Celebrate Earth Day – by getting covered in it!

I’d been meaning to check out the Little River mudslide all summer, but when I read this article online I was finally inspired – Girls who play in dirt grow up healthier.

And with Earth Day coming up soon, it seemed appropriate to start celebrating by covering ourselves in it! All you need is a slope, water and dirt and lots of bottoms!

No brakes - gravity has hold of us!

Standing up at the end is not so easy!

Josie and Mum - who says girls don't like dirt!

PS – next post will be top tips for throwing an Earth Day party … mud-pies might have to be on the menu!

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We’re looking for a taniwha (I’m not scared)

A great way to get your children excited about reading is to make them the star of their own story. It’s also a great way to record all the many adventures you have together!  These days anyone who has access to a digital camera can make a book; either online or at your local photo shop or chemist that has one of those photo printing booths.  You can either rewrite the familiar classics with your own unique twist as I have done here , or choose to tell your own unique story.

We’re going on a tramping trip
(with William and Josie)
Concept stolen from ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ by Michael Rosen

Josie and the red door (2010)

We’re going on a tramping trip
It’s going to be a long one
We’re looking for a taniwha
I’m not scared

William @ Craigieburn Forest Park (2008)

I’ve got my tramping boots on
I’ve got my back pack on
I’ve got my sun hat on
What a beautiful day

William @ Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve (2011)

Oh no!

We’ve reached the green and shady forest
We can’t go under it, we can’t go over it,
we can’t go around it,
we’ll have walk through it

Trip trot trip trot trip trot hop

Josie @ Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve 2011.

Were going on a tramping trip
It’s going to be a long one
We’re looking for a taniwha
I’m not scared

William and Dad crossing Ngatuhoa Stream (2007)

I’ve got my tramping boots on
I’ve got my back pack on
I’ve got my sun hat on
What a beautiful day

William and Mum @ Temple valley (2007).

Oh no!

Here’s a rushing braided river
We can’t go under it, we can’t go over it,
we can’t go around it, we’ll have wade through it

Link arms and wade wade wade wade

William and Josie St James CA (2011)

Were going on a tramping trip
It’s going to be a long one
We’re looking for a taniwha
I’m not scared

Hanmer Forest Park (2011).

I’ve got my tramping boots on
I’ve got my back pack on
I’ve got my sun hat on
What a beautiful day

St James CA 2011).

Oh no!

We have reached the wavy tussock grasslands
We can’t go under it, we can’t go over it,
we can’t go around it, we’ll have to go through it

Swish, swish, swish, swish

Ben Ohau (2007).

Were going on a tramping trip
It’s going to be a long one
We’re looking for a taniwha
I’m not scared

Ben Ohau (2007).

I’ve got my tramping boots on
I’ve got my back pack on
I’ve got my sun hat on
What a beautiful day

William @ Otukaikino with friends (2012).

Oh no!

Here’s an oozy, peaty wetland
We can’t go under it, we can’t go over it,
we can’t go through it, we’ll have to go around it

Squelch squelch squelch squelch

Swing bridge Aoraki/MT Cook (2009)

Were going on a tramping trip
It’s going to be a long one
We’re looking for a taniwha
I’m not scared

Family at Aoraki/Mt Cook (2009).

I’ve got my tramping boots on
I’ve got my back pack on
I’ve got my sun hat on
What a beautiful day

Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park (2009)

Oh no!

Here’s a big snowy mountain
We can’t go under it, we can’t go around it,
we can’t go through it, we’ll have to climb over it

Climb climb climb climb

Arthur's Pass (2011).

Were going on a tramping trip
It’s going to be a long one
We’re looking for a taniwha
I’m not scared

Josie & Ben Kura Tawhiti (2012).

I’ve got my tramping boots on
I’ve got my back pack on
I’ve got my sun hat on
What a beautiful day

William @ Kura Tawhiti 2012

Oh oh

We’ve found a scary limestone cave
We can’t go under it, we can’t go over it, we can’t go around it, we’ll have to go through it

Tip toe tip toe tip toe

William and Dad @ Cave Stream (2008).

What’s that sound?

Roar!

It’s the taniwha!

