| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Clare |
Posted - Aug 21 2005 : 4:12:08 PM
Here's a good article about why it's important to get your kids outside and involved in nature.
http://www.evergreenmonthly.com/2005/em2108/f1_smart_outdoors2108.html
**** Love is the great work - though every heart is first an apprentice. - Hafiz
Set a high value on spontaneous kindness. - Samuel Johnson****
|
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Mrs Tiggywinkle |
Posted - Jan 17 2006 : 9:57:42 PM
I just ordered the "Last Child in the Woods" book for my mom. She has a farm in VA which is rapidly being surrounded by housing developments. She's "safe"; her land's protected in a conservancy, but she's so worried that all the open places are being cemented over & the kids living in the projects (I mean subdivisions) won't have anyplace to play. Parks seem to be low on the list of priorities... She's wondering whether the kids or dogs will end up causing havoc on her property, since there's nowhere else to go, but mostly, she's worried for the kids, & the whole idea that they have no unstructured time to just "piddle around," or a place to do it.
I know most of my non-school time was spent piddling around, and it was great! Even though I lived in town, I had private places & time to just come up with wacko ideas & carry them out. (Like "growing" hamster food in old milk cartons- my sister & I were laughing about that the other day.)
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. |
| Rebekka Mae |
Posted - Jan 14 2006 : 11:00:08 AM
a must read for farmgirls!!!
I am just finishing 'Last Child in The Woods- Saving our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder'- while it seems cliche to me to even have a book on this toopic I firmly believe that everyone who breathes (seriously) should read this book. It is eye-opening and has many very powerful solutions that will take place because of individuals. I was most amazed by the points that Richard Louv brings up with respect to adding wild spaces to cities- PLEASE FARMGIRLS- check this book out from your library or buy it and make one change in your life to help kids (and adults) in your community to have access to wild spaces, if you live on a farm find a way to let kids from a nearby city come to experience your lifestyle on a regular basis. I will be sure to share our thread with the author so that he can see what farmgirls are doing to return our children and ourselves to nature. From what you have already written I know you are doing this but we can all do a little more I am sure. I am inspired by this book to help local schools create wild spaces on school grounds and to have the children work to create them by collecting local plants and re-planting them (while meeting state standards in science, math and PE) since I am a teacher by training. Seeing these huge lawns and blacktops with children standing around makes me so sad- they don't have an environment that encourages play or imagination and we are paying heavily to water and spray chemicals to maintain a 'dead space'!
Please let me know what you think of this book!!!
Be Well, Rebekka |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Jan 14 2006 : 04:49:25 AM
Tara, you remind me of one of the funniest things when my daughter brought home her new boyfriend, who would become her husband. I was out cleaning stalls, and my daughter said something flippant, and I picked up an old turd with my hand and lobbed it at her. She laughed and dodged, and then we went in and made lunch. He was aghast.
Now his boys dig in the dirt here, help with chores to the best of their ability, and ride their little pony. In order to let them stay outside as much as possible, I even pack little lunches for them so they can eat outside. They love the novelty of it, and my daughter reminisces about sharing tuna sandwiches with barn cats when she was younger.
I've been involved with horses for many years, and horsemen understand well the problems associated with keeping a horse stalled all the time. They begin to chew wood or crib, weave, paw, or just get really irritable. They can get absolutely crazy when finally allowed out. No wonder; they're made to run and roam the plains and be social, not stand isolated in a tiny stall.
Little kids are made like that, too. If they can't develop their muscles and intelligence as they are hardwired to do, they develop behavior and health problems, too.
I kid my daughter about taking her boys and longeing them.  |
| spirithigh |
Posted - Jan 13 2006 : 5:19:12 PM
My two year old already has three "pitch forks" hanging in the barn. We have three horses and he insists on graining, haying and picking up after them as best he can. When he steps in some manure I don't freak out. It's all a part of living on our little mini-farm. His dad is strickly a city guy so that bothers him. Bahaha. Anyway, in warmer weather he would much rather be outside puttering and playing in our back yard getting totally muddy then being inside. I hope his love of nature continues as I plan to be outside with him as much as possible. Now we need to get him ON the horses to start riding this summer. I so strongly agree that fresh air and activity is so much better then sitting inside watching too much TV!!!!! |
| cajungal |
Posted - Dec 20 2005 : 2:35:42 PM
Everyone has such great insight. I think all y'all could teach others a thing or two about kids.
