A nature walk in our ‘backyard’

Setting :

• bright and sunny morning at 9 a.m.
• a small reservoir in our neighbour-hood park

Sounds :

• Birds chirping
• Crickets and other critters
• Cascading water

Discoveries :

• A baby brown lipped snail (its shell was only about 1 cm length)
• Wild fungi
• Bumblebee
• Butterflies
• Lots of large black ants, about 2cm in length (Crematogaster sp)
• Wildflowers
• A black crowned night heron (K’s description; ‘funny bird with long legs.’)

Result :

• An extremely observant and participative little one; busy looking under rocks, anticipating what he could discover under it.
• Squealing with delight when he saw how the mimosa plant's leaves reacted when he touched it
• A happy and energetic tot who was so willing to pose for photos
• No mention of TV or any present super-hero obsession throughout the 1 and a half hour walk

My initial worries were naught. I was worried that there will be little to see in the neighbour-hood park behind our house, and he might get bored and restless. But our nature experience proved how wrong I was.

“This is all play to the children, but the mother is doing invaluable work; she is training their powers of observation and expression, increasing their vocabulary and their range of ideas by giving them the name and the uses of an object at the right moment,--when they ask, 'What is it?' and 'What is it for?” - Charlotte Mason