August 2018 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 15
Thoughts on how to raise a kid who loves the Earth
lose your eyes and think back
to a happy time and place in
your childhood. What do you
see? What do you hear? What do
you smell? What do you feel? What
are you touching? What can you
taste?
For most of us, these memories
involve nature and our families.
My love of the outdoors began
in my backyard, digging in the dirt
with spoons, making mulberry
mud pies, inspecting rolly-pollys
and worms under rocks, catching
bumblebees in baby food jars dur-
ing the day and lightning bugs in
the evening.
Love of the earth came by
discovering the first pussy willow
to bloom in the side yard, spotting
the first hyacinth emerging from
the cold flowerbed, helping cut a
few branches of forsythia to force
into bloom in the living room while
the wind blew polar. Picking a plum
warmed in the sun, the sweet juice
dribbling down my chin. Spotting
cocoons on milkweed plants in the
field near my home.
There was so much life to ex-
plore in our backyard. Our block
was the world, each yard being a
new country to discover.
Today our children’s time seems
programmed with events that
C
Maren
Schmidt
_______________
Kids Talk™
disconnect them from the natural
discovery and exploration of living
things.
It only takes a bit of earth.
Give your child time to play
in the yard. Have one area that
doesn’t have to be pristine and is
available for digging and looking
under rocks.
Working in your yard seems a lot
like playing in the yard to your child.
Child-sized rakes, shovels, hoes,
trowels, and gardening gloves are
readily available in home improve-
ment or gardening stores. Safety al-
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ways comes first so make sure you
have a place to store tools and give
lessons on how to use them safely.
Remember, no running with tools!
A three-year-old loves to rake grass
and leaves into a circle made by a
hula-hoop, which defines where to
deposit raked leaves.
Introduce one tool at a time.
Helping keep a clean yard is a first
step for our children to learn to
keep a clean Earth. Ecology? The
word comes from the Greek word,
oikos, for house. Ecology begins at
home.
Grow something. It doesn’t
take acreage to grow plants. Start
a potato in a jar of water on your
kitchen cabinet. Sprout an avocado
seed. Make alfalfa or bean sprouts.
Plant cherry tomatoes in a pot on
your porch. Let your children polish
the leaves of a rubber tree plant.
My favorite book to inspire garden-
ing with children is Roots, Shoots,
Buckets, and Boots: Gardening
Together by Sharon Lovejoy.
Walk every day. Walk in your
yard. Walk in your neighborhood
or nearby parks. Work up to take
longer hikes at state parks or pre-
serves. Remember to take water,
snacks, sunscreen and insect repel-
lent. As you walk do a scavenger
type hunt for three types of plants
or animals. For example: a black
oak, a sycamore, a blackberry vine,
a bluebird, a monarch butterfly, a
worm.
Enjoy the weather. Get out in the
rain. Of course, there is always the
danger of thunderstorms and light-
ning, but a warm summer rain in-
vites the senses. To walk in the rain,
without a raincoat, galoshes, or
umbrella, is a wonderful experience
for a child. Ask — does the air smell
different when it is raining? What
does the rain sound like? How does
mud feel between your toes?
Have towels and dry clothes
ready for your return from a walk in
the rain. Let yourself be a kid again.
Learning to love the earth begins
early. It begins in our backyards
as we play, work, walk, discover,
explore and enjoy this wonderful
world.
________
Kids Talk™ is an award-winning
column dealing with childhood de-
velopment issues written by Maren
Stark Schmidt, M.Ed. She has more
than 25 years experience working
with young children and is the au-
thor of Understanding Montessori:
A Guide for Parents. Contact her via
e-mail at maren@kidstalknews.