Nature is the best
Nature is everything
Love it forever
So writes Nathaniel, 10. Walt Whitman would agree: “Now I see the secret of making the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” Nature Journals is just one of the many ways we instill a love and care of Creation with the children. Whether quiet time at the outdoor chapel or sitting quietly at Eagle Bay, the children respond to the natural world through Haikus, drawings, pressing leaves and poems. One entry depicts a sketch of the outdoor chapel which frames the following poem:
The sticks and leaves stay
silent when the wind makes
no noises. I hear stick breaking
and the noise comes towards me.
The sound of cars honking
from the roads distract me.
I hear animals in the forest.
— Juliette, age 9
Finian, age 9, recited Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by heart during a sharing circle. It then appeared in his journal. Winter, our beloved camp dog, was honored by several campers in drawings and poetry. The kiddos made astute and creative interpretations of their surroundings:
The
tree trunk
is made
of a
wood chip
and
Ants so very small
yet so mighty strong
little small soldiers
There is deep wisdom for those who take time to stop, look and listen to our neighbors the trees, plants, water, fish, squirrel, mosquito, etc. Victoria, first year counselor, heard such a message in the trees:
Trees
When you/I look into the woods you can see
hundreds of different trees,
all shapes and sizes,
Some are taller than others,
Some are wider than others,
Some are older than others,
but they are all part of the same community,
the woods
That made me think of all of you,
campers and counselors,
We are all individual and unique,
but together we make up one
community – Rock Point Summer Camp