, so out comes the book. It isn't hard for the children as they are becoming more skilled in looking up birds and insects in our reference books. In this case we use the book "Which New Zealand Insect?" by Andrew Crowe, and the children identify the beetle as the "grass grub beetle" which emerges from the ground during this time of the year.

Every child is born with a natural curiosity for animals and many children are fascinated with our tiny crawlers - the insects. They have an eye for little creatures, flying or going from flower to flower, crawling on leaves and sometimes even in our food as well. Unfortunately, along the way to adulthood, this curiosity and admiration often extinguishes. Not so, if the child has an adult who appreciates and encourages their interest in insects. At our preschool, there isn't a day passing by or we haven't stopped and admired an insect or anthropod (spider) that crosses our path, like the two bumble bees carrying a wasp.

The wasp must have been a bit heavy for the bees as they "stumbled" through the air and landed on a stump. They then flew of, leaving a dead wasp behind. I still wonder what the bumble bees were up to.

Learning about insects is a wonderful way to teach children about nature. Entomology, or the study of insects, is a very interesting subject to teach. You absolutely do not have to be an avid bug enthusiast or entomologist yourself, just have a genuine appreciation for insects, shouldn't we all have that?

Did you know? Some 350,000 beetle species have been named worldwide, making them the largest group of insects. About half of the world’s 160 or so beetle families occur in New Zealand. Until the 1990s it was thought that New Zealand beetles were an ancient lineage, and had become isolated when New Zealand split and drifted away from the Gondwana supercontinent, around 85 million years ago. Others had arrived by dispersing across the ocean, or had been introduced through human activities. But research now suggests that New Zealand was largely submerged around 35 million years ago, and many plants and animals have arrived since then. Source: Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand

We're going on a bear hunt

Our garden is growing fast, especially the grass at the back, which hasn't been mowed all year. It is tall and wavy and reminds me of the classic children's story "We're going on a bear hunt" by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury.

Remember the swishy swashy, long wavy grass? For those who don't know the story, it is about a family who goes on a bear hunt. They set off, with confidence, "We're not scared". The hunt takes them through tall grass, a deep river, a dark forest, a snowstorm and thick mud, into a cave where they meet the bear and, of course, they are as scared as anything and retrace their steps. Watch this YouTube video with Michael Rosen performing the story.

This week we went on "a bear hunt". With gumboots on our feet and sunhats on our head we head out into the garden. As I read page by page we make our way through the long wavy grass, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud, a big dark forest and a swirling whirling snowstorm. "We can't go over it. We can't go under it. Oh-no! We've got to go through it!" What a fun way to "read" a story.

"Long wavy grass"

"Thick oozy mud"

"A big dark forest"

"Back through the grass! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy!"

Anybody surprised the children asked to go on "a bear hunt" again the following day?

Exploring in the dark

After a busy day I get ready for an evening walk. Esmee is quick in volunteering to join me, knowing that the alternative will be a "bedtime call". Camiel joins too and the three of us "hit the road". At the end of our quiet cul-de-sac is the start of a walkway which meanders through a bush reserve that is spread throughout our small suburb.

As soon as we enter the walkway the darkness of the night hits us. The few lights that line the walkway aren't working and the area is pitch black. Esmee carries a small maglite and runs ahead of us into the darkness, showing no fear. Camiel catches up with her and the two bounce ahead of me, trying to outrun each other and making scary noises, leaving me behind in total darkness. I know this walkway inside out, so do the children, and I hope there are no branches on the ground that may trip me in the dark.

The children stop when they hear a screeching sound in the bushes. We shine our torch, but don't see anything. It could have been a possum, or a bird. I was hoping to hear a morepork tonight, as we often do from our porch. I like the morepork, or ruru, as it reminds me of my early years growing up in Holland when I would watch the Fabeltjeskrant before bedtime. This was in the late sixties, when tv was a luxury and there where only a few programmes on at night. The Fabeltjeskrant was one of the very few children's programmes and it was screened every day for 5 minutes before the evening news. You can watch the original begin tune below or watch an English version here.



The story, inspired by the famous Fables of Jean de la Fontaine, was about a group of animals in the woods, and an old wise owl. It has been awarded as the best national children's programme ever. As a young child, whenever I was in the woods, I would look for the animals of the Fabeltjeskrant, Jacob the owl, the sister ants, and Zoef the hare, to name a few. I sadly wonder what today's children look for, Pokemons and Transformers?

