Being outside a lot is the biggest treat of this time of the year. We can’t really seem to wear out the fun in playing in the yard, neighborhood, at parks and on nature walks. There was a unanimous vote to go to Thorpe Park today. We were rewarded with the opportunity to do physics experiments on the merry go round thing (with a homemade swing, willing sisters and a dog leash) and the chance to observe turtles, ducks and geese (with goslings) up close and personal. Jamie got really close by squatting down, folding her arms into wings, slowly approaching and doing goose noises.
Again and again I am seeing the value of the kids’ personal observations, them choosing how they want to interact with their environments and the staggering amount of natural curiosity they have. All this without me having to make anything “educational.” It works so well to just have conversations about how things work and follow up with books and websites when more information is wanted or needed. Experiencing the force of the circular motion for yourself, including how it differs when the rotating circle is not level can bring on all sorts of discussions.
Side note: I was at Deephaven this week for speech drop off and was a little sad seeing so many of the kids on the blacktop area of the play ground. They have a great playground and recess time is SO important, but looking at it, it seemed lifeless and contrived. No plants or animals to be seen (obviously they can’t wander off into the woods) and always too short of a time to be outside.
