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asplendidtime
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| Posted: April 16 2007 at 8:24am | IP Logged
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We have some pretty littles and I get tired just trying to get them all ready  , I have the olders help me, but sometimes the noise and chaos that ensues are enough to make me re-think attempting this on my own. Dh and I took them out yesterday, it was great, but I think it was because he was there!
Some problems that occur: they try picking up garbage, I feel like I am constantly having to tell them not to touch things, because we live in a town with nature trails, there is debris. But I also want to encourage them to listen, hear, and observe... They seem to want to run and shout!  This doesn't bother me persay, but I want to know if this will change as they get older, should I just stick with it?
Any helpful tips? I think we need to get out and walk everyday weather permitting... 'Just need to know how others have made this work.
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Noah 17,
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Mary 14,
Tim 13,
Jonah 12,
Josh 10,
Zoe 9,
Will 7,
Peter 6,
Laura-Mae 4,
Emily-Joy 2,
Genevieve & Gabriella 1
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marihalojen
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| Posted: April 16 2007 at 8:56am | IP Logged
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If they want to pick up garbage, bring a bag or two for it. Marianna has been dragging bag after bag in from her new favorite spot, a "Pine Island" surrounded by mangroves. I think it is just about the most futile thing in the world to try and pluck trash out of mangroves but she is motivated and any little bit helps, I truly believe that!
With your littles having a pattern to the walks might be helpful. A time for trash pickup, a time for running and shouting and a time for being quiet, which might only be the length of a poem like part of House of Clouds by Elizabeth Barrett Browning or something like Clouds:
What's fluffy, white, and floats up high,
Like piles of ice cream in the sky?
And when the wind blows hard and strong,
What brings the rain?
What brings the snow?
That showers down on us below?
and then everyone look up at the clouds for a minute. I guess what I'm hedging around is C.Mason advocated short lessons and in schooly things like math we all remember that but sometimes really cool things have to be really short too! Attention spans grow as children grow...
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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ladybugs
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| Posted: April 16 2007 at 9:34am | IP Logged
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Jennifer has some great suggestions and one thing I'll throw out there is your own enthusiasm....
alot of time, when we'd done nature walks and my children were small, it simply took me modeling the behavior and now - they're really terrific at observing.
Just an idea,
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Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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CathinCoffeland
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| Posted: April 16 2007 at 5:27pm | IP Logged
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if they are trying to "help" Bring along little garbage bags, and use garden gloves or bags as gloves to "clean"
if they are just into gross things like my ds find them a "worm-stick" to poke with and remind them to look but not touch. my ds actually has tried to pick up duck poop and dead mouses/birds 
we have a lot of hand-sanitizer too. 
i also go with other moms with little one. im sure we scare off most of the nature we are trying to see but it seems easier . (which is weird since there are 3 times as many little ones that way )
maggie
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asplendidtime
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| Posted: April 17 2007 at 5:37pm | IP Logged
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Maggie,
I really like the idea of the "worm stick" my dh is always telling them not to pick us sticks (he doesn't want them smacking each other with them ) But a worm-stick might work better.
Thankyou Maria and Jennifer,
Yes modelling enthusiasm and dividing the time like that should help. They do tire of just walking quietly and observing. Garbage pickup would be very exciting for them, it always was for me too when I was little, made me think I was doing something helpful and important.
Thankyou ladies for the ideas.
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Rebecca~Mama to
Noah 17,
Katie 16,
Mary 14,
Tim 13,
Jonah 12,
Josh 10,
Zoe 9,
Will 7,
Peter 6,
Laura-Mae 4,
Emily-Joy 2,
Genevieve & Gabriella 1
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Tina P.
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| Posted: April 18 2007 at 11:58pm | IP Logged
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marihalojen wrote:
| really cool things have to be really short too! Attention spans grow as children grow... |
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Jennifer, believe it or not, my littlest (is she 19 months already?) is the most astute, quiet, and attentive to listening to the birds and directing everyone else's attention there.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
Mary's Muse
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Tips for N.Walks with Littles?
