Teach us delight in simple things
If we take the time to watch children, and I mean really watch them rather than pre- judging or paying lip service to this as we busy adults are prone to do, then they can as Rudyard Kipling suggests, ‘teach us delight in simple things’. It doesn’t happen though unless they have the time and freedom to become truly absorbed in whatever captures their interest, be it an unusual stone, an insect or inviting puddle. It’s worth remembering the positives next time you have to save the washing machine from a pocketful of stones!
If you’ve ever tried to walk anywhere fast with children in tow you’ll also know how much there is for them to marvel at in everyday life and how open they are to its possibilities. Adults in contrast miss so much, blinkered by haste and preconceptions. But if we open our minds to new possibilities we too will be rewarded with wondrous awe and wonder, discovering a wealth of patterns, symmetry, joy and inspiration in everyday nature.
For a reminder of what nature has to offer, one only needs to google ‘microscopic sand grains’ and prepare to be amazed by the gloriously detailed, highly patterned images of sand grains that you will see.
I guarantee
you will never look at a sandy beach in quite the same way again.
Inspired by the sticky globule left by some gorgeous Longiflora lilies, my 11 year old
dusted off her magnifier to take a closer look. What followed said it all as she gasped with awe as a multitude of dash-like lines came into view. How fitting then that her science homework was to create a cell? Choosing a plant cell to make, she set to work creating the different cell parts with jelly, a bouncy ball and loom bands - inspired use for all those Lilliputian bracelets that we have lying around! If you want to have a go at making your own cell or even a cellular cake, check out
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Model- Cell for lots of fun ideas.
Cold weather is the perfect time for appreciating nature’s detail, with frost, snow and icicles providing a wealth of intricate patterns, and the added bonus of being visible with the naked eye. Marvel with children at the fact that every snowflake is unique, just how can that be? Delight in the beauty which frost brings to a blade of grass, railing or spiders web, or add drops of food colouring to a sheet of ice and watch capillaries of colour magically trace across its surface.
So go ahead and enjoy everything nature throws at us. The variety of Spring weather is perfect!
It’s all Child’s Play Please mention thewire when responding to adverts
Feature by Sue Gascoyne of Play-Z Ltd 33
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