We continue our walk. The darkness has given this familiar walk a new dimension. We stop to look at some flowers which have "gone to sleep". The children are surprised to see the buds closed with the petals folded up. When we arrive back at the top of the walkway and we enter our street again the children want more and take an extra detour. In the silence of the night, a familiar walk has turned into an adventure of its own. They listen to noises they usually don't hear or notice, and at the same time they "hear" the silence that is not there during the day.

Back home, Esmee disappears with the torch into the back garden. She spots two garden snails on the path, making their way across. Carefully she picks them up and gives them a helping hand as she doesn't want anybody to step on them in the dark. I don't question who that anybody might be at this time of the night!

While Esmee is exploring the darkness of the back garden I make my way into the spa pool. She and Camiel soon join me and together we soak up the warmth of the pool water and the coolness of the night air, listening to the insects chirping in the garden. We often end our days like this, gazing at the night sky, spotting satellites and shooting stars, making wishes, talking about the day gone and pondering about the day coming. Tonight the sky is overcast, we can not see any stars, and soon it will start raining. But tonight's joyful walk in the dark has lit another star inside us, making up for a late bedtime.

What is in a pine cone?

At the end of our cul-de-sac stands a lone big pine tree, many, many years old. The tree is a favourite climbing tree with the neighborhood children and they call the place “Pinecone Island”. Over the years, the children have collected many pine cones, which have all been stored in the “clubhouse” at the back of our garden. It is time for a new life for these cones and what better place then in our garden at preschool.

I spread them out in a patch at the back of our garden. They will not remain there for long. Soon they will be dispatched throughout the garden as the children carry them around during their explorations. Another batch gets added to the collection a few days later as I find a whole lot of pine cones on the ground during one of my walks with my family. These cones are very different as they are from a different pine specie. There are pine branches scattered around on the ground too, as some trees have been cut down, and I bring some along for more exploration.

It is amazing how a simple thing, like a pine cone and some branches, can create many learning experiences. While the children are carrying and turning the pine cones they notice that there is more to a pine cone then meets the eye. There are mature and not mature pine cones, there are the females and the males. They discover the different textures and shapes they feel in their hand as they hold the different cones. They discover, crunch, crunch, that walking over the patch of pine cones is rather wobbly on their feet.

The female pine cones have the seeds inside, which are very tricky to get out, depending on their maturity. Tweezers might help. A close up look shows that the scales overlap each other like fish scales and are arranged in Fibonacci number ratios. The children might not know about Fibonacci numbers, but they certainly notice the pattern. And when they take the time to examine a mature pine cone a bit further they discover there are all sorts of creatures hiding inside a pine cone and a magnifying glass reveals some interesting little bugs.

Closer examination also reveals that some pine cones are disintegrated, some are decomposing, while some still look intact. Could they have been dinner for the rabbits, or mice, or maybe possums?

The pine branches are met with curiosity, as their prickly needles give an interesting touch. We talk about those needles, which are the "leaves" of the tree. A magnifying glass provides interesting discoveries as the children look at the male pine cones or pollen cones as they are sometimes called.

Over the days, the children use the pine cones to make patterns, to line them up, to position them in a circle or make a square. They look for the largest, when you are four years old, finding the biggest anything always seems like the ultimate victory. They are having a great time sharing and judging their discoveries with each other, "this one is larger then that one".

If you are two years old and you want to carry more then two of these big pine cones to the table, you literally have a challenging task on hand. Pick up two, drop three, pick up another one, drop two.

Pine cones are hidden treasures that are easy to find. The next time you go for a walk, see if you can find a pine cone. When you pick it up, share it with your child, you may be looking at someone’s home .

A garden walk, feeding mind, heart and body

We have had some glorious days this week. Although officially still spring, the last couple of days have been like summer, hot and sunny. Our garden is calling out to us and on these hot days we move our mats and pillows to the peace pole deck.

The peace pole deck is mostly shaded from the hot sun and a nice place to come together. We listen to a story, "What colour is love?", by Linda Strachan and David Wojtowycz.

"What colour is love?" is a beautiful story exploring the different colours, finishing with the conclusion that the colour of love is every colour, everything, everywhere, all around, "because nothing else matters when it's love that you've found". A wonderful book to share with young children. It sets the tone for the rest of our afternoon.

After listening to the story we seem to all have this need to spend more time in our peaceful garden. We decide to take a walk, through our own garden. We discover there are lots of things to explore and investigate. What is hiding under the rocks? What we can find when we move the logs? Is there anything living under the tussock grass bushes? How many weta are visiting the weta hotel? What is the name of this clingy weed? How does this acorn seedling get here? There is so much to see, feel, smell, hear and even taste, although we don't pursue the latter.

