If children witness and understand the cycles of the natural world around them, they will better understand the importance of cycles in their own life…
During autumn, children can see the Earth winding down its activities, and they will witness the leaves change from green to purple, red, orange and gold. They will see the baby animals fully grown and leaving their parents to build a home of their own.
During winter, children can appreciate nature at rest, taking in nutrients and water, allowing itself to remain dormant and purely receive in preparation for bursting forth again in summer.
If children witness and understand the cycles of the natural world around them, they will better understand the importance of cycles in their own life – sleeping and waking, resting and doing, learning and teaching and the growing and becoming independent adults themselves.
As King Solomon wrote, “There is a time for everything.”
What better way to teach children this than to take them out into farms, parks and nature reserves during the autumn and winter months?
Catherine Hume is a social care worker specialising in mental health who also writes in her spare time. Some of her fiction can be found at http://catherinehume.wordpress.com.
