One of Sam's friends was over at our house today so I had all three little kiddos by myself. The kids played well together and we had a lot of fun. But I just couldn't get one of the books that I saw thing weekend out of my mind. It was all about a little girl that loves to go on walks with her dad and dog. They don't talk or collect on their walks. They don't sing or play games on their walks. Her dad walks with his hands in his pockets and her dog leads the way with his nose while the little girl just listens. She tells about all the great things she hears and notices on the walk by listening very closely with her ears. I loved this idea. I knew that I could never get Sam to go a whole walk without talking but it did make me realize that I should focus more on nature sounds when we are out playing.
So today on our way to the park with the three kids I kept asking them to stop and listen.
What do you hear? Where is it coming from? Can you see "it"? I kept them focused on each individual noise as long as I could.
Then, when we noticed other things, like ant homes along the cracks in the sidewalk, I would ask them if they could hear them. Or when we were picking flowers I asked if flowers made noise. It was fun to watch their little minds try to hear things that weren't obviously making any noise.
I wish I had this book to actually read to the girls and then go out for a listening walk but I can't fit three kids in my car to get to the library today!
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The Nitty Gritty!
It is great to be reminded about using our other senses and teaching about our other senses! I would love to hear how you all engage your kids with nature and their other senses. Any ideas? Any books that deal with the other senses.
It's also worth asking children about the sounds of silence... like a spider waving its web
Posted by: Juliet @CreativeSTAR | 06/21/2011 at 11:27 AM
We have the local Discovery Center which is all hands on science demonstrations for the kids to participate in. I like taking the kids there and letting them feel, tough, build, look, and listen to all the science fun around them.
Posted by: T Rex Mom | 06/21/2011 at 12:23 PM
This is one of my absolute favorite books ever. I have a tape recorder that I use to tape sounds and after reading the book, we also take a walk and see what sounds we hear. Then I have the children guess the sounds that I have recorded on my little tape recorder.
Posted by: Deborah | 06/21/2011 at 02:05 PM