We see "enormous" worms and"hundreds" of slaters. We identify buttercups and bedstraw and even find some bulbs (yes, people used to eat those during the winter of 1945 in Word War II, that started a discussion in itself). We blow the white stars of a dandelion and make a wish.

We count two weta in the hotel. We look at the different pine cones, their shape, size and texture. We find acorns, some have sprouted. We see a spider carrying its eggs, and we find a spider nest in the bushes. We stroll through the kneehigh grass, hmm, that would be a fun place for playing hide and seek.

As we maneuver our way through our wild garden, we have to balance over logs, climb over rocks and walk over unleveled varied surface, unlike a smooth concrete patch. The physical challenge to keep our balance requires gross motorskills, while handling magnifying glasses to inspect spider eggs and using tweezers to dislodge seeds from the pinecones requires fine hand/eye coordination.

It is hot and we sit down for a rest. Roger, our rabbit, joins us and we pat his soft fur. Some of us lay down and watch the clouds.

Young children create their own perceptions of the world and think in concrete terms, with their body, their mind and their heart. They learn about everything, all the time, and they do it full steam ahead. For them to learn effectively and joyfully, they must be engaged. During their first few years, they absorb with their senses. For knowledge and skills to really stick in their brain, it must go through their body and their heart. Their social and emotional life is filled with constant challenges as they are navigating their way through social relationships and its rules. They are learning to recognise, accept and express their own feelings as well as the feelings of others. They need time and space to do so.

Our nature walk, through our own garden, brings us together as a group, sharing our curiosity, enthusiasm and excitement. It is a wonderful way to foster relationships with each other and the creatures we share this planet with and to nurture self-motivation, self-discipline and not to forget curiosity, something that so many children lose along the way to adulthood.

Biophilia - a priceless moment

What is more priceless then a grin on the face and a twinkle in the eye of a child who is sharing with you the excitement of "a stick insect crawling all over me"? Those are the words of one of our children arriving at our preschool today as she is telling me about her walk with her family in the bush. They found a stick insect and she was letting it crawl over her arms, her shoulders and her back, to the amazement of her parents.

Children who are close to nature tend to relate to it as a source of wonder, joy, and awe. By giving them frequent positive experiences they will develop a sense of connectedness with the natural world. Children need to develop their biophilia, their love for life, for living systems, the Earth at a young age. Biophilia is the deep need people have to experience natural habitats and species, a love of nature. Edward O. Wilson describes biophilia as the "innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes". Preschooler's needs for concrete, hands-on experiences to explore and enjoy the world of nature will nurture their emotional and affective values of nature. If children do not have time to explore and fully understand nature, they are at danger for developing what is known as biophobia, an aversion to nature. They have little to no understanding of the natural world, and feel a discomfort in nature. Some authorities believe that if children don't develop a sense of respect and caring for the natural environment during their first few years, they are at risk for never developing such attitudes.

At our preschool we expose our children to nature as a friendly place of adventure and excitement. We have formed a community of respect and stewardship where both the children and teachers fully engage with each other to share the miracles of nature. Spiders, slaters, butterflies, dragonflies, they are all crawlies, but not creepy. We foster a deep reverence for life. When our young children have daily opportunities to care for our garden and pets, to observe the insects and birds and to watch seedlings sprout and flowers bloom, they practice nurturing and positive behaviours towards the natural world. Not only do children benefit profoundly from regular interactions with nature, it also creates lifeshaping childhood memories. As for the little girl and her parents, the joy, and the excitement of the stick insect encounter was priceless.

Most children have a bug period, and I never grew out of mine.
- Edward O. Wilson, Naturalist


Links

• "The Wonders of Nature: Honoring Children's Ways of Knowing" by Ruth Wilson
• David Orr on Biophilia (video)

Yes, we can

We have all seen, heard or read that Obama won the US elections. A historical moment. While Obama will have to prove his political skills over the next four years, he has already proven his exceptional strong orator skills. Obama gave a memorable victory speech. A remarkable speech that brought out emotion, brought people together and brought empowerment and transformation to the audience, as only great speeches can do. If you haven't already seen it you can watch the entire speech below.



