By: Mary Morris
Kids love nature and they love art. Who doesn’t, right? The two share a wonderful connection. How many times have you gone to an art museum and looked at beautiful paintings of oceans and sunsets and fields of grass? These are seemingly simple landscapes that are captured with light and texture by someone’s discerning eye – and incredible talent, of course.
Children are like that, too. They can see the beauty and delight in simple objects like leaves and shells, and those items can provide endless fun.
After one of our outings to the plant nursery, my son Zachary and I took this picture of these flowers. These trips are numerous and carefree. We are never on a schedule or in a rush. I know this sounds difficult in the hectic world we live in, but I always think ahead to when my kids won’t want to do this stuff anymore and make time now.
We both enjoy the sights and smells of the nursery. My son and I talk about the richness of the colors. We touch and smell the flowers.
Several days later my son brought his work home from school in his backpack, and in it were all kinds of treasures: a paper kite, tracings of the letter of the week and some rolled up artwork. Every week he comes home with artwork. One of the free time areas in his classroom contains an art easel and he loves it. Here is what he came home with:
If you ask me, it has a striking similarity to the flowers we admired just days before. So my humble advice is: stop and smell the flowers today or any day. Look at the sun and the sky. Talk about the colors. Let your kids splash in a puddle. Seek out a rainbow. Art and nature are so powerful.
Community Voices for Health 