“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” – W.B. Yeats Spring is a magical time. Life returns after a long sleep. We took a hike on a little-known trail the other day. Our path led us up the side of the mountain and round a bend, right…
Most parents have an acutely tuned sense of responsibility–to the point where they consider relaxation and leisure, for themselves or their children, a self-indulgent luxury. By taking nature experience out of the leisure column and placing it in the health column, we are more likely to take our children on that hike–more likely to, well,…
Quick post on why walking is wonderful. Worth a few minutes to read. :) I feel that my children (and myself!) are at our best, our most creative, our most curious, our most inspired, after we’ve spent time outside, moving, breathing, walking, working!
We make it into Yellowstone at least once a week right now. It requires a lot more effort than in the warmer months, but it is worth it. From the moment I enter those borders, I am home. (This is Richie, the girls’ hiking mascot. Every kid should have a mascot, don’t you think?) :)…
I’m back. I’ve been absent from this space for such a long time. Our family has been on a grand adventure, one that I learned so much from that it will take a lifetime to fully appreciate. We spent 8 months in an RV, traveling and exploring, pursuing dreams and adventures. Each place we go,…
If there is anything that Yellowstone has taught us, it is patience. Quiet, pleasant patience. That things take time, and sometimes the time is long and that rushing does no good. Last week, it rained and rained. And rained. It was wonderful. I am grateful for ponchos and sweatshirts. The chilly weather gave us a…
View of the Tetons from Sawtell Peak Trail. We were all a little summit hungry after Mt. Washburn. Wildflowers in bloom on Sawtell. So, we attempted another summit. Longer hike, less elevation gain. It seemed like a good balance. However, we arrived during what I can only describe as a massive swarm of bees and…
“I feel that there is something in having passed one’s childhood beside the big river that is incommunicable to those who have not.” – T.S. Eliot What will your child’s “big river” be?
I don’t really know what to say in this post. I feel so frustrated that in this current society, we have to fight to let our children have a childhood. When did it become the norm to steal that from them? When did it stop becoming okay for a child to spend the day in…
It is not the language of painters but the language of nature one should listen to…The feeling for the things themselves, for reality, is more important that the feeling for pictures.
— Vincent Van Gogh
It takes time–loose, unstructured dreamtime–to experience nature in a meaningful way. Unless parents are vigilant, such time becomes a scarce resource, because time is consumed by multiple invisible forces; because our culture currently places so little value on natural play.
“Too much directed attention leads to…”directed-attention fatigue,” marked by impulsive behavior, agitation, and inability to concentrate. Directed-attention fatigue occurs because neural inhibitory mechanisms become fatigued by blocking competing stimuli. As Stephen Kaplan explained in the journal Monitor on Psychology, ‘If you can find an environment where the attention is automatic, you allow directed attention to…