We've homeschooled our daughters for 10 years. Part of what attracted me to this type of education was that, at the time 10 years ago, the trend was for informal, hands-on, living books and life experiences as education. It is only now that my oldest is entering the 9th grade that we've gotten "serious" about textbooks and workbooks and such. She has had such a full life of exploring the outdoors and figuring things out on her own that she has a great work ethic and foundation for learning these higher level courses. We've spent these years clocking in more time outside than in, more time dirty than clean, more time hammering nails than hammering at the books and all the time loving and having fun with each other.
About the trend, many companies that sell homeschool curriculums are really pushing the "genious at three" mentality. If you've seen the movie "Daddy Day Care" then you'll get the picture. Remember the preschool where the kids were learning latin and other languages and being taught the SAT prep stuff? That's how the homeschooling circle has become. In the end of that movie, the true important achievements were not academic at all. But of character and relationships. To be honest, I have no doubt that my daughter will score high on the college tests, if she chooses that road. She'll probably even know latin. But, the formality of learning it didn't have to start when she was 3.
I guess my point is that even in circles of people that you think have chosen a more natural and down to earth lifestyle are getting sucked in by the current.
Blessings!
Catherine
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Dec 16 2005 : 11:07:48 PM
We've had such a cold freezing snap I've had to keep mine in the house ever since a couple days after our first snow. When they are bigger I think I can let them be out in it more but if the cold is biting me through my coat I have no business putting the wee rats out in it no matter how bundled up they are. I have noticed a HUGE difference lately because of it.
They aren't taking naps or going to bed at night very easily, and they are cranky pee baby whiners all day long because as fun as all their toys may be, it's just not the same as fresh air. Kaylee has been dogging me all day everyday with "mommy doin? mommy doin? She just doesn't get that independant type play and exploration time that stimulates her mind (and wears her out)when we can't go wonder around in the yard, so she expects me to entertain her all day or she begs to watch baby elephants (Dumbo) over and over all day long.
Because we've been cooped up, I've been letting her watch it once a day, but after that she just has to play with her elephant toys instead. :)
I really don't know how people just keep their kids in the house all day every day without going bonkers! It's not only good for the kids but it's also good for the adults because it winds them down enough that they give their parents some peace :)
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| manda |
Posted - Dec 16 2005 : 09:52:28 AM
I agree with everyone. I am lucky my daughter is a tomboy (like I was) and loves to be outside catching lizards, playing with the goats, and climbing the trees. Yes, she gets filthy but that's part of being a kid. It always makes me cringe when I see girls dressed as Disney Princesses who don't want to play outside for fear they will get their new Cinderella dress dirty. Kids need to play in dirt and explore their world. We also have a large organic garden. My daughter and her friends eat the snap peas, strawberries, blueberrries, tomatoes, etc.. right off the plants. Gardening is a great way to get kids outside and appreciate where their food comes from. |
| knittingmomma |
Posted - Dec 16 2005 : 04:12:40 AM
Yes, I think it is very sad when someone has to write a book about children and "Nature Deficit Disorder".
I had an "aha!" moment when I read the post about children learning to solve problems on their own and with others when playing outside and an adult is usually not right there. - that is so true and such a valuable skill!
Our children go outside everyday unless it is below 10 degrees (and even then we will walk into town to do errands). We have a great sledding hill within site of our house so we are blessed. But they also have to care for the chickens. My two oldest also go to the post office together for me to mail orders.
Being outside is just so important for everyone, not just children.
Warm wishes,
Tonya
Simple Living, Homestead Dreaming Mom of 5
http://www.naturalearthfarm.com |
| Rebekka Mae |
Posted - Dec 15 2005 : 6:52:48 PM
Clare- This is crazy!!!The woman in that article is none other than Barbara Brower (daughter of David Brower of the Sierra Club), my most dear mentor! Little did I know she would be in this wonderful article you posted the link to. She is one amazing woman, having raised her kids all over Nepal, Texas, Oregon and now Berkeley CA(she is also the editor of the Himalayan Research Bulletin and is one awesome farmgirl having done much of her research on Yak Husbandry in High Asia). She is at Berkeley as a visiting prof this year and if anyone ever gets a chance to meet this amazing Mama they should!
