Nature nurtures a child's thoughts

Debbie Patrick

When I was a young girl living on Lemon Road in McLean, Va., bugs fascinated me. I would gather all of my mother’s mason jars and fill them with every sort of creature I could get my hands on. Although my mother gently encouraged my interest in the outdoors (“You kids get outside, and I don’t want to see you until dad whistles for dinner!”), she was usually mortified when she stumbled upon my collections. At some point she learned to wait until my father returned from work at the Pentagon, and forced him to release the poor creatures from their captivity.

As a teacher, this love of nature fits nicely into what I do every day in the classroom. Most children are fascinated by bugs and nature, and are especially excited when they find one crawling across the carpet. After we manage to quiet the screaming crowd, it often affords us a great opportunity to talk about nature.

These talks help guide our learning and lead us in directions that are often ones that the children choose. In October, these “science” talks typically turn to fall.

“Boys and girls, what things happen in nature to let us know that fall is on the way?” I asked. “When I think of fall I think of trees, colored leaves and peanuts.”

“My nana is picking me up today.”

“Hey! There was frosting on my bus this morning! That means fall is coming,” said Colby. “Leaves turn different colorbs.”

“Yeah, the wind blows real hard and blows the green RIGHT off the leaves!”

“No, da green just seeks into da erf.”

The children became very animated when we started talking about how leaves change colors.

Gabrielle: “I think that the tree has a battery inside, and the battery changes the leaves colors.”

“When the wind blows real hard the leaves get ripe and fall off the tree.”

“Wait, Mrs. Patrick, when the paper grows on the trees, how do we pick it?”

“Can I go to the bathroom?”

We quickly decided that we should find a scientist, and ask them how this happens.

Sam: “Hey, a scientist scovers lots of things.”

Logan: “But don’t ask Jack Frost. He’s a mean winter scientist who will just freeze everything. Perhaps we could call Captain America to help us if he shows up.”

And, of course, this turned into a discussion (aka shouting match) about which superhero we should call, which was a perfect transition into our nature walk.

As a kindergarten teacher, my job is to gently take their hands and start them on their journey through curiosity and discovery. I take a peek into what they believe, and then open up their eyes and their hearts to all the possibilities that surround us in nature. A simple walk in the forest and a treasure trove of leaves and acorns can light the fire of wonder in a child.

And parents, when that joy and wonder travels home on the wings of leaves painted by the sun and fall treasures tucked away in pants pockets and backpacks, I hope you smile and remember the incredible journey your young one has begun. The seasons constantly change, the leaves continue to fall, but the wonder that children feel will always delight and amaze those of us who really take the time to notice.

Debbie Patrick is a kindergarten teacher in State College School District. She loves to hear from people at drp11@scasd.org.