tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7062615889003930092.post6270597505468136854..comments2023-10-09T17:16:56.724+01:00Comments on Blue Island Almanack: Green Hour 101Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7062615889003930092.post-22210461760971335992008-09-30T16:35:00.000+01:002008-09-30T16:35:00.000+01:00it looks like the little one is doing good!! i hav...it looks like the little one is doing good!! i have the perfect outdoor event for the erd clan... saturday afternoons in college park tailgating, no?Pat Jenkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18142174423986806144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7062615889003930092.post-50910654576838501202008-09-26T14:38:00.000+01:002008-09-26T14:38:00.000+01:00Chris,Thank you for your thoughts on this. I know ...Chris,<BR/>Thank you for your thoughts on this. I know what you mean about the value of spending time on a farm. Farms are great places to see where people interact with, influence, and rely upon the natural environment.<BR/>I agree with your concern. There is some degree of the blind leading the blind when it comes to teaching kids about nature. But, this shouldn't deter parents from doing it. People are never too old to learn, something my 96-year-old grandmother reminds me of from time to time. Parents can learn about the world right alongside their kids. Kids are encouraged to learn when they see their parents learning.<BR/>Also, children have boundless curiosity and ingenuity. Central to the Green Hour is that some of the time kids spend outside is unstructured. Children are inclined to explore their world, so to some extent parents need to create opportunities for their kids to experience it, and get out of their way. <BR/>In this post, I've pictured my son exploring some lichens with the minimum of interefence I can allow a 6-month-old. Even if I didn't know that these are <EM>Flavoparmelia caperata</EM> and <EM>Punctelia rudecta</EM>, it wouldn't matter. He's learning things for himself that I couldn't teach him, anyway.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14509853932305428602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7062615889003930092.post-14767046931205157482008-09-26T03:53:00.000+01:002008-09-26T03:53:00.000+01:00A few thoughts: Too many parents are clueless abo...A few thoughts: Too many parents are clueless about what lies beyond their fence, neighborhood or normal path to work or shop. It will be difficult to convince them to teach their kids about something of which they know little or nothing.<BR/><BR/>Both of my kids have been exposed to "undomesticated" places since babies. They have collections of rocks and shells and bones and myriad other things found while exploring.<BR/><BR/>We are fortunate to live in a rural setting. I often have Bobwhite Quail in or near my yard. The rabbits and hares are plentiful, meadowlarks sit on my fence and serenade the morning, red tail hawks make lazy circles and the occasional kestrel makes lunch of the field mice. I'm happy that most of you readers live in the city. That leaves fewer out here in my neck of the prairie. But I guess that thought isn't truly in the spirit of the post is it?Chris McClure aka Panhandle Poethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18276465051258888541noreply@blogger.com