On topic, there is a new book called 'Last Child in the Woods' it is all about what happens when we deprive our kids of time in unkept nature- has anyone read it? I have it on request at the library and I can't wait to read it.
Yah for this thread, I needed to see that name again and remember how amazing the women I know are!!! I have taken many classes from Barbara and I always loved the collection of young women who sought out her classes- she is a magnetic force (much like our Mary Jane!) and will do so much good for the world through her teachings.
Thanks for reading my ramblings, Rebekka XOXOXO |
| westfork woman |
Posted - Oct 06 2005 : 11:21:40 AM
Michele- That is a good point about people afraid to be alone. Maybe it is a matter of not trusting their own instincts. It is sad. If you can't figure out your own life, how can you expect your kids to be self-reliant and self-sufficient? That is mostly what I always wanted for my girls, that they would be able to take care of themselves. Just being able to decide what comes next in life is a learned skill, not one that just happpens, and no one else can show you that. It is process of trial and error.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 8:20:39 PM
Katie-ell and Diane, I forwarded your posts to my husband at work (his job is driving him nuts right now) and it brightened his day.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| westernhorse51 |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 7:55:55 PM
kennie lynn, how I agree with you about scheduling. it drives me crazy. I have a sister who doesnt let a minute go by without scheduling it for her kids. Even in summer, everything is scheduled like shes afraid to be with them herself or something. Most of their activities is without her or her husband. I always feel so bad for the kids. They dont act like they care but I cant help feeling they do. Kids need things to do but what ever happened to looking for something to do? Michele
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
| Clare |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 4:53:54 PM
Amen! 
May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. ~~Apache Blessing
|
| westfork woman |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 4:08:15 PM
Having graduated to Grandma, or just plain Ma, as my grandson says, I think kids just need attention, and something to do. We have our grandson a lot, and he does what we do. He is 9, and thinks he and Pa can fix anything, which is pretty much true. He farms with us, he fixes stuff with Pa, loves to run the grease gun on the swather and baler, he irrigates, traps gophers, rides horses, feeds cows, just everything that needs done. He spends time with his bb gun, but since I have really limited what he can shoot, he spends most of his time hunting, not shooting. He is a busy boy. His mom did the same, except maybe the grease part. Kids need to be outside, doing things, figuring out how to do things. Adult supervision is fine, but, they need to learn to think on their own. I also do not like to see families so scheduled with sports, and events, that there is no time for kids to be kids.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
| katie-ell |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 04:42:19 AM
OMG Bobbi! Your husband is hilarious! I'm laughing out loud here, before my morning coffee! The children are adorable . . . obviously they take after you (see, I can be funny too!). Tell your husband he's a keeper. |
| Fabulous Farm Femmes |
Posted - Oct 04 2005 : 12:11:38 AM
Your kids ARE cute...and their Momma is pretty nice lookin too. And Bobbi, fyi, your husband IS funny,honest.
Ps I love the muffin man song...that's the only version we know too. |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Oct 03 2005 : 10:41:58 PM
Tonight Kaylee was helping me sort beans to soak for bean and rice bowls tomorrow and she was so facinated by these beans.. they were everywhere except in the bowl and I had to sweep half of them up but it was still a blast. She is going to be 2 on the 29th and it's so funny to watch her.. tonight she was singing "do you know the muffin man" but all she would sing was "muffin man muffin man muffin man... Halsey" (Halsey is her sisters name) So I guess she made it into the song. It was pretty cute. They are changing every day.. Oh, I'll post some pictures of my girls I finally have some online!! http://www.baalzevuv.com/html/pictures.html is the link, my husband posted captions that some may find a little crude so forgive him, He tries really hard to be funny. (He also has links on his main page to a lot of his friends sites who are much more crude than he is, so please don't judge me on it.. at any rate my kids are really cute so check it out and tell me how cute my kids are ;)
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| BlueApple |
Posted - Oct 03 2005 : 07:52:53 AM
As a child care provider I can tell you that parents are looking for "curriculum" constantly. I tell them the best "curriculum" is to be involved and do "stuff" with your children. There was an interesting study just done regarding reading to your children. I am big on reading to children and have always believed it helped my children. But what the study found was that it wasn't the actual reading to children that helped them be successful (although it is very important) but it was the KIND OF PARENT that would read to their children that was important. So I try to stress to my parents that while the curriculum they want for their preschoolers has a place -- playing outside, squishing mud, blowing wildflowers, looking at the clouds, etc., etc., is more important.
