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I’m playing catch up. With back to back (to back…) pregnancies and backyards that were difficult/too small to enjoy, my kids have largely been “indoor kids.” In some ways, I’m an “indoor kid” too! I have to “learn” how to enjoy the outdoors: educating myself on dangerous plants, noticing trees and flowers, and learning what “to do” when you spend time outside.
To help me out, I assigned myself a bit of summer reading: How To Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature. It’s written by the host of Dinosaur Train, Scott the Paleontologist, and it seems like the perfect book to usher me into a better relationship with nature. I thought it would be fun to jot down some notes and thoughts as I read through it this month and share them here. Maybe it will inspire you in a new way too!
The book is divided into four sections. Part One contains Chapters 1 and 2 and is called “Nature, Lost and Found.”
Chapter 1: Wilding the Mind
Compared to kids confined indoors, children who regularly play in nature show heightened motor control – including balance, coordination, and agility. They tend to engage more in imaginative and creative play, which in turn fosters language, abstract reasoning, and problem-solving skills, together with a sense of wonder. Nature play is superior at engendering a sense of self and a sense of place, allowing children to recognize both their independence and interdependence. Play in outdoor settings also exceeds indoor alternatives in fostering cognitive, emotional, and moral development. And individuals who spend abundant time playing outdoors as children are more likely to grow up with a strong attachment to place and an environmental ethic. (p.37)
Notes and takeaways from this chapter:
- Nature is so good for us! It’s encouraging to learn the science behind what I already imagined to be true – in short, nature is incredibly beneficial to both body and soul.
- I have the Handbook of Nature Study collecting dust in our school room. It’s time to take it off the shelf and check it out! From what I little I know about it, I think it will give me some structure as I guide my children.
- Like anything in life, being outside takes time to become a habit. Working on our 1000 Hours Outside Challenge will help this.
- A good way to change things up might be to go somewhere new on weekends with Mark. Maybe there’s a local nature center nearby?
- Try doing schoolwork outside. I’m hesitant about this because I feel like they would be distracted, but I won’t know for sure until I try.
- Camping or hiking should go on the schedule as the kids get older. Having the boys in Trail Life will help this area too.
Chapter 2: The Power of Place
…a growing mountain of evidence suggests that the best place to fall in love with nature is where you happen to be. (p.57)
For now, I invite you to think about beauty, truth, and goodness as threads in a blanket, one that each of us creates and wears throughout our lives. You cannot weave this blanket for another, not even your own offspring. Instead, your role is to ensure that the child possesses the needed inspiration, skills, and raw materials (experience, heart, and understanding) necessary to make her own unique, vibrant cloth with a balance of all three threads. (p.64)
- “topophilia” – a love of place
- Food for thought: “Childhood brains are literally shaped by experience, so we’d better be thoughtful about the kinds of experience we expose our children to.” (p.56)
- There has been unintentional value in my interest in bird watching! “If you don’t pay any attention to the natural world, it’s doubtful that your children will.”
- A book to check out: What the Robin Knows by Jon Young
When I homeschooled in Alaska, we often drug the boys' beanbags outside for them to do their reading out there, and they actually seemed to sit more still (& be more focused) outside, which surprised me. We also went on nature walks sometimes (to get the wiggles out) in the middle of school, or if we were looking for something in particular (bugs or sticks). It was a nice addition to our day and a good way to get in some outdoor time.
Wow, that's encouraging! I'll definitely have to try this fall.