Nature Meanders With Children

Last week I blogged about nature walks with toddlers. Today, I encourage you to consider a different kind of experience in nature- what I'll call the "Nature Meander." Unlike a walk, which may have a specific destination or goal, the meander involves having no plan, no destination in mind, and no goal.

Nature Meanders are perfect for toddlers who tend to meander anyway. They stop to watch a trail of ants walk in their path, pick every flower they see, and otherwise notice the things adults tend to miss. By the time they reach the upper elementary grades, though, many children stop noticing these little details, unless free time in nature is a regular part of their lives.

So head out into the woods or desert, to a city park, or along the beach and just see where your kids' interests take you. Maybe you'll walk half a mile. Or maybe you'll get to know one hundred square feet of an area really well. Maybe you'll see vultures eating a dead fish, or collect loads of interesting rocks that weigh down your pockets. Or maybe you'll spend an hour skipping those rocks across a pond. Let your children guide you. You might be surprised by what you discover together.

When was the last time you and your kids spent time meandering. What did you discover?

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Go on a Raccoon Hunt

One evening after dinner, my two and a half year-old niece (nickname Doodah) said to her parents, "Let's go on a raccoon  hunt!" My sister and brother-in-law allowed Doodah to guide them. Without any direction from her parents, Doodah led them up the hill to the park near their apartment in San Francisco. As they approached the park, Doodah informed them they would see raccoons in a particular area of the park. She led them directly there and sure enough, a family of five raccoons was digging around for food.

My sister isn't sure what prompted Doodah to suggest going on a raccoon hunt. They had been watching raccoons walk along the fence-line outside their window.  Around this time, one of Doodah's favorite books to read was We're Going on  Lion Hunt by Margery Cuyler. My sister thinks Doodah may have combined her real life experiences with the imaginary story to create her own kind of hunt.

When they visited us in October, Doodah told me about their raccoon hunts. I later interviewed her via Skype to see if there's anything she would want me to share with my blog readers. She told me they "go out in the night after dinner" but they didn't need to take a flashlight because it's bright enough in the city. When I asked her why she likes going on raccoon hunts she said, "Because they're fun!"

During our interview, Doodah and her mom also told me about the family of five raccoons they watched sneak in their neighbor's window. One stayed out on the fire escape while the other 4 went inside. Doodah told me, "We could hear them talking." (My sister clarified it was like chattering to each other). Doodah also told me "they were eating the food. Cat food." This is a detail they can't verify, but they know the neighbors have a cat so they inferred that the raccoons were eating from the cat's dish.

I just love this investigation driven by my niece's interests. I love that my sister agreed and impulsively went out after dinner. For kids who live in the city, finding a connection to nature can be a challenge, but as this demonstrates, it's not impossible. In fact, the next time Doodah lead a raccoon hunt, she brought her younger cousin- my 2 year old niece who lives in another part of San Francisco. They didn't see any raccoons that night, but my youngest niece ran all around the park enjoying the darkness. City kids don't experience nighttime the way suburban or rural kids do because of all the lights.

For those of you who live in cold areas, raccoon activity has dropped off significantly lately as they enter deep sleep for long periods (though they don't truly hibernate). When the weather is milder, however, they will still venture out in search of food. So cold-weather dwellers, wait for a warmer evening and see if you can find raccoons. Those of you who live in milder places such as San Francisco can continue to watch raccoons all year round. In fact, this time of year might be a good time for little ones since it gets dark earlier in the evening.

After you go on your raccoon hunt, you can read Raccoons by J. Angelique Johnson.

School connections: Children in grade K or 1 often study nocturnal animals, so this may dovetail with lessons happening in your child's classroom. Upper elementary students tend to study animal adaptations and traits that offspring inherit from their parents (genetics) so older children may wish to do more involved observations focused those details.

Have you seen raccoons in your area? Or are there other nocturnal animals you might search for after dinner?

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Play Outside!

My sister and my 2 1/2-year-old niece are visiting from San Francisco this week. On her first morning here, my neice couldn't wait to get outside. My sister and I were still both a little sleepy and didn't really want to go outside then.

But she kept saying, "I want to go outside."

So I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my cup of coffee and trailed her out into the yard. She didn't even wait long enough to put on her shoes- she just went right out into the autumn morning in her bare feet.

I had forgotten how much my children used to ask to go outside when they were her age. I think the main difference with my children now is that they're older so they don't need me to go outside.

They might say, "Mom I'm going out," or "I'm going to ride my bike," and then they head out the door.  But my niece isn't old enough to be running around the yard by herself. Especially since she doesn't know my yard and we live on a busy street.

My niece spent maybe 10 minutes outside. She ran in the grass, dug in the sandbox, and played on the climber. Then she decided she was hungry and went back inside. That little outside stint was enough to satisfy her. Later, once my kids were home from school (her "big cousins") she chased them around the yard and jumped in our monster leaf pile with them.

The outside fun with her cousins continued yesterday with an investigation of what's left of our garden. When my sister went out to check on them, they were huddled around a rosemary plant picking and eating the leaves. They also tasted some alpine strawberries, fennel seeds, and garlic chives. Later, over dinner, my niece said, "You have a nice garden."

So today, I have no particular suggestions... Just a reminder that kids need unstructured outside time. If you have a yard, just let your kids go explore. If not, try to take them to an outdoor a space like a public park. Have no agenda.  Let them wander aimlessly, watch the clouds go by, or explore as they wish.

When did your kids last enjoy unstructured time in nature? How can you provide more opportunities for them?

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