A Case for Curiosity

"The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings..."--Robert Louis Stevenson

Curiosity is a curious thing. I'm full of it and I wonder if its innate.  If not, where does it come from?  Who has it?  How do you get it? And most importantly, why does it matter...or does it?

When it comes to the natural world I've been a curiosity seeker since I was a littl girl.  As a matter of fact, you could have easily followed my nature ramblings (which were frequent in my formative years) by following all the turned over rocks I picked up.  I had a mesmerizing fascination with the idea of what might be under that rock even though the looking terrified me.  I guess you could call it a morbid curiousity!
That said, I remember a day last summer when I had an opportunity to pay the curiousity forward to my oldest granddaughter, Meredith.  She had spent a few days with us on our ranch.  Her visit occured during the deepest part of summer here in this beautiful Wallowa Valley.  At that time of year there is an especially bewitching hour in the day that could (and sometimes does) cast a slightly melancholy spell on me.  Sitting talking to Meredith, that melancholy moment burst upon us--just before dusk--when birds begin to roost, talking quietly amongst themselves while settling in for the night.  Yet, at the same time other--more nocturnal creatures--are gearing up for a night of slaughter and possible mayhem.
I am curious about those birds and wonder to myself:  Are they chattering away in hushed tones to a husband after a long and busy day like I sometimes do with mine?  Do they have the same worries I do--the same concerns?  I'll never know on this earth, but I sort of like the idea it is so. (Note to self:   Ask God about this when you get to heaven.)
As I listened on I realized all the other night sounds were gearing up as well, like some huge forest symphony, softly rehearsing in nature's orchestra pit.  I was caught up in the wild song, until my granddaughter's voice brought me back.
"Marmee, you said we could go to the Killing Tree.  I want to see it."
The voice shakes me out of my mood and turns my thoughts to what I call the Killing Tree that I've told Merideth about. This huge old Weeping Willow is something I pass every day and often at this time of the night, going to and from town.  The tree's fantastic shape and bushy undergrowth holds that morbid curiosity for me reminiscent to overturning rocks and especially after I'd seen so many owls hanging about there.
Owls seem to love that old tree. You can hardly see the ground beneath it because it's such an overgrown tangled, mass of leaves and limbs.  Just out a little ways from the tree there is a grouping of four scraggly old wooden posts stuck in a square pattern by the swampy area next to the tree. (I'm guessing it used to fence something in or out, but the wire is long gone now.)  
Once, passing by it on my way home, I counted four owls on or near the tree--three on those posts--facing each other like overgrown, stuffed chess pieces.  Another owl perched in the tree above looked vacant, appearing to take no notice of the goings on below him.  No doubt about it, it was time for Meredith and I to go exploring the Killing Tree.
We hopped into my flatbed truck and headed off down the road.  I told Mer to bring a sack with her.  She was curious about that, but I told her to wait and see.
We arrived with a little daylight to spare, but not much. Even in the day time being under that tree was a spooky affair, but towards dusk it was down right eery.  I don't know all that much about owls; but I do know they are efficient killing machines, who feed on rhodents and other small birds. I've heard they'll take cats and kittens and even small dogs, and I beleve it.  A cold blooded more calloused fellow, I've never encountered in the bird world! 
I explained to Meredith that we would be looking for owl pellets.  These queer things are oblong-shaped like a small pine cone and are the macabre remains of what the birds regurgitate after eating all those bony meals, I told her.  The skeletal leftovers are encased inside the pellets and you can dissect them  and quite literally rebuild the skeleton of a mouse--or whatever other tasty morsel they've devoured! 
Our Tree did not disappoint us--it was FULL of littered pellets all over the ground beneath it.  Not only that, but there were many bones--some quite large--lying about as well.  We saw claws that looked like they may have belonged to hawks; they were that big and the odds and ends of beaks--lots of beaks. 
It was more than creepy but it sated our curiousity for that day.  Meredith collected all she wanted and we headed home.  It wasn't that much time involved, but I'm hoping that by sharing the Killing Tree with my granddaughter it will start her on a life-long pursuit of curiosity and a love of learning that she can someday pass on to her children.
What are the ways you've helped instill curiousity into your child or grandchild?  Here are a few simple suggestions to start you on your way to making the case for curiousity a little easier.

