Sometimes life can engage us with so many things that we hardly take a moment to connect with the nature and forget to appreciate our existence in this universe. We are getting so addicted to the gifts of modern technology that we often neglect to see The Nature as our family . We feel dominant and ignore the reality that we are actually co-living with other creatures on this planet until we see the climate change statistics. Regretting about the last few hundred years of modernism, we are now rushing to label everything "eco -friendly" and "sustainable". One way to repair our dysfunctional relationship with The Earth is to instil the "love for The nature" in our little ones.
I grew up in Kerala where my house was surrounded by at least 7 different fruit trees in the middle of our rubber plantations which actually gave me plenty of nature time. The river was my swimming pool, tree top bench made my brother was my chill out place while sliding on areca nut leaves from uphill was the best fun ride. And I can recall from my childhood days how my parents taught me to love and respect the land, the air, the water and everything in it. I try my best to pass this wonderful perspective to my little ones as well.
BC (before covid pandemic)we used to spend weekends at the beach, going long drives and exploring new places, bird watching and visiting wildlife parks. Like everything, we had to restrict our exploring routine to local places. Rather then isolating from the nature, especially in winter I try to schedule the below to our weekly routine.
1. Nature Walks
2. Bike or scooter riding
3. Parks and playgrounds
4. Gardening
5. Nature - play based learning in the backyard
6. Picnics ( with uninvited nature guests “squawk “)
7. Forest walks
8. Walk around the lakes and ponds
Getting over the excuses!
Sometimes weather can be very tricky here with strong winds and freezing cold. Then all we could do is just rug up ourselves and spend few minutes in the backyard. Same with those sick days, gardens are the best place to be, just enjoying the sunshine.
But its same backyard everyday , I know!
The only way to get little one's interest at the same place everyday is by sparking their imagination and driving their thoughts in different routes everyday ! Every time, I keep changing my topic when they are just stepping out of the door and it goes likes this:
1. Can you name this plant and /or vegetables?
2. Can you spot oval grey pebbles?
3. How many birds you can on neighbour’s roof?
4. Which colour flower is your favourite in this pot?
5. An opportunity to teach them Malayalam words for the things that we spot around – “do you know what’s red colour called in Malayalam?”
It’s not as hard as it sounds. Taking a moment could be as simple as taking deep breaths that can fill you with fresh air or listening to the swooshing of leaves in the breeze outside. Perhaps, going for nature walks just to become lost in the sounds of creek burbles or enjoy the sight of cute little birds hopping around is all that’s enough to reconnect with world outside our cocoons that we live in. There is no doubt that children learn from grown-ups, so when we spent time outside with them, we are setting a good example for our future.
Sharing is Caring: I am just a beginner in this journey of reconnecting with the Nature and I would love to learn how you introduce our mother Nature to the little ones , please do comment below and let's join hands together to make our future GREEN!
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