1
Introduction
Raking in the Beauty
One year on the first day of spring, I gave my teenage son a rake to
gather the old winter debris on our front lawn and my eight-year-
old daughter a brown paper bag to pick up blown-down branches
to use for kindling. While I pulled dead leaves from a flower bed
and my son raked nearby, my daughter paused. Her eight-year-old
mind turned profound, and she simply said, “This is a nice home.”
I looked at our home from my flower bed–level view, and I saw
what she saw. Wow! Nature had done it again. It had brought the
moment at hand to our eyes, to our fingertips, to all of our senses.
As brief as this moment was, it touched my heart deeply. “This is
the start of a new season—again,” I thought to myself. “How per-
fect to work with my children in nature!” And I knew deep within
that I wanted to share how powerfully nature has worked for me. I
want to share it with you, and you can take what you like and apply
it to your own life, your own classroom, your own philosophy.
Message from Nature
I started writing this book during a vacation to Ireland in the ear-
liest part of spring. While sitting in a sunroom overlooking the
sparkling bay of the western Dingle Peninsula, I noticed all the
shades of green and recognized how nature alone can refresh my
spirit. I looked at daffodils as though I were seeing them for the
first time. I went for walks and took in the awesome beauty of the
Cliffs of Moher, which towered more than six hundred feet above
the bay. And I spent time looking at plants that exist only in this
place. The word miraculous kept going through my mind. I found
there were many answers and sometimes hidden and mysterious
life messages within nature itself: “There is hope!” “Nothing is
impossible!” “Keep growing!”
I want to offer my proactive approach to our fast-paced world,
children’s lack of time within nature, and their deficient personal
connection with others. We need to continue to bring nature to
children and to take children to nature. Doing so again and again
is a fine antidote for our overstimulated children trying to make
sense of our unbalanced world. My strategy includes developing
Celebrate Nature_4th pages.indd 1 2/18/11 6:23:59 PM