William, Josie and cousin Taylor on the Taniwha at Te Puna Quarry (2010).

Quick, run home

Over the big snowy mountain—climb climb climb
Around the oozy peaty wetland—squelch squelch squelch
Through the wavy tussock grasslands—swish swish swish
Through the rushing river—wade wade wade
Through the drippy rainforest—trip trot trip trot hop
Back home, in our front door, up the stairs and into bed.

Phew.

Josie reading "going on a tramping trip" (2012)

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Forever trees

Josie and I were in the garden and she turns to me, touching a tree and says “this is a forever tree mum; its leaves stay green forever”. I was immediately charmed with the phrase and my clever daughter. And even more so a few nights later when giving her a goodnight cuddle she started practicing saying a very difficult word – jew sid jewus. Jewsidjewus. “Did you learn that word at preschool?” I asked. “Yes” she said, “Rebecca told it to us. It means trees that lose their leaves”.

Well she couldn’t say the word but she knew what it meant. And at three that’s something. Talking to her teacher Rebecca I passed on that Josie was sharing her knowledge at home.  Rebecca informed me that the children were asking why some leaves were changing colour and some weren’t and that triggered the subject. I was even more impressed now – child-centred inquiry-based learning. Letting the children ask a question, and then help them find the answer.  I am so grateful for the quality care that Josie is receiving while I am working!

But learning doesn’t have to stay at preschool, as Josie was also gently reminding me. So we took a trip into the botanical gardens. It was a gorgeous day, just perfect for wandering amongst the many different trees.

William and Josie in Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Josie was very quick to point out all the leaves that were changing colour, oranges and browns, yellows even.  She found a marvellous leaf – large enough for peek-a-boo. It was learning by osmosis – by exploring the world around us and taking it all in.

Josie plays peek-a-boo

And back at home, we decided to make our own “forever trees”. There are so many wonderful art projects you can do with autumn leaves.

There’s leaf rubbing – put a leaf under paper and rub over the top with wax crayon until the shape appears.

William doing leaf rubbings using autumnal colours

Spatter-prints are effective – arrange leaves on the paper, dip an old toothbrush into paint. Use a stick to rub the bristles so fine spatters of paint go onto the paper around the leaves. Lift the leaves to reveal their shadows.

Or even more achievable for pre-schoolers, focus on the colours. Collect papers of different kinds of greens, browns, yellows, oranges – old magazines or wrapping papers can be recycled for this!

Josie creates her evergreen forever tree

Cut them into leaf shapes (we used zig-zag scissors) and glue them onto your wonderful forever tree.

Josie's forever trees, evergreen on left, deciduous on right

For a wonderful book about New Zealand’s native trees – most of which are forever green as Josie says – Andrew Crowe’s Life-size guide to native trees is the best.

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Treasure your children and treasure the moment

Our lives are so busy these days. As working parents in a commercially-driven world where success is the measure of worth, we are constantly rushing from one appointment to the next. Get up, go the gym, take the kids to school, go to work, pick up the kids from school, go to swimming lessons, violin lessons, ballet lessons, art, karate, play dates, cook dinner, put the kids to bed, go to the gym, night classes, choir, committee meetings, PTA…

Sometimes we just need to stop, listen, be still and take time to be in the moment.

Quiet times at Daisy Flat.

Sunday 4 March 2012 was Children’s Day. And I was too busy to publishing this blog on the day! (shame) The theme of children’s day for 2012  was ‘treasure our children’. We shouldn’t need a day to tell us that our children are a gift and that we should spend time with them. But with all this constant drive to improve ourselves and be successful, we sometimes forget to just be together. As a family. All of us. Not Mum and Josie while the boys go to swimming. Not Dad and William while Josie goes to ballet. All of us. Spending some time together marvelling at the world we find ourselves in. It only needs to be ten minutes. Ten minutes of being in the moment.

Here are six simple experiences to just be “in the moment” with your children. These can be done by children of any age, even (especially) infants.

1)     Lie under a tree and look up at the branches together. Watch the leaves blowing in the wind, and the way the sun sparkles as it flicks between the spaces. Close your eyes and listen.

