We have some new friends here in Canada, and pretty much every Wednesday they meet at the Riverwood Conservancy in Mississauga to spend time playing in nature.

Most times, it’s a river walk - we walk to the river or stream and let the children play as they wish. They catch frogs, build forts, set up shops and sell acorns, build dams and waterfalls, climb the “mountain” (a hill) or do anything else they can imagine. We always leave covered in mud and soaking wet, but exhilarated, uplifted, and refreshed.

Today, we didn’t head to the water. One of the moms brought bird seed and knew a spot where we might tempt the wild chickadees. Jack, Maria, and Danny (and me!) all hand fed the birds, and it was soooo cool. You must stand still and quiet, which was itself a feat with all the children around. You put some seeds in your hand, and hold it up, palm flat. The birds fly close and check you out, and then if you’re lucky, they’ll land on your hand and eat the bird seed!

Many other birds came close in the branches, but only the chickadees landed on us. The rest waited until we left. I looked back as we walked away and their patience had paid off… they ate the feast of spilled seeds on the ground.

Children learn so much from experiences like this. They learned about being gentle and patient. They learned compassion and turn taking; they helped each other try to land a bird; they learned names of birds and which seeds different kinds of birds prefer (chickadees seem to like sunflower seeds); they learned stewardship as we cleaned up after ourselves; they thought critically about why the birds would come to us in this particular spot (close to a bird feeder); they strategically tested different ways to land a bird; most of all they learned the wonder of God’s world, and the magic of nature.