1. Great books read aloud with enthusiasm and drama make children naturally want more.
2. Connect your children to interesting and unusual people. Our oldest son was mentored by a wonderul older man who was a first rate woodsmen and by a woman who was an expert on Native American aboriginal skills.
3. Make any road trip into a curiousity thrill by taking side trips or by stopping at out of the way places.  My husband was famous for encouraging spontaneous new routes or screeching to a sudden halt at spots that looked interesting to the children.
4. Spend time outside.  It may sound simple but forages in the forest, meadows, mountains or even a nice park during the spring to hunt and identify wild flowers (for example) is a wonderful way to pique a child's natural curiousity and interest.  Charlotte Mason, an unusual British educator, said the ideal world for a child had nature at its doorstep.  She felt that organized lessons should only take up the morning, so that children could freely play in and enjoy the gardens, meadows, wood and lanes of England every afternoon. ("For the Children's Sake" by Susan Schaeffer McCaulay)
5. Instill curiousity for learning by modeling that desire and enthusiasm with your child.  One of my friend's related to me that her father built her bedroom around an old tree on their property.  The tree was living in the middle of her room where she kept a tiny falcon she'd rescued. 
6. Provide "delight directed" activities capitalizing on their interests.  We homeschooled and this provided the perfect environment to develop a curriculum that allowed their natural interests to flourish.  Our oldest son's love of learning about aboriginal skills lead to his making a book on the subject that subsequently netted him a scholarship into the school he chose.
7. Find ways to make the commonplace and everyday creative because creativity naturally builds curiousity.  I have a friend who said there was no such thing as a non-creative person.  We all have it in us [creativity], she said.  But just like a muscle, it needs exercising to become stronger.
8. Encourage your children to ask questions--lots of questions, especially about other's lives.  (But be prepared, it can be a little scarey!)
9. Provide lots of hands on activities that connect with all their senses.  Try to avoid coloring books, but rather provide them with lots of great kinds of paper, quality colored pencils and crayons, brushes and good watercolors and whatever else they need to build their curiousity and imagination.
10. Encourage make believe and imagination in all its glorious forms.  We used to call our backyard at the "Tacky Trailer Park" we owned The 100 Acres Wood, straight from "Winnie the Pooh".   (That really took imagination, but I bet if I asked my kids about a favorite place they lived, they'd say that trailer park.)
11. Allow them to explore, even if it's borderline dangerous! (and then pray like heck the Lord will keep them safe!)  My husband was brilliant at this, though I did often pray fervently every time he turned them loose on one or another adventure they'd concocted.
12. Make pets a part of your life, even if it's just a parakeet. It's amazing to watch and experience all the curious and silly things they do!
13. Get rid of your TV.  You'll be amazed at how much more creative and curious they become. This means limiting time on the computer and video watching too.

This list is just a beginning, I look forward to hearing from all my blog friends on how you make the case for curiousity!

~Happy Trails~

Hey Man, Paraphrase That!

Each Wednesday I make the trek to town for a writing class I am co-teaching with my oldest daughter, Christi.  I don't pretend to be a great writer or great writing teacher, but I do have enthusiasm and a modicum of imagination.  Some years back I discovered the easiest way to teach writing is through literature. Ever since, part of each class time is dedicated to some type of book I read aloud. Generally, I try to present great writing, but not always.  A secondary goal is to gain their attention and interest, so variety is important as well. And sometimes it's good to see what bad writing looks like!
A few weeks back I presented some passages from "Letters to Street Christians, by two brothers from Berkeley.  (I was first introduced to this book when Rahn and I  went to the home of Roy and Karen Knecht to meet and discuss the courtship of "our children", Henry and Anna.) As the Knechts and Hostetters talked in the kitchen about that subject, Henry and his three adult siblings were sitting around in the living room reading excerpts out loud to each other. Occasionally, we would hear peels of laughter coming from the other room as they read this "hippy"  paraphrase of the Bible's New Testament.
Evidently, the book came into Roy's possession  during his days working with Jim Wilson at a bookstore in Moscow, Idaho called "The Dawn Treader".  The shop no longer exists but when it did, it was probably more about evangelism than just selling books.) 
 I chose the Berkeley author's paraphrase from I Corinthians 13, "The Love Chapter" to read to my students:

