August Mama Message
"The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky."
- Margaret McMillan, 1925
Air, earth, fire, and water… the four elements… are the most powerful teachers of all. Observing young children in nature is to see education at it’s finest. There is a beauty and simplicity in this model, and over thousands of years we have not improved upon it. Children are one with the earth, plants and animals, with water and the wind, and they never tire of the possibilities and interactions. We can learn so much from our young ones, if we can sit back and watch the miracles unfold. Everything we need is right before us, and yet we continue to try to improve or innovate, often to our detriment.
I have been spending a great deal of time outdoors with children these days. From infants to mid-kids… they are happily playing, interacting, inventing, innovating, coordinating, collaborating, and so much more. I have written about this many times before, but lately it is even more compelling as I watch them discover so much about themselves, each other, and the world around them all through outdoor play. Language, physics, biology, mathematics, civics, geology, geography, history, and the relationship of their bodies to space, gravity, levity, and impact… is all learned in their daily activities outside.
Adults used to know this instinctively. My parents would shoo us outside, and we would go happily. We had freedom and initiative, and we used it fairly responsibly. The older children watched over the younger, and the neighborhood was a relatively safe place to roam. We learned together and we made some mistakes, but we usually only made them one time! In our adult quest to find the “best” form of education many of us have forgotten the most basic need of childhood… that of free play.
There are many wonderful educational theories these days, but I would invite you to look for those that emphasize plenty of outdoor time, a gentle approach without “pushing” too much early academic learning, lots of creative free play, and truly great literature and stories. The stories that our children read or are told are also pivotal to their healthy development. Stories and songs of nature, or of people in nature also help to strengthen the connection to the natural world. There are wonderful stories and songs from every culture that inspire and engage young children. Listening to stories outdoors, or singing around a fire at night have been a part of humanity for generations. It is only recently that we are losing these traditions, but we can hold onto them if this is made a priority in our home life.
As our summer months wind down, let’s not forget the beauty and simplicity of the long summer days, and of the innocence and playfulness of the children. We can carry this with us, and when life gets too overwhelming, we can breathe deeply of the scents of the trees, grasses, and flowers… and take pause… appreciating the wisdom of our children.
Warmly,
Maria