Nature Walk: Atlantic Style

It started out as an ordinary walk. Down main street, past all the shops, pausing to check out the latest display in the shoe store and then moving on. Past the old church and the row of bed and breakfasts, and then the gardens stopped me.

The sculptured beds of flowers with a fountain and a weeping willow. Just through the spray of the water, I saw a a slide. We turned right.

The girls delighted with me in all the beauty.

"Look at the flowers, mummy!"

There was just enough playground and just enough nature park. Exposed roots and massive stumps made a steep hillside accessible for little legs to go up and down. 

All morning.

The littlest one was happy from her perch in the swing while I looked at the trees. 

Maple! Oak! And acorns!

And thus we had our first nature study, the Atlantic version. It still feels a little weird to actually live in Atlantic Canada. Every time I hear it, it feels so far away. Because it has been. But now it's home.

I explained to Kilmeny that the oak tree came from a little acorn. And then we were like squirrels and collected tons of the little nuts for our autumn display. We delighted in the different textures and colors. The fat ones, the green ones, and the ones missing their little caps.

We clambered up the dirt face of the hill and found a delightful little meadow with a path. Obviously we followed it. And around the bend, there were blackberries! We picked berries, Kilmeny quickly learned that the black ones were the ones to pick, not the red ones.

We went home with our treasures: berry stained lips, lots of acorns and the delight of discovering a brand new place to explore.

To take a Nature Walk:

Engage all your senses- colors, textures, smells, sounds, tastes!

Be elaborate or simple- take(when appropriate!) treasures home for a nature table or display in jars.

Let your children set the pace- Kilmeny liked collecting nuts and berries for a little bit and then she was all over the teeter-totter.