Mothers Tend To Be More Direct. Fathers

It Takes Time--loose, Unstructured Dreamtime-- To Experience Nature In A Meaningful Way. Unless Parents Are Vigilant, Such Time Becomes A Scarce Resource, Not Because We Intend It To Shrink, But Because Time Is Consumed By Multiple, Invisible Forces; Because Our Culture Currently Places So Little Value On Natural Play.

Nature Is Imperfectly Perfect, Filled With Loose Parts And Possibilities, With Mud And Dust, Nettles And Sky, Transcendent Hands-on Moments And Skinned Knees.

This Seems Clear Enough: When Truly Present In Nature, We Do Use All Our Senses At The Same Time, Which Is The Optimum State Of Learning.

The Dugout In The Weeds Or Leaves Beneath A Backyard Willow, The Rivulet Of A Seasonal Creek, Even The Ditch Between The Front Yard And The Road-all Of These Places Are Entire Universes To A Young Child.

Nature-the Sublime, The Harsh, And The Beautiful-offers Something That The Street Or Gated Community Or Computer Game Cannot. Nature Presents The Young With Something So Much Greater Than They Are; It Offers An Environment Where They Can Easily Contemplate Infinity And Eternity.