To Hold a Hummingbird

One cool April evening, I walked outside to relax a minute before dinner. Perhaps I would see a cardinal at the feeder or a blue jay or woodpecker snatching peanuts off the fence. The coreopsis in full bloom, the showy red blossoms of firecracker plants and brilliant blue daze often attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

They also attract a neighborhood cat who loves to hang out in the back yard. Recently when I went out the patio door, the cat came running up to be petted. Something red was in her mouth. “That’s odd,” I thought. “Why would she eat a firecracker blossom?”

That’s when she dropped the blossom right at my feet. Well, the bloom turned out to be a ruby-throated hummingbird. Imagine my surprise when I picked it up and it was alive! There was not a single mark on it. I held her in my hand, looking at her while she looked at me, her heart beating so fast I thought it would burst. Her tiny almond-shaped eyes were alert and watchful. The iridescent green feathers were not ruffled. She was so light, like a large moth sitting in my hand.

It seemed like an eternity, as she lay still in my palm. My heart beating nearly as rapidly as hers, I held as still as possible, my arm outstretched, offering refuge to this tiny creature that brings such pleasure to me.

After three or four minutes, the hummingbird flew away, back to the feeder. I stood still for awhile, looking at my empty palm and the hummingbird on the wing. What an awesome experience, right there in my own back yard.

Opening up the natural world to your child can be as simple as a walk in the park. Read about the benefits of a life in touch with nature in the book, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv.          

Family Gatherings

The house is spotless. Enticing aromas waft from the kitchen and the dining table groans under the weight of a sumptuous meal. The children are (were) spotless and the doorbell rings.

The family has arrived! Grandparents come in with hugs and kisses for everyone, at least two or three times around. Uncle Harry walks in carrying packages. Aunts, uncles and cousins fill the house until the walls bulge.

Children love family gatherings. It is exciting to hear stories of their parents’ and grandparents’ childhoods, where they grew up and how they lived.

Although it is tempting to prompt your child to talk or perform, it is better to begin a conversation about an interest your child has and allow her to join in when she is ready. If Sally loves the herb garden, you might begin “The basil came from our herb garden” and let Sally add to the conversation if she chooses.

For some children, family gatherings can be uncomfortable. The house is full of guests, other children want to play with his toys and everyone is making so much noise! You can prepare your child by telling him a story about the upcoming family gathering. Draw pictures to illustrate. If possible, have a spot where he can be alone if the activity is too much for him.

Cynthia Rylant has a delightful series of books written about life in Appalachia. One of my favorites is “The Relatives Came.” It is a warm and funny depiction of a large family gathering.   You can read more about Cynthia Rylant here: http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/authorsillustrato/a/cynthiarylant.htm

These suggestions can help your family gatherings be a pleasure for you and your child.

The Language of the Farmers Market

Walk among the stalls of freshly picked carrots, zucchini, tomatoes and dewberries, breathe in the fragrance of brightly colored baskets of flowers and enticing aromas of freshly baked pastries and dance to live music. Know where you are? The Farmers Market!

Have you ever tasted olive oil freshly pressed from Texas Hill Country olives? Let the grower drizzle some on a piece of fresh bread. Look at the surprise in your child’s eyes when he realizes he likes it. . . . or doesn’t.

If you can’t get to France this year, check out the lavender offerings at the market. The scent of lavender perfumes oils, candles and soap. Children will love hearing from the farmer how the soap was made and looking at photographs of his lavender fields in bloom.  

Urban Harvest’s Eastside Farmers Market (www.urbanharvest.org) has live music and sometimes baby animals to pet. Children are always welcomed. Check out their website for additional locations and times.

“Living on Farms,” a series of books by Allen Fowler, offers children an inside look at a variety of farms, crops, machinery and farmers. The Harris County Public Library has “The America Family Farm, a Photo Essay” by George Ancona. For young children, “Farming,” by Gail Gibbons is a good choice. For children aged 10 and up, “Our Farm” by Michael J. Rosen offers a one-year look at life on a 130-acre Ohio farm.

More Fun at the Zoo

Now that you’ve planned your trip to the zoo and printed out pictures to take with you, think for a moment about how long to stay.

Houston is such a large city that many families will drive for at least 45 minutes just to get there. Children will enjoy the experience more if they are not rushed once they get to the zoo. Let your child guide you about how long to stay at each exhibit, when to have lunch and when to go home.

Don’t try to see all exhibits in one day. That is too much information for a child to take in and the experience may end on a less-than-positive note if you try.

What may seem like aimless wandering to an adult is fun and educational for a child. Just the sensorial experiences of feeling the wind blow or smelling the flowers in bloom or feeling the different surfaces on which he is walking can be interesting to a child. Encouraging your child to spend as much time as she wants at any one exhibit will foster concentration, confidence and the ability to make choices.

Learning Language at the Zoo

If you are thinking of taking your child to the zoo (see yesterday's blog) here is a suggestion for making the trip even more fun and educational.

Before you go to the zoo, while you are on-line reading about a few of the animals, print out one or two of the photographs. When you get to the zoo, let your child look for that animal’s silhouette on the map. See if your child can follow the map to find that animal.

Use directional words such as north and south and left and right. Also use sequential words, such as first, before, after, next. While looking at the map, ask questions (but not many!) such as “Do you think we’ll come to the giraffe exhibit first or the bird exhibit?”

Let your child plan what to see. If he wants to see the birds and the meerkats, ask him which one he wants to see first. “Okay, we’ll see the meerkats first and the birds second.” Or “That sounds like a good plan. We’ll see the meerkats before we see the birds.”

When you tell your child “We get to the gorilla exhibit before we get to the bird exhibit,” you are preparing her to understand when her teacher says “We’ll do math before we go to recess.”

Getting Real at the Zoo

Children learn by real experience. This is especially important for a child who has a language disorder. A child who has crawled under a table or thrown a ball under a chair or walked under a canopy of trees has experienced “under,” and when he reads the word “under,” or hears the word “under,” he has a better understanding of what that word means.



How would you describe this bird?

Spring brings many opportunities for families to take their children outdoors to experience nature, create memories and increase their knowledge of the world and how it works.

The Houston Zoo is an excellent resource for providing a variety of experiences for children. You might talk about the zoo and what the child would expect to see. Go online and look at pictures of a few of the animals and discuss what they look like, how big they are and what they eat. When you go to the zoo and see the animal, talk to your child about what she has already learned about the animal. When you return home, encourage your child to draw a picture of one of the animals or write a paragraph about his experience at the zoo. Read it together and remember how much fun you had.

I was at the Houston Zoo over spring break and was delighted to see the many improvements made since I was a child in the 50s going to the old-fashioned zoo. I was also delighted to see many people of all ages and abilities enjoying the zoo. Check out the Houston Zoo website and enjoy!

www.houstonzoo.org