Comments on: Wild Places to Play http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/ Photos and Front Porch Musing from Floyd County Virginia Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:44:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Dottie http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/comment-page-1/#comment-1657 Dottie Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:32:06 +0000 http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/2007/10/15/wild-places/#comment-1657 Another note about teaching children about the great outdoors.......Helena loves going to the MO Botanical Garden........they have a Children's Garden where the little ones can learn about plants, the prairies and how our earth evolves. Helena loves the Gardens - we went last week. She especially loves the Japanese Garden. There is a large lake filled with koi - Helena delights feeding them. We go to the Gardens several times a year to enjoy each season. Another note about teaching children about the great outdoors…….Helena loves going to the MO Botanical Garden……..they have a Children’s Garden where the little ones can learn about plants, the prairies and how our earth evolves. Helena loves the Gardens – we went last week. She especially loves the Japanese Garden. There is a large lake filled with koi – Helena delights feeding them. We go to the Gardens several times a year to enjoy each season.

]]> By: Dottie http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/comment-page-1/#comment-1656 Dottie Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:24:09 +0000 http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/2007/10/15/wild-places/#comment-1656 Fred - keep on teaching Abby about the great outdoors. My grand-daughter loves to spend time outside.......She helps me in the gardens when she is here. She can tell you the life cycle of the butterflies. Now in kindergarten, she is studying the "letter of the week". I asked her Mom if Helena's teacher accepts guest speakers as I have a poster that I made several years ago for a display at the Wild Bird Center. I made photographs of the life cycles of a monarch & a black swallowtail - it would make a great presentation for the letter "C" - both a caterpillar and a chrysalis, altho 5 year olds would relate to cocoon. Helena's Mom is going to talk to the teacher to find out if Grandma D will be able to come & teach. Fred – keep on teaching Abby about the great outdoors. My grand-daughter loves to spend time outside…….She helps me in the gardens when she is here. She can tell you the life cycle of the butterflies. Now in kindergarten, she is studying the “letter of the week”. I asked her Mom if Helena’s teacher accepts guest speakers as I have a poster that I made several years ago for a display at the Wild Bird Center. I made photographs of the life cycles of a monarch & a black swallowtail – it would make a great presentation for the letter “C” – both a caterpillar and a chrysalis, altho 5 year olds would relate to cocoon. Helena’s Mom is going to talk to the teacher to find out if Grandma D will be able to come & teach.

]]> By: bluemountainmama http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/comment-page-1/#comment-1610 bluemountainmama Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:59:53 +0000 http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/2007/10/15/wild-places/#comment-1610 my friend and i were discussing this just the other day as our kids played at a nearby park along the potomac river. we were pondering why there are hardly ever any kids at the parks when we go. it was a gorgeous day and we couldn't resist taking the kids there. but i've noticed since i've had my son, that parks are hardly ever crowded like they were when i was growing up.... i guess all the kids are in their 'fortresses' as you said or at all the organized outdoor activities such as sports team practices. i think it's sad.... i remember studying about this trend in my child development classes... how we are forcing 'organized, structured' play on our kids too early..... they should be doing imaginative play outside at that age..... my friend and i were discussing this just the other day as our kids played at a nearby park along the potomac river. we were pondering why there are hardly ever any kids at the parks when we go. it was a gorgeous day and we couldn’t resist taking the kids there. but i’ve noticed since i’ve had my son, that parks are hardly ever crowded like they were when i was growing up…. i guess all the kids are in their ‘fortresses’ as you said or at all the organized outdoor activities such as sports team practices. i think it’s sad….

i remember studying about this trend in my child development classes… how we are forcing ‘organized, structured’ play on our kids too early….. they should be doing imaginative play outside at that age…..

]]> By: Susan http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/comment-page-1/#comment-1602 Susan Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:49:10 +0000 http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/2007/10/15/wild-places/#comment-1602 Very well put. I watch my grandkids next door, playing in the creek or treehouse, or riding the trails on their bikes and 4-wheelers. They are all computer literate, can IM me with their keyboard skills, they get taxied to soccer and piano practice, but when they are home between homework and chores they are outside exploring the woods. It does a body good to see them and hear their laughter echoing up through the valley to our house! Very well put. I watch my grandkids next door, playing in the creek or treehouse, or riding the trails on their bikes and 4-wheelers. They are all computer literate, can IM me with their keyboard skills, they get taxied to soccer and piano practice, but when they are home between homework and chores they are outside exploring the woods. It does a body good to see them and hear their laughter echoing up through the valley to our house!

]]> By: It’s Blog Action Day | Coffee Muses http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/comment-page-1/#comment-1601 It’s Blog Action Day | Coffee Muses Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:01:25 +0000 http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/2007/10/15/wild-places/#comment-1601 [...] Wild Places to PlayThank-You?s from the Blue Ridge [...] [...] Wild Places to PlayThank-You?s from the Blue Ridge [...]

]]> By: Beth http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/nature/wild-places/comment-page-1/#comment-1600 Beth Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:58:23 +0000 http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/2007/10/15/wild-places/#comment-1600 Amen to this, Fred. So many children now experience the world through a computer screen. So much of their world is virtual, and they feel little connection to the natural. To stretch our limited budget so that we could have at least a couple of acres of wildland, we have always lived in tiny houses or trailers. But it has been well worth it. Though our indoor space was limited, our outdoor space seemed infinite. And both of our teenage children now love the outdoors--my son is a birdwatcher who loves to hike, and my daughter writes the loveliest poetry about her vision of the natural world. Amen to this, Fred. So many children now experience the world through a computer screen. So much of their world is virtual, and they feel little connection to the natural. To stretch our limited budget so that we could have at least a couple of acres of wildland, we have always lived in tiny houses or trailers. But it has been well worth it. Though our indoor space was limited, our outdoor space seemed infinite. And both of our teenage children now love the outdoors–my son is a birdwatcher who loves to hike, and my daughter writes the loveliest poetry about her vision of the natural world.

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