This 182nd issue of Exchange magazine is dedicated to Mother Nature. Exchange editor Bonnie neugebauer: we must make sure children have experiences in the natural world. She says if we want children to get dirty, we must get dirty.
This 182nd issue of Exchange magazine is dedicated to Mother Nature. Exchange editor Bonnie neugebauer: we must make sure children have experiences in the natural world. She says if we want children to get dirty, we must get dirty.
This 182nd issue of Exchange magazine is dedicated to Mother Nature. Exchange editor Bonnie neugebauer: we must make sure children have experiences in the natural world. She says if we want children to get dirty, we must get dirty.
natural world have been positively linked to the sense of wonder. This way of knowing, if recognized and honored, can serve as a life-long source of joy and enrichment. Ruth A. Wilson, The Wonders of Nature: Honoring Childrens Ways of Knowing
Our cover and this 182nd issue of
Exchange are dedicated to Mother Nature. As we prepare for the Working Forum on Nature Education (July 21-23, Nebraska City, Nebraska), we are focused on the precarious beauty and providence of our planet. Children, young children, babies need experiences in the natural world. If they do not first learn to love Earth, they will be ill prepared to save it for their own children and grandchildren. They need to be outdoors in the sunshine and the rain. They need to squeeze mud between their toes and nurture seedlings. They need to feel the wind and find peace. They need to get dirty. We, the adults in their lives, must make sure children have opportunities to
observe and explore their natural
world this is our critical responsibility as educators and parents. But we have to be authentic. Our words must match our commitment and our own way of being. Timoti Karetu and Tatai Henare and Larry Kimura speak to the ways of thinking and being that are critical to preservation of Maori language and culture in New Zealand and Hawaiian culture (see World Forum at Work report on pages 66 and 67). In other words, our heads, and hearts, how we move and live must match the words that we use. If it isnt within us, children will know. If we want children to get dirty, we must get dirty. And, we must not only do it we must enjoy it! And that might require questioning some of the things we so often do without thought: Why do we run inside out of the rain instead of outside into the rain? Why do we pick flowers and bring them inside instead of going outside to enjoy them? Why do we wipe the dirt off our feet instead of going barefoot in the mud?
Reprinted with permission from Exchange magazine.
Visit us at www.ChildCareExchange.com or call (800) 221-2864. Multiple use copy agreement available for educators by request.
LoraLee encountered a puddle with her
granddaughter Ivy. They observed the shape of the puddle, the movement of the water. They set a leaf afloat and watched its slow movement. An hour passed. Ivy was deeply engaged in her observations and this moment was powerful for both of them because LoraLee, too, was truly there. Side by side they wondered, and their wondering took them to many different places. Its our own sense of wonder that must be preserved or relocated. Of course we have this sense; we just may not have used it for a while. We can find it. We must. Wonder with us and all the children in your classrooms and your lives and celebrate Mother Nature.
Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. Frank Lloyd Wright