Lessons In Nature Taking Your Family Back To Nature Is Not As Hard As Might You Think

Television, VCRs, video games, boom boxes and head sets … these items are considered standard equipment with youth today. Who can blame them when we adults are surgically attached to our fax machines and cellular phones?

There is life without electronics. I know, I’ve visited it. There’s an earth out there with an unforgettable beauty that far surpasses the latest computer graphics. There is comedy and drama and mystery enough to keep this movie addict content for hours. Every time I spend a day outdoors, away from deadlines and demands, I come back refreshed and vitalized.

Fine, you say. We’ll pack up the kids and head for the hills this weekend. It’ll be great, it’ll be wonderful!

But if you’re not lucky, you may be faced with bored, grumbling children who do more to elevate your blood pressure than working 20 hours of overtime without pay.

My husband, Craig, and I noticed that half the battle of enjoying an outdoor adventure was getting there. If we wanted to REALLY be a part of nature, we felt that we had to leave the car behind and walk. However, we soon had children who insisted they were cold, hungry, thirsty, hot, tired … couldn’t walk another step.

I took to carrying snacks and juices as well as extra clothing, all of which I lugged over hill and stream. I was getting stronger as the family pack horse, but the kids weren’t getting much farther down the trail without that incessant whining all parents know so well.

Then Craig read something in an outdoor magazine that I thought was crazy. The next time our two girls complained of being tired on a walk, he told them to run ahead a bit and rest while we caught up. I’m still amazed at how well that worked, and it’s been at least five years since we first tried that maneuver.

Older children (age 10 and up) soon see through that ploy, however. With older children I give in just a little and let them hang on to that umbilical chord connected to the nearest battery charger. In short, I put them in charge of the camera.

We now have dozens of treasured pictures of little brown dots in the distance that we think are deer. But we also have pictures of the bird who took a bite of my sandwich while I wasn’t looking, and of chipmunks who were bold enough to share a rock with us.

My favorite picture is of my older daughter, Wendy. She was eating a string of licorice near our campsite at the Great Sand Dunes, near Alamosa, Colorado. You are not supposed to feed the deer there, but apparently many people do. Wendy was so surprised when one deer came right up to her that she dropped her candy. In the picture, she and the deer are standing together, looking at the fallen licorice.

Enthusiasm is infectious. The more time we spend outdoors together as a family, the more we enjoy it.

So don’t give up on your couch potato family if you have the urge to see a flock of Canadian Honkers touch down on a glass-clear lake. If you enjoy trekking outdoors, share your joy and see the enthusiasm take hold.

If you would like to escape with your family from the wilds of civilization, autumn is a great time to introduce children and yourself to the mysteries of nature. The leaves are changing to startling and breathtaking hues. They are dropping to the ground, adding an extra crunch to your steps. After a rain the air is sweetly pungent. If spotting wildlife is as much fun for you as it is for us, autumn is also a good time to catch a glimpse of migrating birds. Other animals can be spotted gorging themselves in preparation for hibernating.

Games and activities are always a good way to introduce children to nature. Here are some of my favorites from Woodleaf Outdoor Education School, located in the Sierra Nevadas of Northern California:

In our visually oriented society, the “Blind Walk” is an excellent way to help children develop other senses. Put a blindfold on your child and lead her around. You can also string a rope at waist height for a distance of about 100 feet, which the blindfolded person can hold onto and follow. (If you string a rope, you should not let anyone see in advance where it goes, and the end should not be visible from the beginning.)

Bring the child in contact with a tree. Is the bark rough or smooth? How big is the trunk? Let her hug the tree and guess. While she’s there, ask her what it smells like.

Bring her in contact with a cool rock in the shade, and a warm one in the sun. Is it smooth? Rough? Is there moss or lichen growing on it?

It’s always fun to end the Blind Walk with a surprise: a bridge over a stream that she can cross while still blindfolded, a trickling waterfall she can touch, or a bird’s feather that you can tickle her with.

Afterward, show your child the way you brought her without a blindfold. Are her perceptions different? Feeling brave? Let your child lead YOU on a blind walk.

“Silent Watch” is a good game when siblings have had enough of each other. Set each child out where she can have a good view of the local area, but not of each other. Leave them with a pencil and pad of paper for a half hour. While each child is watching the scenery, she can use the pad and pencil to make a tally of the animals or plants she sees, draw a picture or write a poem.

If you have at least six children in tow, the “Pyramid of Life” is a game they’ll enjoy. Have each child pick the name of a plant or animal that lives in the local area. Most children pick an animal, but encourage some to pick a plant (you need three “plant” kids out of six children).

Now the children will build a human pyramid like in gym class. “Plant” kids are the base of the pyramid since plants are the base of the food chain. Next comes the herbivores (plant-eaters), and finally the carnivores (meat-eaters) and omnivores (eaters of everything). This is how the food chain is supported in nature.

Now have one of the “plant” kids crawl out of the pyramid formation. Make the analogy. What happens to the food chain if that plant becomes extinct? If some of the pyramid is still standing, pull another plant or animal species out. What has happened to the eco-system?

For more frolicking nature-awareness games, check out “Sharing Nature with Children” and “Sharing the Joy of Nature.” Both books are by Joseph Cornell.

MEMO: Joy Scott is a free-lance writer based in Cheney.