Dear Mary, and others,
 
As a mother of three of these young brats, I couldn't have said it better.
The only way in which you get children to be genuinely interested in
something like shells, is to give them time to themselves where they can
relax and think. I often give my children something, a flower, a shell, a
butterfly and ask them if they can draw it. No TV, just one video if they
want (and those are ones we bought), no scheduled activities after school.
The eldest is just six and I think she is a little young for those things.
I have no aspiration for her to become a tennis champion or piano wonder
and will for now save her from the frustration of having to attend such
things. Instead in the school holidays we go for bushwalks and look at
flowers and spiders. They know the names and sounds of the major bird
species better than most adults. How can they ever learn to appreciate
nature when they are whizzed past it in the car on their way to some sort
of activity they haven't asked to attend?
 
well, that was my soap box
 
Patty
WWW: http://www.capricornica.com
 
Capricornica Publications               on-line natural history bookshop
P.O. Box 345
Lindfield NSW 2070
 
phone/fax: 02 9415 8098 international: +61 2 9415 8098
 
E-mail: [log in to unmask]