Slow Down or You’ll Miss It

05/21/2018

Slow Down or You’ll Miss It

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Alvin Toffler

"I'll never forget the moment when a five-year old named Ella taught me a profound lesson about life, and about teaching," writes Nancy Rosenow in the book, Growing with Nature: Supporting Whole-Child Learning in Outdoor Classrooms. "I was taking some funders on a quick tour through a nature-filled outdoor classroom when Ella approached us quietly and asked if we’d like to see something special. She pointed to a tree where a delicate light blue eggshell was dangling from a branch. 'The baby bird just hatched,' she told us in a hushed voice, her dark eyes shining. 'Grownups are always in such a hurry. I was afraid you were going to miss this treasure of nature.'

What a wake-up call. 'Ella,' I wanted to say, 'you are a treasure of nature'...

Our hurried-up lifestyles can all too often cause us to miss much more than just the natural wonders of the world. How often are we grownups in such a hurry for children to master the alphabet, pass the next test or prepare for the next grade that we miss the treasure of who each child is as a unique individual? Are we giving ourselves, and our children, a chance to take a deep breath and enjoy our natural world, enjoy childhood and enjoy each other? I believe that teaching with nature can be an antidote to our sometimes frantic approach to our life in general."

Interested in natural outdoor classrooms? Join with a growing community of outdoor classroom users and advocates at the 2018 Nature Explore/Outdoor Classroom Project Leadership Institute.

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