18

COVER STORY
EXCHANGE

JULY/AUGUST 2008

Celebrating
Mother Nature
by Bonnie Neugebauer

PHOTOGRAPH BY NIKI BUCHAN

Early experiences with the

natural world have been
positively linked to the sense
of wonder. This way of
knowing, if recognized and
honored, can serve as a
life-long source of joy
and enrichment.
Ruth A. Wilson, The Wonders of Nature:
Honoring Childrens Ways of Knowing

Our cover and this 182nd issue of

Exchange are dedicated to Mother Nature.
As we prepare for the Working Forum on
Nature Education (July 21-23, Nebraska
City, Nebraska), we are focused on the
precarious beauty and providence of our
planet. Children, young children, babies
need experiences in the natural world.
If they do not first learn to love Earth,
they will be ill prepared to save it for
their own children and grandchildren.
They need to be outdoors in the sunshine
and the rain. They need to squeeze mud
between their toes and nurture seedlings.
They need to feel the wind and find
peace. They need to get dirty.
We, the adults in their lives, must make
sure children have opportunities to

observe and explore their natural

world this is our critical responsibility as educators and parents. But
we have to be authentic. Our words
must match our commitment and our
own way of being. Timoti Karetu and
Tatai Henare and Larry Kimura speak
to the ways of thinking and being that
are critical to preservation of Maori
language and culture in New Zealand
and Hawaiian culture (see World
Forum at Work report on pages 66
and 67). In other words, our heads,
and hearts, how we move and live
must match the words that we use. If
it isnt within us, children will know.
If we want children to get dirty, we
must get dirty. And, we must not only
do it we must enjoy it! And that
might require questioning some of the
things we so often do without
thought:
Why do we run inside out of the
rain instead of outside into the rain?
Why do we pick flowers and bring
them inside instead of going outside
to enjoy them?
Why do we wipe the dirt off our
feet instead of going barefoot in
the mud?

Reprinted with permission from Exchange magazine.

Visit us at www.ChildCareExchange.com or call (800) 221-2864.
Multiple use copy agreement available for educators by request.

LoraLee encountered a puddle with her

granddaughter Ivy. They observed the
shape of the puddle, the movement of
the water. They set a leaf afloat and
watched its slow movement. An hour
passed. Ivy was deeply engaged in her
observations and this moment was
powerful for both of them because
LoraLee, too, was truly there. Side by
side they wondered, and their
wondering took them to many
different places.
Its our own sense of wonder that must
be preserved or relocated. Of course we
have this sense; we just may not have
used it for a while. We can find it.
We must.
Wonder with us and all the children in
your classrooms and your lives and
celebrate Mother Nature.

Study nature,
love nature,
stay close to nature.
It will never fail you.
Frank Lloyd Wright