A disciplined speech delivered by a disciplined man who run a disciplined campaign. But is wasn't only discipline that brought him the presidency. Obama's election campaign was of a high creative and innovative caliber. Creativity and innovation are the key dispositions for the Information age we are living in today, the 21st century. In this day and age, we need innovation to drive our economy, solve world problems, find solutions to medical problems and save our planet. Our children are going to be our future innovation leaders. While creativity and innovation comes naturally to children, it is lost along the road to adulthood. Helicopter parenting style, where parents hover over their children 24/7, managing their time and rescuing them when a difficulty arises, takes away children's resilience, own initiatives and problemsolving skills. These children are growing up without leadership skills, unable to make their own decisions, cope with anxiety, or handle difficult emotions. You can listen to an audio podcast interview here with Hara Estroff Maranoor, author of the book, "A Nation Of Wimps: The High Cost Of Invasive Parenting". I have not read the actual book, which is based on American experiences, and you will have to judge the credits for yourself, but most will agree that in New Zealand too there is an increasing trend of parents who are overprogramming their preschooler and overprotecting their schoolchild and that we have to be careful we are not raising a generation of fragile and burdened children.

Who are going to be our future creative leaders and daring innovators? Our education system, outdated and based on the Industrial age undermines our children creative and innovative thinking. Sir Ken Robinson, a prominent creativity and education expert gave a very interesting TED presentation about this issue in 2006, see link below. British reporter Riz Khan put together a 20 minute interview with Sir Ken last September, you can watch part one and part two below.

part one

part two

Children are the future. As parents and teachers we can help by giving our children more opportunities to explore and cultivate their creative and innovative mind. Children benefit greatly from exploring the natural world. Interactions with nature can be a powerful influence in shaping a young life. Growing up with time for playing outdoors and a personal connection to the natural world contributes to the child's future wellbeing and the contributions they will make to the world as adults.
We can help our children by giving them time and space to wonder, to ponder, to explore, to investigate, to dream, to imagine, to just be. We can provide greenspace, rather then screenspace, we can provide soft sheltered places rather then concrete asphalt jungles. If we can share with them the mysteries of the natural world and instill a sense of wonder, and if we can create environments that nurture multiple intelligences, visual thinking and resourcefulness, then we might raise a generation of innovative and creative thinkers who can be our leaders, ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow's world. And can we? In Obama's words, YES, WE CAN.


Links
• Sir Ken's 2006 TED talk.
• A Nation Of Wimps: The High Cost Of Invasive Parenting by Hara Estroff Marano.

Not so clean and green

We could read it in the paper this week, New Zealand's ecological footprint is now the sixth largest in the world, and expanding fast. The ecological footprint measures the amount of resources humans use and the waste they generate, and New Zealand rates amongst the ten worst, per head, in the world. According to the Living Planet report, produced by WWF, more than three-quarters of the world's population take more from the planet than they put back. New Zealand has moved from requiring 5.9 "global hectares" per person in the 2006 WWF report to an average of 7.7 global hectares. A global hectare is a standardised hectare of land able to produce resources and absorb wastes at world average levels. Worldwide, the average ecological footprint jumped from 2.2 global hectares per person to 2.7 global hectares per person, but the world has only an average 2.1ha available per person. If demand keeps growing at the same rate, the equivalent of two planets will be required in the mid-2030s to sustain current lifestyles. Watch James Leape, Director General of the WWF International, talk about the Living Planet report on this YouTube video.



If we want adults to care passionately about what is happening to our planet we need to generate such emotion in childhood. Experiences during the early years shape the values and attitudes toward the world. Children carry these with them throughout their life. The more personal children experience nature, the more environmentally concerned and active they are likely to become. Our preschoolers today will be the decision makers tomorrow.

As young children spend more and more time in our early childhood settings, we, as early childhood teachers, have a very important role. We need to create environments for our children that foster in each child a strong sense of belonging to the web of life. An outdoor naturalised preschool environment, where children are given time to interact with nature and living things, an environment that nurtures their love and appreciation of nature and their surroundings. Rather then steel, concrete, plastic and rubber matting, we need to give our children access to logs, rocks and a natural environment and give them opportunities to explore the beauty and wonders of plants, bushes, trees and flowers. Children also need an adult who shares nature with them. An adult who stops, looks and marvels with them at the miracles they discover. An adult who introduces them to the values of stillness, wonder, simplicity, peace, compassion and care of the earth. An adult who introduces the children to environmental stewardship. "Humans are now exceeding the planet's regenerative capacity by about 30 percent," the Living Planet report said, putting future prosperity under threat.

At our preschool we have a strong focus on the natural world where children can experience how their actions affect the environment as well as how the environment affects them. It is important our young children are given time to interact with nature and living things, before they can understand it well enough to want to preserve it. Reconnecting children with the natural world hopefully creates a future generation that values and preserves nature.

