Elise used her foot to move the pine needles, then crouched down and used her hands to complete a circle and declared it was the vets garden. She then proceeded to collect pinecones and place them in the circle. Elise told me excitedly, that the garden has lots of trees. The pinecones would sometimes stick to her woolly gloves. One of her pinecone trees fell down, then another.
"Thats okay, she said, sometimes trees fall down when the wind is strong".
Last week we had been learning about wind, we had so much fun down at the lake testing out what items from nature could be carried by the wind. Elise kept finding feathers which proved by far the best fliers along with leaves.
The wind was strong today and bitterly cold but Elise didn't feel the cold. She was too busy playing, creating her garden underneath the Ponderosa tree that had gifted so much treasure to play with. Pinecones, pine needles, seeds, fallen branches - "loose parts" as some would call them - I call them treasure (gifts from Mother Earth).
As I sit back and watch her play I am reminded of Froebel’s quote:
" play as the highest expression of human development in childhood; the free expression of what is in a child’s soul"
What a blessing it is to witness this joy-filled play. Our nature art therapy sessions are filled with so many magical, sacred moments.
The wind blows again and another tree falls down. “ Would you like to help me put some trees in the garden Marghanita?”
How could one resist such an exciting invitation to play!
If you would like to learn more about our Nature Art Programs for both children and adults, take a moment to view the website or contact me direct. We would love you to join us at Educating the Heart with Nature Art.
Wishing you all a magical and enchanting weekend, with love Marghanita x