2)     Find a warm rock and lie like lizards. Worship the sun by feeling how it warms the rock – or your driveway if you can’t find a suitable stone. Put your cheek or hands flat against the stone and feel its warmth.

3)     Go for a walk at the quiet end of the beach – no spades, no boogie boards, just you. Take off your shoes and find a spot where the sand is really wet. Scrunch your toes in the sand. Wiggle side to side and watch your feet. Close your eyes and listen to the waves.

Josie at nine months explored the sand using multiple senses!

4)     Find a wild space (they are getting rare) where the grass is growing long. Get down low and look through the grass. Play hide and seek, or crawl pretending to be tigers. Look for butterflies and insects flitting from flower to flower. Lie down and close your eyes.

5)     When it rains sit in the window and watch the raindrops travel down the glass. Follow them with your finger. Pick on each and have a race. When it stops – or even if it doesn’t put on your coats and boots and go stomp in some puddles. Raise your face up towards the rain and you guessed it – close your eyes. Take a deep breath and smell the rain.

Down in the forest

6)     Read a book together. Snuggle into a beanbag and cuddle. Down in the Forest, retold by Yvonne Morrison and illustrated by Jenny Cooper is great for really small kids as it’s a remake of an old rhyme “Over in the meadow” so it has wonderful rhythm and repetition as well as being familiar. It also features different families with each verse – a kiwi family, weta family, tui family and more, so it’s a wonderful choice to celebrate and read as a family.

in an old kowhai tree
lived a sweet mother tui
and her little tuis three.

“Sing!” said the mother
“We sing!” said the three
so they sang so sweetly
in that old kowhai tree.

P.S. This week is Seaweek, an annual celebration to reconnect with the sea and what it can teach us. It is being officially launched at an event from Auckland Zoo tonight. Stay tuned for sea-themed reads and maybe some other fun stuff to do! The website has lots of competitions and resources too so check it out.

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How to raise a famous naturalist like Charles Darwin (or Don Merton)

When I was fourteen I wanted to be like Don Merton. He’d gone to offshore islands and saved a black robin from the brink of extinction. He was my eco-hero and I wanted to grow up just like him.

Well these days I’m more likely to write about eco-heroes than be one, but I can see the same love of nature growing in my son; (most likely because that’s what he’s been exposed to!)

Charles Darwin

Today is World Darwin Day – a global celebration of science and reason on the birthday of Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was one of the first eco-heroes. He travelled the world documenting life and coming up with all sorts of wonderful ideas like ‘evolution’ and the ‘origin of the species’. He visited New Zealand in December 1835 – apparently he didn’t think much of it!

Both Don Merton and Charles Darwin did great things. But they were also both kids once. Even famous people wanted to grow up to be someone someday. And if your son or daughter would like to grow up to be a famous naturalist, here are my ten top tips on how to help them get there!

1. Go on an adventure travelling on a Beagle. 

Not the dog! Charles Darwin visited New Zealand in 1835 travelling on a ship called “The Beagle”. Your Beagle could be your child’s bike or scooter, or the family car if you are going on a big adventure with the whole family. The point is – go somewhere and see something new!

2. Observe the natural world around you

Go into the bush or the beach with a camera and notebook and record things you see: animal life, plants, stones and dirt, traces left behind by people. If your child is old enough, let them have the camera to record the things that most interest them.

Making friends with a South Island robin

3. Teach them to respect the natural world

Encourage them to stop, sit quietly and let birds come to you. Teach them to recognise the things birds and other animals do if they don’t like how close you are getting. It can be dangerous for both of you so make sure your visit doesn’t cause them distress. A good rule of thumb for marine animals is ten metres.

4. Study living things; noticing the little details.

Does this leaf have a jagged edge or a smooth one? Does that bird have a sharp beak? Encourage your children to draw them and name the parts.

5. Start a nature journal

Put all the photos you’ve taken, their drawings, stories and notes all in one book. It becomes a great record of your experiences together and something to refer to later.

