Mary Holland in her essential book for New England naturalists, Naturally Curious, describes April as the month of transformations. The earth thaws and the world begins to turn green. Birds return, amphibians and reptiles come out of hibernation, and mammals are busy looking for mates or having babies. While much of what I hear from adults who are “going places,” is a lot of whining and complaining about “when is spring coming, when is spring coming,” children are actively pursuing and being a part of the spring uprising. At the first hint of sunshine and warmer temperatures they want to take off their jackets and romp around in the sun. My point is that while adults often settle for problematic emotional default settings like regret/depression, judgment/irritability, prognostication/anxiety, children are active participants in the natural processes that are endemic to Spring. Everything that happens in nature—sap rising in trees due to alternating cold nights and warm days, animals shaking off their winter torpor, seeds germinating and putting down roots and growing out stems, sticky green buds bursting into leaves, flowers blossoming, robins showing off, redwing blackbirds buzzing and trilling to one another, the choruses of wood frogs and spring peepers, rabbits hopping about, water trickling and overflowing the banks of rivers, the sun staying out longer, the earth thawing and the air having a gentler more fragrant presence, all if it, has analogues and actual connectivities, flows and folds with the growth and experience of children as they participate in bringing Spring into being!
Try to get out earlier in the morning to hear the birds sing and communicate with one another. Better yet see a sunrise. And conversely stay out later. Some of the prettiest, gentlest moments of the day can be in the late afternoon sunshine after the shifty day to day, hour to hour weather of spring has settled down somewhat and the day has decided what to do. Get outside and see, feel and experience the transformation(s) of April. If you sit inside waiting for Spring to happen it will pass you by, and before you know it people will be complaining about the heat! We have all seen time lapse photography where time speeds up and you “see” a plant growing, day turn to night, or winter turn into spring. If you get outside everyday, or almost everyday, for a big chunk of time, or some amount of time, you get the experiential equivalent of viewing really amazing time-lapse photography.
As we spend time outside together—playing, walking, running, climbing, building, gardening, making animal friends, observing and feeling at one with our outsides—the greening of the forest, the decomposition and production of organic matter, the life cycles of the worms, insects, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals and the rhythms and patterns of the seasons become “second nature” to the child. One of the fundamental themes of this blog/website/broadcast to the world is that we need to support children in reconnecting to the natural world from which they come. Children who stay in touch with their “roots” feel more at home in the world, more attentive to it’s beauty, more curious about exploring the wonders and whereabouts of the world that nurtures and sustains their growth and development.
One of states of being that I experience with the children I work with, is the perceptible greening of the backyard and of the forest. As we persistently draw our attention to the decomposing leaves, rotting trees, standing snags, patches of grass, tangles of bushes, the slim, delicate stems of will be flowers, and the rugged, vital trunks and branches of the trees… the green stems of the briar patch, full, flush swathes of green grass, the brown green stems of the plants, the sticky green buds of the trees, all start to color our world green, transforming the variegated elements of the total landscape into a kaleidoscope of green hues, tones, spectrums, complexions, shades, mottles and colors of green. The greening of the world is the living substance of the inorganic elements becoming the organic world where animals and plants come into being, live, breathe, grow and die.
“A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; how could I answer the child? I do not know anymore than he. / I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven/Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord…./Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation/, or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic/And now it seems the beautiful uncut hair of graves.”
As the earth thaws children get closer to the earth. They are interested in digging in the ground and the sandbox. They want to look for worms and bugs. The smell of the wetlands’ mud near the river’s edge is rich with life. This is a good time to introduce children to composting in the garden and the decomposition processes that recycle dead plant and animal material in the natural world. A simple demonstration is to find a rotting log in the woods or decaying leaf litter and have the children crumble it in their hands, smell it and make the causal connection connection between the decomposing wood and leaves, soil, and new plants that grow in the forest. Similarly, you can introduce children to composting by showing them dry sandy soil, a bunch of table scraps from dinner ( without any meat scraps or dairy products please!), some partially composed table scraps (if you have any around) and fully composted soil. Talk about and explore the differences between the different materials and explain that plants will grow better in the compost than the dry, rocky soil.This can be a self-contained demonstration or it can be a springboard for starting your own compost pile or bin at school or home. What’s important is that children begin to grasp the essential natural process and cycle of plant decomposition, the recycling of organic materials and new plant production and growth.
As the animals begin to warm up, eat more, and find mates and breed, the woods, fields, ponds, vernal pools and backyards become alive with animal sounds. It is a wonderful month to learn about the sounds, calls, and songs of the American Robin. Robins love to show off and are not that afraid of people, so they are good birds to start with in becoming familiar with the songs and behavior of the birds in your local area. Once children are engaged in watching and paying attention to the robins, they can begin to make connections between the robin’s physical appearance, their vocalizations and their behavior. Building on the children’s innate curiosity and aesthetic interest in the world, help them learn how to be still, quiet and patient. Help them look closely and look again, listen closely and make connections between what they see, hear and understand.
This is also the right time of year to listen for the choruses of wood frogs and spring peepers. Search for these delightful frogs out in vernal pools and small ponds, especially at dusk. If you are lucky you might find some egg masses. If you are up to it, bring some of them home (in the water where you found them), and see if you can hatch them into tadpoles. But please let them go when they turn into frogs unless you are willing and able to create a viable and suitable terrarium habitat for them. Finally try to sneak up on the first painted turtles that start basking on partially submerged tree branches in lakes and ponds. These delightful denizens of New England ponds are early adopters of the spring sun, quickly scrambling up on a log and just as quickly plopping into the water at the slightest signs of danger.
April is a remarkable month of transformation but we can’t just wait for it to happen. Be part of the transformation and help the “root children” wake up to the magic and wonder of Spring. There is so much going on that it is easy to make the mistake of trying to condense it all in a poster about the life cycle of a frog, a book on composting, or a poem about the birds and the bees. Don’t take shortcuts. Help children have deep, memorable experiences with the natural world. Then help children extend and prepare for these experiences through, stories, non-fiction books, songs, experiments, demonstrations, art projects, different genres of writing and other opportunities to express, communicate, learn about and reflect on what they have experienced. Support and cultivate each child’s curiosity, wonder, and engagement with the natural world and give them time, space and encouragement to express, share and reflect on their experience and what they have learned.
Resources
Use these phenology maps to explore different ways to explore and think about the “arrival” of Spring https://www.usanpn.org/data/spring
Mary Holland’s Nature Blog that complements her masterpiece Naturally Curious https://naturallycuriouswithmaryholland.wordpress.com/
Useful, fun blog on exploring the outdoors in southern new england http://southernnewenglandoutdoors.blogspot.com
Great website full of information and ideas about getting outside, getting dirty and learning about the plants, animals and the earth http://www.dirtybotany.com/
Excellent article on the phenology, or seasonal changes in the plants and forests during Spring as related to climate change https://www.usanpn.org/files/LeafOutHighlightChange_Arnoldia_.pdf