When I go back and stay with my Grandparents my Grandfather will tell me stories about his own childhood.  He remembers the golden rule in their home, no one eats until all the animals are fed.  When the chores were finished there was always a hot breakfast ready for them which included eggs, bacon and fresh bread (basically what was readily available from the farm); and once finished you better not waist any time as you were expected to walk to school.  I love listening to his stories and more importantly, I want my children to hear them.  Society today has changed drastically since those days but there is so many lessons in the way my Grandfather was raised that should be applied today.

When my husband and I were kids we were always outside and to make sure we got our chores done or lessons finished our parents would hold over our heads “there’s no playing outside until your work is done”.  That was the best motivator in the world, no one wanted to be told they had to stay inside.  In fact, I can remember sneaking out the window to get outdoors after being grounded in the house for the weekend.    As a child no one had to tell me to go play outside; being out in nature was  part of our every day lives.  Unfortunately, times have changed and there are some families that don’t know how to introduce ~Nature into their kids lives and that’s what brings me to this article. 

This Christmas I was given the book  I love dirt !  Written by Jennifer Ward.  The foreword presented by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods,made such an impact on me.  He speaks how to days families regard Nature as separate from our everyday lives.   Families recreational activities are more and more done indoors (Wii, TV and computers) have replaced riding bikes, hiking and imaginary play.    Richard Louv reports that from 2000-2004 sales for bikes fell 21% and antidepressants prescribed to children have doubled in the last five years.  He writes in his book that  :many children today have tunnel sensses  and feelings of isolation and containment.  The best prescription available for our children that is free, is playing outside.  Study after study will tell you that for a child to have a healthy childhood development that being outside is essential.  ~Nature helps every one’s  (adult and children) mental and physical health. 

In 2005 the California Department of Education found that  students in school that had nature immersion programs performed 27% higher in science testing than kids who were educated in traditional class setting.  Take a look at your schools surrounding environment, I bet you will find that there is only a parking lot and residential neighborhood.  When I grew up our school was surrounded by woods that incorporated paths and we had outdoor classroom area that gave the teachers options to hold their classes outside. 

Jennifer Ward’s book, I love Dirt  gives you the ideas needed for busy parents and this book can be a great gift for your child’s teachers and if you go to her web page www.jenniferwardbooks.com has supported material that will help lessons if using any of her books.  If you need an idea for summer she has 12 different activities. 

I love her activity called Moon Shadows found on page 72, not only does she give you activities you can enjoy with your children but some history to share with them as well.  In total there are 52 open-ended activities to help you engage your child in the outdoors.  No mater what your location-from wide-open meadows of the country to a small patch of green grass in the city.  You will have activities that will help you promote exploration, stimulate their imagination and heighten your child’s senses. 

Don’t stop with this book, look in your own newspaper to find out what activities are being promoted in your area.  Were going to see an Ice winter wonderland next weekend, tell me some of your plans you have !!!!

 

 

Dream Catcher Lore

Native Americans believe that the night air is filled with dreams both good and bad. The dream catcher when hung over or near your bed swinging freely in the air catches the dreams as they flow by. The good dreams know how to pass through the dream catcher, slipping through the outer holes and slide down the soft feathers so gently that many times the sleeper does not know that he/she is dreaming. The bad dreams not knowing the way get tangled in the dream catcher and perish with the first light of the new day. 

When I place my child to bed each night, you will hear me saying “sweet dreams”.  I believe it’s our hope as parents that our child go to sleep and have wonderful dreams and will rise feeling rested.  This last week my son came to me complaining he’s having nightmares and doesn’t want to sleep in his room; naturally I wanted to turn him back and say try again but I couldn’t go to bed knowing he was having bad dreams so I decided I would sleep in there and to my surprise I too had a nightmare.  It was Eric himself who asked me to get him a dream catcher.  Naturally that would be a good addition to his room since his decoration is Native American and I indeed bought him a large dream catcher at a Cherokee Pow Wow this summer and loved meeting the artist who made the design and in the middle she painted a Eagle. 

I should have placed a dream catcher in his room when we moved in to the home.  Dream catchers are in his brother’s rooms and we even have one in the car because we take long trips I wanted to ensure their rest was filled with peaceful dreams.  I loved sleeping in the car when taking long trips and it just seemed natural to have one with us when we take long trips.  I was fortunate to get mine as a gift from a friend who is a Maliseet Indian.

 If your planning on adding a dream catcher to your bedroom you may want to perform the sage ceremony:  Before use, the dream-catcher is often cleansed in a ceremony of purification by passing it through the smoke of smoldering sage–the  sage ceremony.  Sometimes, if the dream-catcher is not in a well-lit room, it becomes overloaded with energies that need to be cleared. 

When I look at our dream catchers I can see the love that went into each weave and feel honored to have these beautiful items in our home.   When you need a special gift for your child or anyone you care about consider purchasing a dream catcher and include the history from the tribe.  Each tribe I found has its own unique legend of the dream catcher.

www.aaanativearts.com has a beautiful legend about the dream catcher that I would like to share:   

ORAL TRADITION: Ojibway legend

“A spider was quietly spinning his web in his own space. It was beside the sleeping space of Nokomis, the grandmother. Each day, Nokomis watched the spider at work, quietly spinning away. One day as she was watching him, her grandson came in. “Nokomis-iya!” he shouted, glancing at the spider. He stomped over to the spider, picked up a shoe and went to hit it.

“No-keegwa,” the old lady whispered, “don’t hurt him.”  “Nokomis, why do you protect the spider?” asked the little boy. 

The old lady smiled, but did not answer. When the boy left, the spider went to the old woman and thanked her for saving his life.

He said to her, “For many days you have watched me spin and weave my web. You have admired my work. In return for saving my life, I will give you a gift.” He smiled his special spider smile and moved away, spinning as he went.

Soon the moon glistened on a magical silvery web moving gently in the window. “See how I spin?” he said. “See and learn, for each web will snare bad dreams. Only good dreams will go through the small hole. This is my gift to you. Use it so that only good dreams will be remembered. The bad dreams will become hopelessly entangled in the web.”

Please share your story about your dream catchers with me.