Never Be Within Doors…
So I’ve been browsing through the writings and philosophy of a British educator from the turn of the 20th c. named Charlotte Mason, primarily because of her interesting and lovely ideas about using “living books” and short lessons. But her writings on early childhood in particular had another focus – time in nature. One of a parent’s chief roles, Mason suggests, is “to secure for [the children] a quiet and growing time, a full six years… the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.” For Mason time outdoors is about developing health, powers of attention, love of beauty… And a strong foundation for scientific understanding. “There is no part of a child’s education more important than that he should lay – by his own observation – a wide basis of facts towards scientific knowledge in the future.” In sum, she tells parents, ”Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.”
Modern research agrees with Mason. One fact sheet on children’s health and nature, listing many interesting studies, summarizes its findings this way: “Outdoor activity in the natural environment has taken a back seat to television, video games, the computer, and a demanding schoolwork and extracurricular schedule. While losing contact with the natural environment, today’s youth are missing key opportunities for physical activity, stress reduction, attention restoration, and healthy development.” More anecdotally, science teachers are increasingly questioning the impact of students’ lack of basic experience with the natural world on their ability to grasp more abstract scientific concepts.
I resonate with Mason and the “Leave No Child Inside” movement (a response to the powerful book, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, who coined the term “nature deficit disorder”). I have strong and happy memories of my outdoor life as a child – building makeshift treehouses, collecting fireflies and cicada shells, wading through cold, rocky creeks… I want that sort of childhood for D, but it doesn’t feel simple when we have to walk several blocks to find a decent patch of grassy greenness!
Still, following Mason’s directive, “Never be within doors when you can rightly be without,” has been my last big strategy to cope with – actually, enjoy! - TV-free month. So we go on little walks in the neighborhood, and D spends 20 minutes just exploring the bark on a tree or sifting through dirt in an old, raised flowerbed as she imagines the garden she would plant there. ’Ua takes her to the nearby park on her tricycle (a huge exercise in patience) to play chase, and they notice all the new leaves and little flowers budding along the way. One day when a long afternoon stretches before us, I drive D to my favorite “nature-ish” park, which has older playground equipment, but lots of little hills, big trees and great sticks and leaves to collect. After an hour of running around and exploring how far she can go without me calling her back, D crawls into my lap on the picnic blanket to flip through a few books and then fall fast asleep while I enjoy the sunlight and breeze.
Besides the simple neighborhood and park excursions, I’m hoping to get D to some truly “wild” places more frequently, too. I’ve looked for some resources to keep me inspired, and my favorite “seasonal” one so far is I Love Dirt: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature, by Jennifer Ward, for ages 4-7. (She has a follow-up, Let’s Go Outside!, for ages 8-12.) Richard Louv has a list of ideas and resources, and Nature Rocks has a cool interactive list of ideas, customized by things like the child’s age, the amount of time you have, and the distance you’re able to go.
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Tags: family values, importance of play, learning, nature, spring, tv free
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We Love Dirt
mariah
I’m loving this post! I too have a ton of memories being outdoors as a kid. we had tree houses and would explore all around the riverbed finding frogs and gardener snakes. I have such an appreciation of nature and it still takes my breath away to see the details and beauty around me. I’ve been doing more nature walks with Isaac and it’s been so fun to see him noticing the small stuff. I will check out those links even though Isaac is a few years off.
Brenna
I bet your love of nature is part of your amazing artistic talent, Mariah! Don’t you love how walking along with a child, you get drawn into the little details they’re noticing, too? I really hadn’t noticed all the signs of spring around until I went looking for them with D!