Recently while at the library, we checked out a book of poems geared towards encouraging outdoor play, entitled “A Stick is an Excellent Thing.”  It’s by Marilyn Singer, with charming illustrations by LeUyen Pham.  One of my favorite poems is the one that the book is named by.  I love it because it creates a beautiful imagery of what happens when children are allowed to let their imaginations run free during unstructured outdoor play times (what we refer to as “green hours” around here.)  

Specifically, it reminds me of this special stick that C found out at the crag recently.  In my mind it looks exactly like a gun, but C adamantly refers to it as his “camera” (and I’m not about to correct him!).  Each and every knob, bend, and gnarl on the stick has a purpose – ie, “here’s how you turn it on, here’s what you push to take the picture, here’s where you see the picture, etc.”  

So with that in mind, the poem seemed worth sharing on here (and the whole book is definitely worth a trip to the library for, as it’s been in C’s arsenal of bedtime books ever since we brought it home!)

What creative uses have your children come up with for everyday items in nature?