Teaching Respect for Nature

Hello My Army of Parents,

Spring is in the air and there is no better time to help our children see and recognize the beauty of the earth and what's around them, so that they can learn how to show respect for their surroundings.  This is a very important etiquette skill and one that benefits all of society.  When Spring comes, we are reminded of the little things that the Lord has created in order for us to enjoy and have beauty around us.  We see the delicacy of the flowers, the beautiful fresh green that is only seen in the Spring.  We hear the chirping of baby birds and the buzzing of bees.  It's really amazing.

As we point out the miracles around us, we help our children recognize this beauty as gifts, as special things that should be admired and appreciated.   Hear is an example of a conversation with a young child.

"Wow.  Stand still for a moment.  Close your eyes.  What do you hear?  Do you hear happy sounds or sad sounds?  Yes, they sound very happy.  Now open your eyes.  What do you see?  What colors do you see?  What shapes do you see?  Have you ever seen a picture with so many colors as what your eyes see at this very moment?  How happy it makes me to see such beauty.  How happy it makes me feel when things are fresh, new, clean and vibrant.  Sometimes, we can be careless with the beauty of the earth.  Sometimes, we aren't careful with where we put our trash, or where we step or what we leave behind.  If everyone was careless, what would this world look like?  Think for a moment, what if we walked out of our house one morning and our yard was covered in trash?  How would it make us feel?  Yes, angry. Sad. Confused. Frustrated.  We would wonder, who would do such a thing?  Who would be so inconsiderate as to place trash on our yard.  It's our yard.  We love our yard.  We want it to be nice, so that we can run and play in our yard.  We want it to be clean, so it's attractive and a place we can enjoy.  Every place on this earth is someone's yard, someone's street, someone's sidewalk, someone's flower bed.  We must be considerate of the earth, so that we all might enjoy it.  Let's try harder to be careful that we leave the earth just like we find it.  Let's help to beautify our surroundings to show our gratitude for nature and all its splendor."

As parents, never miss an opportunity to point out the wonders of nature.  

Stop and admire the sunset, the rainbow, the storm cloud.  As we continually show our admiration and love for nature, our children will develop this same appreciation.  This increases our love for the earth which is what encourages respect, care and responsibility.

It's hard to expect our children to behave with respect towards anything that they have not developed a love for.

Have a beautiful week,
Monica Irvine, a.k.a. Mary Manners

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