Beautiful, Kerri! (And thanks for the link to my piece on weekend unplugging!) A few weeks ago, Lenore Skenazy of Let Grow linked (in dismay, of course) to a curriculum for teaching children how to watch clouds. Children do NOT have to be taught such things -- it is we adults who forget!!
It’s so true! Children love this stuff if we let them. Decades ago now, I was asked to babysit for a baby boy. His older sister, age 4 or 5 was SO excited to tell me that she and her mother were going on a special date. “We’re going to get Cheetos and watch the clouds!” She told me with wriggling eagerness. It’s always stayed with me- what a beautiful thing for a child to be (naturally) excited about- 1:1 time with mom, a “treat” and watching the clouds. This was of course, before screens were ubiquitous. *sigh*
Yay! Do you ever use BetterWorldBooks? They don’t have the most vast selection but their regular sales on used books plus free shipping make them so much more affordable a lot of the time. Plus, they have no affiliation with Amazon, if that’s a thing people care about.
This is beautiful! At our retreat/training this summer we listened to a talk by Christopher Perrin on how poesis is a necessary part of learning to understand literature, but it starts the ability to observe. In order to understand someone's remark that there are two types of people: bluebirds and blue jays, you must have actually SEEN them both and have an idea of what the birds are. So much of life is made more manageable because of the connections we draw to the natural world, or even to a wider swath of experience. When we no longer have time for wonder or observation I believe we lose much of our capacity to understand...well, anything.
Thanks! And oh my, yes. I was recently visiting a friend who home educates her little girls and I was struck by how much more observant of the world they are than I am. I’m trying. Emily P. Freeman has that wonderful phrase, “a keen observer of the art of God.” I aspire to be so!
Yes - I especially loved Hannah Anderson' very readable book "Turning Of Days" which was a good re-ordering of my own thought and attention toward the natural world. And to how the created order speaks to spiritual things, if we will notice them.
Wonderful post Kerri! So many points to resonate with, especially "it does not have the same power to make us feel understood, or the power to help us truly understand the world around us." Yesterday evening I came across a most unusual sight of an older Mennonite woman riding as passenger in a horse and buggy, deeply immersed in a large hard-backed book filled with illustrations. Made me think of your post...
Thank you! We have friends in the Bruderhof here in the UK and it’s always lovely to visit their community and do things like - just take a walk after dinner! We also love to hear what families are reading every morning as it’s a common practice for them to read together over breakfast, regardless of children’s ages.
Beautiful, Kerri! (And thanks for the link to my piece on weekend unplugging!) A few weeks ago, Lenore Skenazy of Let Grow linked (in dismay, of course) to a curriculum for teaching children how to watch clouds. Children do NOT have to be taught such things -- it is we adults who forget!!
It’s so true! Children love this stuff if we let them. Decades ago now, I was asked to babysit for a baby boy. His older sister, age 4 or 5 was SO excited to tell me that she and her mother were going on a special date. “We’re going to get Cheetos and watch the clouds!” She told me with wriggling eagerness. It’s always stayed with me- what a beautiful thing for a child to be (naturally) excited about- 1:1 time with mom, a “treat” and watching the clouds. This was of course, before screens were ubiquitous. *sigh*
That is so amazing. What a wonderful mother!!
Oooo, thanks to this lovely post of yours, I have added both Time of Wonder and some of Peter Spier's books to my Thrift Books wish list. :)
Yay! Do you ever use BetterWorldBooks? They don’t have the most vast selection but their regular sales on used books plus free shipping make them so much more affordable a lot of the time. Plus, they have no affiliation with Amazon, if that’s a thing people care about.
I haven't used them, just consolidated all my used book shopping in Thrift Books to make it easy. But that'd be something to look into!
Sometimes simplicity is the guiding principle in certain seasons though- and a wise one to have!
Yes, some people do care about avoiding the rainforest company!
This is beautiful! At our retreat/training this summer we listened to a talk by Christopher Perrin on how poesis is a necessary part of learning to understand literature, but it starts the ability to observe. In order to understand someone's remark that there are two types of people: bluebirds and blue jays, you must have actually SEEN them both and have an idea of what the birds are. So much of life is made more manageable because of the connections we draw to the natural world, or even to a wider swath of experience. When we no longer have time for wonder or observation I believe we lose much of our capacity to understand...well, anything.
Thanks! And oh my, yes. I was recently visiting a friend who home educates her little girls and I was struck by how much more observant of the world they are than I am. I’m trying. Emily P. Freeman has that wonderful phrase, “a keen observer of the art of God.” I aspire to be so!
Yes - I especially loved Hannah Anderson' very readable book "Turning Of Days" which was a good re-ordering of my own thought and attention toward the natural world. And to how the created order speaks to spiritual things, if we will notice them.
Oooh another book for my TBR!
Wonderful post Kerri! So many points to resonate with, especially "it does not have the same power to make us feel understood, or the power to help us truly understand the world around us." Yesterday evening I came across a most unusual sight of an older Mennonite woman riding as passenger in a horse and buggy, deeply immersed in a large hard-backed book filled with illustrations. Made me think of your post...
Thank you! We have friends in the Bruderhof here in the UK and it’s always lovely to visit their community and do things like - just take a walk after dinner! We also love to hear what families are reading every morning as it’s a common practice for them to read together over breakfast, regardless of children’s ages.
I love this so much! Such a beautiful call to living a full and wonderstruck life.
Thank you!