A walk on the wildside

I guess that is what my teenage daughter, Femke, will call our hike today. As New Zealand celebrates a public holiday, I took my six year old daughter, Esmee, for a treasure hunt along the Korokoro stream. To my astonishment, Femke, bored from having to much screentime on her hands, volunteered to join us. So of we went. Richard Louv writes in his book "Last Child in the Woods, saving our children from nature deficit disorder" the following:

"Even as children and teenagers become more aware of global threats to the environment, their physical contact, their intimacy with nature is fading"

Is my teenage daughter really out of touch with nature? My skepticism soon turned to optimism. She left her Ipod and cellphone in the car, and she was first out on the track. She was the only one to climb a tree, and the first to spot the wild duckling down the riverstream.

She found a spider on her sweatshirt and she managed to skim some stones across the water. When we found a fern with some spores, she gave Esmee a biology lecture about "asexual reproduction" as she called it. I must admit, I was impressed.

We hang over and looked under bridges to see if we could find tadpoles. We run and jumped, stopped to listen to the lark in the sky and the crickets in the blackberry bushes. We spotted a fantail and several butterflies.

Femke helped Esmee look for treasures. Esmee, with her child's eye sees beauty in many little things. She found a bone with teeth, a beautiful gem stone, a plant complete with roots and leaves, some moss, "seaglass" as she calls it and "sharp rocks that people used as tools in the old days, when there were apes".

A play on the water edge to float some sticks topped of the fun.


A six year old and a sixteen year old, both with a magic eye for wonder that only a child will have.

Caught in the web of life

At our preschool we have our lunch outside, on the veranda. This is followed with free play outdoors. The children often use this time to bake mudcakes, build dams in the rain puddles, play hide and seek in the tall grass or just roam around. We finish this time with quiet time for meditation and relaxation, before we get back into our busy preschool programme routines.

Meditation time is a very special time of the day, enjoyed by all. We take out our mats and pillows on our deck and lay or sit down to listen to a special story or some quiet music. Sometimes we listen to the howling wind, or the rain on the veranda roof or we move our mats onto the grass and watch the clouds.

Today our meditation time turned out quite different. As we were listening to a spider story, a cabbage butterfly flew up on our deck, swirled around and got caught in a spider web up on the veranda roof. We watched it struggling, trying to get out. It wasn't for long when the children started to feel sorry for the butterfly and wanted to rescue it. "We don't want it to die". "We want to put it in the garden". A discussion evolved, the needs of the butterfly versus the needs of the spider, a lesson about the web of life. The children were adamant that the butterfly should live and a rescue mission was executed.

The butterfly must have been traumatised by the experience as it flew immediately into another spiderweb. This time a waiting spider immediately attacked it. Quickly the children again took the butterfly out of the web and carefully placed it amongst the flowers in the garden. One lucky butterfly, and a not so lucky, hungry spider. In the child's eye, an act of compassion and guardianship.

You can read a children's version of the Web of Life story told by a common garden spider on the Kidsplanet website.

Leeks in our garden

One of our children brought some leeks for our garden to preschool and we have been busy preparing the garden and planting the leeks.

Gardens are great for teaching the children the cycle of growth. The children plant seeds, watch them sprout and care for the plants. At our preschool, this is followed with harvesting and food preparation.

Gardens provide great opportunities for the children to learn about nutrition and health. Children love to try new foods, especially when they have grown the food themselves or have been involved in harvesting the food. A gardening programme allows children the opportunity to make food choices based on new experiences.

The garden at our preschool is a place where our children are able to explore and discover in an interactive, hands-on environment. It teaches them about growing vegetable crops and they experience first hand the life cycle of plants, from seed to harvest, and begin to understand the relationship from garden to table.

We often turn our harvest into a nutritious meal, a curry, a savoury muffin (with eggs from our free range chickens) or a chunky vegetable soup. The final celebration takes place when we all sit around our peacepole, enjoying our home made meal.

Our garden has created many life shaping memories. It is a place where our children can marvel at the wonders of plants and their importance in our lives.

Often when we work in our garden we get sidetracked as we investigate the creatures we share our garden with, exploring how they live and how they help our gardens grow.

Earthworms are one of the creatures the children are fascinated with. They play a significant role breaking down organic matter into nutrients for plants and aerating the soil with their burrowing.

When a child finds a worm, we encourage them to look and feel gently, how moist are they, as they breathe through their skins. How do their muscles stretch and contract to move and which end is the head?

Gardening is a rewarding way to connect with nature for children and adults alike. We are looking forward to nurturing our leeks and other vegetables in our garden as summer arrives.