books and learning interesting new things. We spent today visiting some of our favorite haunts in Rocky Mountain National Park. We walked about 3 miles around Sprague Lake and through the woods to Glacier Basin, an easy but beautiful walk through the woods. Conner spent the morning trying to memorize the names of the largest mountains arrayed in front us: Otis, Notchtop, Hallet’s Peak, Long’s Peak and others. We saw elk, a snake, a coyote, deer, three kinds of butterflies, someone catching a stunningly beautiful brook trout, snow- covered mountain tops and even a patch of snow to play in (yes, it is June!) We had a picnic
VOLUNTEER BOB SEIFERT AT POWER PLANT WITH CONNER
by a river and climbed the Alluvial Fan, an amazing waterway caused by a devastating flood in 1982 when a dam high in the mountains broke. We talked to a park ranger about elk and got to hold the antlers an elk had shed. We visited the original hydro-electric power plant that first provided electricity to Estes Park in 1909. Both kids were fascinated by the old generators and listened patiently to volunteer docent Bob share stories about how they worked and the history of the power plant. We saw the mud lines on the walls left by the flood in 1982. I could not ask for more adventure, more nature or more natural forms of education for my kids. Remember that learning happens everywhere! Education does not have to be formal or only take place in the classroom. I think our children learn just as much from the experiences they have and the people they meet. We went for a walk at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano a few weeks ago with my friend Brittany. She commented after our walk, “I had a really nice time catching up with you and seeing the kids. I told my husband that it was really cool how you all took time to notice all these things in nature, things most of us overlook or pass up - that was neat.” On our walk that day, we discovered a variety of bugs, including a scorpion and tarantula (both dead but fascinating nevertheless) as well as a snake skin, tons of birds, flowers and butterflies. We had a blast and to us it
North Texas Kids • July 2011 •
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was normal to stop, to pay attention, to look closely and to learn from what we saw.
I have to thank my parents and my grandmother for teaching me to pay attention to the details, to notice what is happening around me and to see everything with wonder and curiosity. If I can instill that same sense of wonder in my children, their education will be complete. They will never be bored and they will always be interested in learning more about everything! Life is a journey and what I want is to make sure that my family takes the time to enjoy it. That has to start with me and my husband taking the time to model that for our children. So far, my kids have not complained that I am working too much, but it’s only day 3 of our trip! I can’t wait to see what the next 10 days hold for us. If you are looking for the perfect family-friendly destination for a summer learning adventure, I cannot recommend Estes Park highly enough. There is so much to see and do here! Here are a couple of websites to visit if you are interested in learning more.
www.estesnet.com/ www.estes-park.com www.estesparkcvb.com http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
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