Monday, August 02, 2010

Nature's Beauty


My job is full of the unexpected surprises. Teachable moments are everywhere... Outdoors is where it all is. We spend so much time exploring, observing, touching. We play with textures (sand/water/stones/soil..etc.) We lift up rocks and watch the little ant families scramble around, lifting all the little eggs to safety. 'Did you know that ants can carry 30 times their body weight?'

We have now started toad hunting... because they really love our garden. We've found toads as small as a dime and toads as big as a mini hamburger. The children are now spotting them on their own, carfefully placing them in a bucket to observe for a few minutes, and then feeling pleasure in letting them go. 'Good-bye little toad. Come again later. We will miss you.'

When you really pay attention to nature, and all of it's beauty... you see for the first time what is just so easily overlooked.

Just the simple pleasure of seeing a child's face light up... as they see firsthand a toad, an ant, dragonfly, snake, catapillar...or just anything and everything that can't be learned from television or reading books, but seeing it up close and personal in their own natural habitat... is worth getting my hands a little dirty for.


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