Ethan sometimes walked on the path. Other times he didn’t. He stopped often to pick up something from the ground. Sometimes it was a rock, a blade of grass, or a leaf. After a while it was as if Ethan forgot what was in his hand as he would be surprised at what was dropping from his grasp as he leaned over to pick something else up off the ground.
It was one of those evenings when the weather invited you to stay outside. The heat comforted without taxing you and the cool breeze refreshed without pulling away your energy. This is June in the Chicagoland area.
Ethan and I found ourselves wandering the grounds of the Chicago Botanical Gardens. We had come as a whole family for a family event, but were sad to realize that portions of this evening, Ethan could not participate (this is a whole different story…ugh), so I took Ethan to explore the grounds while Ollie staying with Diana to experience the family night programing.
So often in our little ones don’t get to move through life at their own desired pace. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Children shouldn’t stay up as long as they want playing, and they shouldn’t be allowed to sleep in all of the time. Little ones need to stop activities for snack time before they get hangry and babies often fight taking naps (something I will never understand). We need to teach our children to create structure in their own lives by creating structure for them.
It is wonderful and important that children have time to go at their own pace, as Ethan did yesterday almost five minutes sitting on the ground looking at a leaf. Watching Ethan exploring nature was cute for a minute and then got boring. And I had to fight the urge to move him along to something else, because that was for me, not for Ethan. Sometimes children need to be in charge of their own schedule, so I let him sit there. As I watched him and let go of my desire to do what I wanted to do, I stopped feeling bored and I felt a sense of peace.
There is something magical about watching young children in nature They don’t need technology, or other stimulus they can just walk through a forest, sit on a beach, or wander a path through a gardens as Ethan did yesterday and be satisfied. This is part of the innate scientific minds in children. They want to discover and explore the world around them. Toys, books, and music are great ways to facilitate this exploration but bringing children to nature allows our children to grow and explore in a way that is unique, powerful and inspiring to witness.
As we explored the ground Ethan started trying to climb a hill. He kept slipping, but he kept trying. There were some signs of frustration, but he didn’t give up. I placed my hand under one of his feet to provide a foothold and this allowed him to push himself up the hill. If Ethan noticed that I helped him, he didn’t acknowledge this as he sat on the top of the hill looking out into the clouds, as the sky changed colors as a prelude to the sun's descent.
There is so much that we have to do for our children, and there is so much we have to teach our children. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our children is to not do, and let them be. It’s okay for us to be spectators, to learn from our little ones, do as they do, and share in the wonder of earth.
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