Thank god for children's eyes
So even though it is April 19th and we experience outdoor fun everyday in our home, we have decided it is STILL not too late to participate/celebrate April Nature Awareness month :) and so we join Children & Nature Awareness Month Challenge! Let's face it, for those of us who celebrate nature and tree climbing, digging up critters in the yard, planting seeds... Nature Awareness month is just another excuse to play in the yard and document all the fun!
So without further ado I shall share with you what we have been up to : )
We spent a good portion of the day digging and digging. There is nothing quite like joining your children in the fine art of digging in the yard! The treasures you find, the excitement and wonder in your child's eyes at the first sight of little tiny critters crawling out of the ground... the appreciation for nature, life... in the tiniest of forms. Oh the hours and hours of learning to be found in your yard! And I do not speak here of lessons JUST for the kiddos. The lessons I speak of here... are aimed at us parents.
For parents, I challenge you to NOT give instructions but observe, I challenge you to NOT look at the clock, I challenge you to step back... and listen, just listen. Discover through your child's eyes. I can't stress it enough, stop thinking... just observe, listen and join in the fun!
And so it goes that as I dug and dug to prepare my garden, my six year old's eyes SAW what I was too busy overlooking because I had better things to do... you know? like brush the dead leaves out of the way so I can dig and transplant my plans. lol This is when my 6 year old says to me, "Mommie look! a snail! and another snail!" And there they were, right next to the plant I was planting, the cutest little snails. A whole bunch of them! and it was THEN the excitement began!!
Meet, "The Snelly Snails who love to play the Snelly race game and eat egg shells " (I quote my My lovely daughter here :)
The kiddos discovered snails!! and a new chapter in our science page began.
Are these not the cutest snails or what?! lol Personality all the way!! These snails definitely found us!
Did you know snails like to eat egg shells? Yes, it helps keep their shells strong and healthy. We also learned they love to eat lettuce, cucumbers and dandelion leaves. And well... the lessons continued and continued...
and yes, in addition to "digging" into dirt, exploring science, learning about herbivores, observing and naming snails and building a snailarium, we "dug" into writing as well :)
Awesome day indeed!! I'll get to the plants tomorrow ;p
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