Up and down the brook I ran,
where beneath the banks so steep,
Lie the spotted trout asleep.
--Whittier
"A brook is undoubtedly the most fascinating bit of geography which the child encounters and yet how few children who happily play in the brook -- wading, making dams...or watching schools of tiny minnows -- ever dream that they are dealing with real geography. The geography lesson on the brook should not be given for the purpose of making work out of play, but to conserve all the natural interest in the brook, and to add to it by revealing other and more interesting facts concerning the brook. A child who thus studies it will master some of the fundamental facts of physical geography, so that ever after he will know and understand all streams, whether they are brooks or rivers."
--Anna Botsford Comstock, "Handbook of Nature Study," p. 736
Scott took Eldest and Middlest up into the mountains on Saturday, to see what the fishing was like at Mineral King. If it had not rained just before they arrived, the plentiful fish may have actually bitten. Instead, they enjoyed the view, ate their lunches, and then rushed back to the dry car when the skies opened up again.
While the rain drizzled down on the slow, windy road home, they caught glimpses of both a brown bear and a mountain lion -- which made up for not catching any fish!
Wow! A brown bear and a mountain lion?!? How exciting!
ReplyDeleteThat spot is beautiful. What a fun day for your boys!
I love love LOVE reading about boys and their daddies having time together like this! It is so very good for them, for their souls, for their character. Rain or not, snarfing down a lunch and taking in beautiful creation - bears and lions!!! - with Daddy has got to be one of those memories boys will always remember. :)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't see where to email you, friend, so I'm kind of responding to your comment right here in YOUR comment box! Hope that's okay! :)
I don't think I've ever really posted about what our bins are for, but it's pretty basic. (for the record, we just have 3 cream colored [well, they used to be cream colored; they're a little dingy gray now!] bins that we use when we go to the library.)
The boys each take one and I fill another for my girl and toddler boy and seasonal basket. (And a Hawaiian bag for the excess... there's always excess...)
When we get home, two of the bins are stuffed to the breaking point with all the books the boys chose- you know, how to train your dog, real life civil war boy soldier diaries, etc. The third bin is filled with all of my girl's books and stays in her room for quiet time. There are usually a handful for my toddler boy that just go on his bookshelf, and the rest fill our seasonal basket on the nature table in the dining room!
Whew. It seems rather ridiculous and overwhelming as I type this, but really, nothing makes me (and my children, hooray!) happier than full bins and baskets of books everywhere we look. :)
(Oh, also, there is a basket on the hearth that holds our read alouds and any other books for fireside reading... right now, Lord of the Rings [read by Daddy to big boys], Treasures of the Snow [Mama}, The Little Bookroom [short stories for fleeting quiet moments] and With the Children on Sundays, for lazy Sunday afternoons. I hope to add another fireside book or two full of short stories and poems for winter.
Hope this helps give some inspiration- I know you already love to read and so do your children, so it should be a cinch!
I love having your presence at my blog, sweet friend- thank you for your kindness!
{that was practically a complete book- I am so sorry for the length!)
ReplyDeleteA bear?!? A mountain lion?!?
ReplyDeleteI would have peed my pants... {in fear} hahaha:)
How cool for them!!!
For some reason I can't find your email address. Anyway, we were at Wind Wolves Preserve, not the Tule Elk preserve.
ReplyDelete