William records his experience with the robin in his journal

6. Encourage them to ask lots of questions

Why does that tree grow like that? Why is this leaf furry? Why does that bird’s beak bend? Tell them it’s OK to drive their parents and teachers mad with questions! But then, help them find the answers …

7. Read lots of books about nature

Use what you learn when you go outside to understand what’s around you. Take books with you into the wild so you can identify things you see. Andrew Crowe’s life-size guide books are great for this.

8. Get familiar with some new big words and ideas like ‘evolution’, ‘adaption’, ‘habitat’ and ‘survival of the fittest’. Find out what they mean and then look around you to find examples in the natural world.

9. Discover or invent something new

Why not draw a magical creature that lives in a special place? Think about its habitat (where it lives) – what would it need to survive?

10. Finally, the best way to become famous as a naturalist is to share your knowledge with others!

If you see rare birds like whio/blue duck encourage your child to write to DOC and explain that it helps their research. Maybe encourage them to start up their own research project at school. Join a club or support a trust like Kea Conservation Trust.

South Island Robin

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Treasure hunt at Kura Tawhiti

We went to Kura Tawhiti (Castle Hill) and we found:

1 – A rock bridge, a rock tunnel and a smiley face rock

A smiley face

2 – A rock that looked like a dog

Jamie spots a rock hound

3 – A rock that looked like a table and a rock that looked like a giant tooth

A giant's tooth

4 – A dinosaur’s footprint and a fern pattern

Fern patterns in stone

5 – Grasshoppers, spiders and rabbits; plants growing in stones, on stones and under stones and plants with fluffy seeds

Fluffy seeds

6 – Caves where people used to camp

Cave

7 – Places where grown-ups couldn’t go

A place only fit for five-year-olds

8 – A giant’s bathtub and a giant’s armchair!

Three little people in a giant's armchair

9 – Lichen like splodges of white paint on the speckled rock

Lichen like paint splodges

10 – And … lots of fun places to climb, run and explore!

Running through the rocks at Kura Tawhiti

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Sharing the hidden treasures of Castle Hill / Kura Tāwhiti this Waitangi Day

Anyone who has driven between Christchurch and the West Coast has driven past the spectacular limestone battlements of Castle Hill – Kura Tāwhiti. For those of you who have never stopped – you should.

Sculptures of stone bridges and overhangs

Tomorrow, Waitangi Day, we are taking some friends to visit Kura Tawhiti for their first time.  To them, Waitangi Day is just another public holiday, a chance to get out of town. I’m hoping that a day at Kura Tāwhiti will change that for them.

Anyone who has visited Kura Tāwhiti will get a sense that this is a special place. It has drawn people in since people first walked these lands.  Early Māori left their stories here, marked on the stone and in the memories of their descendants.  Māori believe that all things have their own life force (mauri). Wandering through Kura Tāwhiti I can believe that too.

“Kura Tāwhiti literally means “the treasure from a distant land”, referring to the kumara that was once cultivated in this region. Kura Tāwhiti was claimed by the Ngāi Tahu ancestor Tane Tiki, son of celebrated chief Tūāhuriri. The nearby mountains were famed for kakapo, and Tane Tiki wanted their soft skins and glowing green feathers for clothing to be worn by his daughter Hine Mihi. Stories like these link the landscape to the people – tangata whenua (people of the land).” (From DOC website)

The centre of Kura Tawhiti is like nature's ampitheatre

Under the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Settlement Act, Kura Tawhiti was given Tōpuni status, which is a legal recognition of the site’s importance to the Ngāi Tahu tribe. Tōpuni comes from the traditional custom of chiefs extending power and authority over areas or people by placing a cloak over them.

For some, Waitangi Day – the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 – is a day of protest and debate about its place and meaning in Aotearoa today. I prefer to celebrate it by sharing our beautiful country and all its many intricate layers of culture and meaning with friends.  To share in a sense of pride and belonging. Like the limestone rock that makes up the battlements of Kura Tawhiti, Aotearoa has a rich and varied history, pressed together by time to create something magical.

Kura Tawhiti; photo Stuart Webb.

From Christchurch take highway 73 towards the West Coast. Kura Tawhiti is beside the highway in the Waimakariri Basin, about 80 minutes from Christchurch.

Adventure is crawling through a hole!

Coming up…

12 February – Darwin Day
http://darwinday.org/

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