Posted by Heather Young, Water Striders teacher  
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Sing of the earth and sky,
sing of our lovely planet,
sing of the low and high,
of fossils locked in granite.
Sing of the strange, the known,
the secrets that surround us,
sing of the wonders shown,
and wonders still around us.
--Aileen Fisher

Take a walk either alone or with your child. As you walk slowly along try singing or humming in response to what you are noticing around you. Your song can be a tune with or without words. Open up all of your senses and notice what you feel inside of your own body as you perceive the shapes, textures, colors, smells, sounds and sensations of your surroundings.  Aboriginal creation myths tell of creator-beings who wandered over the continent in the Dreamtime, singing out the names of everything that crossed their path - birds, animals, plants, rocks, waterholes; singing the world into existence.  As simple as it is, when we sing or hum a known or improvised tune, we participate in ancient medicine. Modern science now confirms what humans have intuited all along, that no matter our age or culture, singing is one of the best ways to help ourselves feel better.

Posted by Lia Grippo

Creating a nature table in your home can become a source of beauty, reverence, awe for the whole family.  A nature table helps us to maintain connections with the greater natural world within our homes. Items gathered while wandering and exploring become touchstones for memories of our adventures, they deepen our awareness of the rhythms of life in the natural world, and offer enrichment for our children’s play and sensory experiences within the home.

Setting the Table
Find a small table, shelf, or other space at child’s eye level
This can even be a box turned upside down and covered with cloth
A large space isn’t necessary (less is more).  
In fact a smaller space will be easier to tend.
Choose a spot where the family can see it, where it can become a source of rest for the eyes and the heart.

Simplicity is Key
Cover the nature table with a beautiful cloth
A scarf, table cloth, piece of clothing, pillow case or sheet, etc.
Feel free to use more than one cloth to add richness.

Make it Beautiful
Your loving tending will signal to your children that this is a special place.
Place found “treasures” from walks in nature, in the neighborhood, or around the home on your nature table.

Keep it Fresh
Add cut flowers, branches of blooming trees, etc. to the table. (items that will require intermittent tending keep the space fresh and engaging)
You and/or your children can make small items to add to it
For example, your child might make a grass nest and fill it with items that remind them of eggs
Your child might want to add a drawing of a beloved, bird, animal, or plant.
Feel free to add a small animal toy or two if you wish
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Let the Imagination be the Guide

​Posted by Anne McCarthy, Cattails teacher

Where would a fairy like to live? What does a gnome need to feel at home?
Dedicating a spot in your yard (or in a natural area you visit frequently, if a yard is not available) as a place where your child can construct a fairy or gnome home, has many benefits:

• Your child gets to take care of someone littler than them. They practice caretaking by wondering just what a fairy might want or need to be comfortable. Would they want a special chair to watch the moon and stars? How about a bed? What would a gnome eat?
  
• Asking those questions engages their imagination, which in turn cranks up their creativity: how will I make a fairy seat? What natural materials would make for a soft bed? (If I was a fairy, I would most definitely sleep on a Wooly Mullein leaf… have you touched one?) 
  
• Constructing a small home also requires planning and fine motor skills, as well as patience: sometimes it takes just the right piece of wood and the right touch to construct a roof that won’t cave in
  
• Finding the right materials will send your child to wander. They’ll discover all sorts of other interesting things on the way.
  
• Coming back to the same spot frequently, sitting quietly(sit spot) —visiting, checking in and repairing—will allow your child to connect deeply with nature: Birds and other animals will get used to them being in that spot and resume their normal activity; children might notice the subtle seasonal shifts throughout the year by returning to the same spot over and over.

There are no rules to building fairy houses, no right or wrong way. They’re all different, and interesting in their own way. Some might be tall, others underground… You might be surprised what your child will come up with.
So get out there and start building (you might even want to make one yourself, who knows?)

Posted by Erin Boehme, Dandelions teacher

Hey Parents, after your kids are tucked into their beds, ha ha ha... ;)
Really, try to sneak out onto the porch or in the yard and sit quietly for 10-15 or maybe 20 minutes. We call this,"sit spot" and it's really a magical thing to do. When sit spot becomes a part of your daily rhythm, like making coffee or checking email, we promise this practice will reward you with many gifts.

Take a deep breath, put away your busy thoughts (just make an appointment to go back to them later) and open your awareness to what is around you in the present moment.

Put on your owl eyes, what can you see? Put on your deer ears, what can you hear? What can you smell? Does the air have a scent, a taste? 
Maybe you'll discover where the birds are going to roost for the night or notice how colors blend into darkness?

We are limiting and sanitizing many of our contact and senses at this time, and we must, but nature is still our friend. Outside, take those deep breaths and let go of tending everything.

Just be, just for 10 min. You have permission. 

Posted by C.J. Cintas, Cattail teacher

Feeding the birds and tending a space is one of the best ways to create ritual at home. Ritual goes hand in hand with Rhythm. The birds will teach us how to get in a daily rhythm if we watch closely. 

Every morning the House finches fly down from the Elm tree and begin to pick the fresh buds off the Wysteria for their breakfast. Soon after that, the Ravens know it’s safe to leave their nest in the Pine tree and begin their search for food. It’s their daily ritual. 

Young children are learning and deciding what is important in their lives based on the day to day rituals they experience. They see adults tending to and caring for their home and family and want to practice it too. Bird feeders are an offering for children to tend their world in a meaningful and magical way. 
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1. Find a place at home that you can easily visit everyday around the same time. It's best if you can even see that spot from the house. 
   
2. Collect some nest building material (e.g. sticks, grass, hair, leaves, etc..)
   
3. Build a nest or two and make them beautiful. They may even have multiple rooms.  
   
4. Fill each nest with nuts or seeds gathered from your pantry or around your home.  
   
5. Check it every day at the same time and refill with treats for the birds when needed. 

Is there still food? Has the nest been scratched through? Are there any feathers left behind? Can you see who has been eating from inside the house or from across the yard?

There are many curiosities one can follow as soon as you begin to tend the birds. The best part, the birds will only come if you are still, quiet and calm. If you tend your nest each day, soon you'll be in rhythm with the birds.

Posted by Lia Grippo

The Haudenosaunee people say that when all of life was created, the Creator gave all of us original operating instructions.  Among other instructions the birds were tasked with singing. It is believed that part of their mission is to affect the minds of humans.  When our minds fall down around our ankles and we start tripping over them, they say, listening to birdsong will lift our minds back up where they belong.  

Our young children are imitative beings.  You’ve all, no doubt, seen the truth of this in your children imitating you and others around them.  This means that our own actions are the strongest educational tool we have to offer our children. When it comes to nature connection, your own genuine curiosity and the actions that follow will be witnessed and imitated.  Your efforts will be more effective if you do not treat this as a lesson, but rather simply do this in your children’s presence.

What was the first bird sound you heard today?  You can ask yourself this question every day. 

Try and imitate the sound you heard.  Keep trying. You might feel silly at first, but silly is a wonderful way to feel.  Do this in the presence of your children. 

Share with your family which bird sound was the first you heard.  Notice and imitate bird sounds throughout the day.

Pay attention.  Soon enough your children will also begin to imitate bird sounds and might begin tell you which was the first they heard today!!  Celebrate! This is how connection begins.