Today's nature activity was well intended...but oh well

-
Today I lead the first of two summer hikes for children (and people who have them) at Wooster Memorial Park. I had a great plan where we would read a story, learn to truly observe nature, hike and use our new found skill, and finish off with a stunning craft. This beauty right here:

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Find a leaf and glue it (Tacky Glue is the greatest stuff in the world) on some paper.

2. Using markers, add legs, arms, captions, etc.

3. Glue on some googly eyes. (Everyone loves googly eyes.)

What a great and free community event I had planned! I was so excited. In fact, I was so excited, that I loaded up my kids and our picnic lunches and forgot all of my materials at home, sitting neatly packed in my favorite backpack, in the mudroom.

Not so good.

But thanks to the fabulous parents that came out in the air so thick with humidity and mosquitoes, it was a wonderful morning, craft or no craft, book or no book. The skill of survival applies to everything, and with a stack of scrap paper and a crayon from some random restaurant, I salvaged the morning.

Comments

The Starr Family said…
Blasted mosquitoes... otherwise I'd consider a walk (er, hike). You've almost enticed me, but the pool beckoned :)
June 23, 2010 at 10:05 PM
mom of 5 daughters said…
I found your blog from a link from a blog that I follow and I love your blog. I'm so glad you are human too!!! And yet everything turns out just fine -- isn't it great!
Anyway, I think I will follow your blog too.
Feel free to follow mine if you'd like, I'd be so happy to get up to 20 followers!
June 25, 2010 at 12:47 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pepe le Pew and Cupid, too

-
            Phenology is the study of seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life. Watching the way nature changes with the calendar can be a neat way to track the world and make ridiculous comparisons and conclusions about fragrant animals, diapered babies and bow and arrows, and old cartoons characters with a French accent.             Living in Ohio, we never know what the weather in February will bring. We can assume snow, but even the most astute student of phenology will tell you that weather (not climate) is not what makes most things in nature happen.             So I go to two reliable signs of February: Love and skunks.             I’m sure everyone will agree that February is the month of love, with the whole big candy-filled Valentine’s Day smack dab in the middle of it. But skunks?               If you don’t believe me that February is the month of skunk, think back over the past few weeks… you’ve smelled a skunk, have
Read more

Bedtime

-
            It is a cruel world we live in, when the time for sleep is never the time we want it to be. Ever.             There are, of course, exceptions, but speaking from my own personal experience, I’m not sure I’ve ever really been able to go to sleep exactly when I wanted. I can’t remember a single time (although I also can’t remember what I had for dinner last night) that I’ve had the pleasure of announcing, “I’m tired. I’m going to bed and no one or nothing is going to stop me.”             As tiny infants we know no better and haven’t yet adjusted to any sort of schedule. After living in darkness for all of our lives, we suddenly find ourselves with lights and sun and lovely people who are trying to train us to sleep at times when we really don’t want to, but aren’t sure why.             As toddlers and preschoolers, we start to slowly learn about all of the fun things we are missing when those big, lovely people make us go to bed. We may not understand anything like
Read more

Old mom, new tricks

-
            If you add up the ages of all of my children, I’ve been a mom for almost 38 years, which is almost as long as I’ve been on this Earth. You might think that I have most things figured out. I know I did. But as it turns out, you’re never too old a mom to learn new tricks.             This tip came from the brilliant family of the child who has the locker next to my oldest daughter. Both freshmen in high school, one day my daughter saw him pull a girly lunchbox out of his bookbag. There must have been an exchange of expressions and the explanation followed.             “I forgot my lunchbox at school yesterday so my mom packed my lunch in this princess Lunchbox of Shame. I’m never going to forget it at school again.”             Upon hearing this story, my eyes got wide and I probably stood there, mouth agape, wondering why I hadn’t thought of this long, long ago. While our children are pretty good at remembering to bring their lunch boxes home, they are terrible at r
Read more