Julia
BlueApple Farm |
| mountainmama |
Posted - Oct 03 2005 : 07:41:31 AM
THIS is why I cannot wait to get out of the city and into the country, so my daughter can enjoy nature! We currently live in a transitional neighborhood, and in a couple of years we will sell our house that my husband built and make a nice profit so we can live the way we want to - up in the mountains! Needless to say, I NEVER EVER let my daughter go outside and play without my supervision, due to the questionable characters that walk up and down the street everyday - and the guy who lives in an abandoned car next door on an empty lot - his name is Shine (he washes cars). Then there's TJ, who lives in a house being renovated, but whoever was renovating it ran out of money. There are a lot of big beautiful houses going up in this neighborhood, and it's just a matter of time before it will be a very desireable neighborhood, but for the time being, I have to take my child to the park several times a week so she can enjoy the outdoors. How I yearn for the day when she can play outside all day long without me having to worry...although I think you never get too comfortable, having been a city girl all my life.
Lissa
www.cabin-rentals-of-georgia.com |
| ladybugsmom6 |
Posted - Sep 09 2005 : 1:15:58 PM
Mamamia, you are my kind of Mama! Our classroom is also often outside, great child directed "play". My city nieghbors are replused that #1 my girls love to eat the tomatoes growing in the "flower bed". and #2 they play with worms, (red are the best!) and the list goes on and on, I have been told recently how much fun my kids were to have in Vacation Bible School because they were never at a loss for what to do they helped each other and little ones around them. The games they make up together are fabulous! Outside on the farm is so much safer than in front of the TV! |
| FloralSaucer |
Posted - Sep 05 2005 : 4:51:49 PM
I watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie where the teacher asked the children to collect leaves over the holidays. It was interesting to watch Nellie and Willie, I think they learnt alot from their time outside.
Our outside play has been hampered by the lack of shade. Maybe this year there will be more. |
| mamamia |
Posted - Aug 29 2005 : 5:19:50 PM
I agree! My (homeschool) classroom is mainly outside. Whatever we do and wherever we go we plan ahead to take library books that go with what we're doing or where we're going. If we haven't planned it we look it up later. "If" my daughter watches tv it must be educational such as Animal Planet or we check out (how to and educational) videos from the library. When I had (and when something grows in my new garden) my daughter eats right out of the garden when she wants. It's great and I know it's safe and "raw" veggies are even better! Kids take pride in what they plant too. They learn planting depth, row space, germination, companion planting, beneficial insects and animals, when to plant, and they love the choice of what "they" want to plant. Above all they get to play in the dirt! I wish I had a classroom like that when I was growing up! |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Aug 29 2005 : 5:07:27 PM
Yes Jenny, I agree with you! I have never understood the parents who would be horrified if their kids play in the dirt, but then stick them in a daycare room with 20 other kids and expose them to all those germs! Kids rarely wash their hands after the bathroom or sneezing or anything like that unless a parent stands over them and reminds them over and over.. and the adult to child ratio in those places is very unbalanced, so everything they touch could easily be covered in way more germs than a slug in the back yard.
I'm not going to turn down my friends and families birthday parties or anything, but I'd always rather have my kids outside in the fresh air than at a Chuck E Cheese or some other sticky place!
*Hypochondriac mommy* 
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| mamamia |
Posted - Aug 29 2005 : 4:46:26 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Aunt Jenny
It sure makes me so grateful that my kids love love love to be outside alot. I have to drag them inside to clean up and eat. I sure feel sorry for kids who don't get dirty, explore the haybarn, make forts in the bushes, sit and eat fresh veggies right from the garden, climb trees, ride bikes until their legs are tired, roll in the grass and play with animals. I don't allow video games at our house and the tv is seldom on for the kids, even in winter..I just don't see the point..there is so much else to do!!
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn't things
|
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Aug 27 2005 : 09:39:09 AM
It sure makes me so grateful that my kids love love love to be outside alot. I have to drag them inside to clean up and eat. I sure feel sorry for kids who don't get dirty, explore the haybarn, make forts in the bushes, sit and eat fresh veggies right from the garden, climb trees, ride bikes until their legs are tired, roll in the grass and play with animals. I don't allow video games at our house and the tv is seldom on for the kids, even in winter..I just don't see the point..there is so much else to do!!
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn't things |
|
|
