BASECAMP | LITTLE EXPLORERS | BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW | GETAWAY | BUBBLE STREET Family Camping GET THEM OUTSIDE «»
WWW.CANOEROOTSMAG.COM
“It was the best of times…” PHOTO: SCOTT MACGREGOR
[ BASECAMP ]
Freedom of the Hills
“The greatest gift is a passion for read- ing,” wrote American literary critic, novelist and short story writer Elizabeth Hardwick. I think she was half right. The other half is a passion for the outdoors. A paper produced almost 20 years ago by the University of Chicago on early childhood development and learning concluded that, “An infant’s brain structure is not genetically determined. Early experiences have a decisive impact on the architecture of a baby’s brain.” This makes sense to me. I’m on the nurture side of the nurture-nature debate. I believe we are formed by life experiences. There is plenty of other research that sug- gests the development of early literacy skills is critically linked to a child’s success in learning to read. Today, the benefit of reading to our
children is drummed into us. Read to your kids, read to your kids, read to your kids. We get it from our parents, teachers and the media. Read. Read. Read. “When we read to children, brain cells are
turned on and new brain cells are formed, add- ing a bit more definition and complexity to the intricate circuitry that will remain in place for the rest of their lives,” says the university paper. So if reading to our children is hardwiring
them for life, I think we need to be more care- ful about what we’re reading. What’s happen- ing in their little heads when we read them sto- ries of huffing puffing wolves and thundering waterfalls? We’re not born afraid of the woods. Mother
Goose and Walt Disney scare us into being that way. And they do so without well-meaning parents thinking too much about it. The comedian famous for one-liners Henny
Youngman wrote, “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” When I realized I was reading to my chil-
dren about the evils of being outside, I did two things. I took them outside to read. And when we couldn’t go outside, I started reading to them about the fun you can have outside.
The children’s books suggested on the fol-
lowing page are a wonderful start, but I also like to pull from my own library. Like, Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking. We read a little Tom Brown and then practice sneaking around, we build sticky forts and poke at animal scat. Cool. Another family favorite is Mountaineering,
The Freedom of the Hills. Out comes the storage bins full of my old lead climbing equipment. We set up complex anchors out of clothes pegs and turkey string. Lego mini-figures with ice axes leapfrog the three pitches it takes to reach the summit of the sofa. At least one mini-figure is consequently evacuated from the back cush- ion by the search and rescue helicopter. Too bad, but it’s better the kids work the bugs out of their rope systems this way than on Everest. Mark Twain wrote, “The man who does not
read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” Good books for children, in my book, are
ones about the wonders of the natural world and ones that inspire adventure, not instill fear. Good books are freedom of the hills and the rivers, even if you have to read them inside. SCOTT MacGREGOR is the founder and publisher of Canoeroots.
www.canoerootsmag.com 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64