Several years ago, after a particularly busy time of work and
homeschooling, I took the day off and my daughter and I went on a day trip to
an apple orchard in the North
Carolina Mountains. It was the best day ever. I’m not sure if it
was the fresh mountain air, the warm sunshine, or the glorious pick your own,
Winesap apples, but it was just what the doctor ordered.
I begrudgingly left, convinced I wanted to move home to the mountains,
along with the overwhelming sense that “my soul had been healed”. My daughter
has similar experiences every time we spend quality time in the great outdoors,
whether it be the mountains or the beach.
In The Last Child in
the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, author Richard
Louv leads a convincing argument supporting the very things that we have
experienced.
“Children need nature for the healthy development of their
sense, and therefore, for learning and creativity. This need is revealed in two different ways:
by an examination of what happens to the senses of the young when they loose
the connection with nature, and by witnessing the sensory magic that occurs
when young people-even those beyond childhood-are exposed to even the smallest
direct experience of a natural setting.”
Labels: Adoption Support, adoption transition, Back to School, bonding, Books, Holidays, Mom's, Parenting, Parenting Teens, Positive Words, Pre-adoption Education, Travel. Travel with Kids