If God's love is controlling you, you will be patient and kind.  You won't get jealous, won't brag about yourself, you won't be thinking about impressing people, won't have to grab at places of importance or go after things for yourself.  You won't get upset by what people say and do to you or get hassled up at people who burn you. If you're being controlled by God's love, you'll be hurt to see people rip off others and you'll really be happy when things which are true and right happen.  God's love can take anything that's thrown at it; it never stops trusting and never gives up hope; it just never quits.  In fact, man, when everything else is smashed, God's love still stands.  If you have the God-given ability to know his will and purpose, it will pass away.  If you can rap in unknown languages, far-out, but someday all God's children will speak the same language.  And the things we know will someday appear stupid in the face of the real truth. What we know and experience now is so far short of the truth, and what we say shows it.  When Jesus comes back and everything is perfect, we won't need these inadequate things..."

Since we are always trying to get them writing--impromptu as well-- I asked them to produce their own version of this famous Biblical chapter.  Though a simple and  short assignment (they had about 15 minutes), I was pleased at each student's unique twist on the passage, plus it made me see an old familar piece in a fresh light. Here they are:

 Elliot Robertson

"Love isn’t in the habit of failing. But prophecies will be quieted,tongues will be shut up, and where people know things, they will forget. For we partly know and partly prophesy, but when we get to be perfect, we won’t be imperfect anymore. When I was a kid, I chattered like one, thought like one, and used childish logic. When I grew up and became a man, I gave up all those childish things. Right now we just see a warped mirror image; later we will see face to face. Right now, our knowledge is limited; in the future it will be as unlimited as the knowledge of us." 

Ashley Parker

"Love is patient and kind. It is not jealous, it does not brag, it is not snotty or stuck up. Love is not rude, or selfish, and love is not uptight; Love does not have people walking on pins and needles. Love does not keep a tally board for every time someone messes up. Love finds no pleasure in wickedness- but it is excited for truth. Love always protects, keeps trusting, keeps hoping, and always presses on."

Nathaniel Robertson

"Love never fails. Prophecies will come to pass, voices will fall silent, and knowledge will be forgotten. We know and prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect version shall fall away. When I was a child, my ways were the ways of a child; childish speech, childish thought, and childish reasoning. These ways I put behind me when I became a man. Now we see the world as seeing a friend in mirror. In the future we will see the world as clearly as if we were standing face to face with all of our friends. Now I know part of things, but at that time I will know completely, just as you completely know me."

Anna Hurley

"Even if I talk special languages like the angels, but I don’t love people I’m as bad as a bunch of noisy pots and pans banging together, which is no good. Even if I could predict the future and know everything in the whole world, even if I could make mountains get up and move just by believing, but I don’t love anybody, I’m just plain worthless. Even if I gave everything I got to poor folks and get burned up in the fire, but I don’t got love, I’ve got nothing.

I think all the students did a great job.  As to "Letters to Street Christians" I'll let you, dear reader, be the judge as to whether it's good or bad literature!  I will say, however, as silly as some of the paraphrase seems, the book doesn't do a bad job of trying to keep the intent of the passages. 
Perhaps, most importantly for me, it not only served as a springboard for a writing exercise and to make them think; but it also made me reflect back to that time--my era--those crazy 60's and 70's.  So much so, that I just had to include a picture of Rahn and I then.
This picture hangs on the wall by my computer to serve as a reminder of those "good old days" when we were young.  I must thank Cindy Barley for this one!  Some years back she dug it up at my parent's home.  She made copies for all my children, as well as for us, and sent it out one Christmas.  Included in the package was a note that said we all had to open the present at the same time.  My kids loved it and for years each one hung the picture where ever they lived. 

Here's hoping you dig it!

the end!

Run to "My Book House"

As a mother and now a grandmother I know it's never too soon to introduce your child or grandchild to the best the world has to offer in the way of books and art. (Okay, not a mother or grandmother yet? Stay with me here, unless you have absolutely no interest in children or books A-tal!) If you do, run--don't walk--to find your nearest collection of "My Book House" (unless, of course, you have your own personal frog who can carry you there).

C. S. Lewis said, "if a book is worth reading at 5 it should be worth reading at 50". That quote has inspired me to become a collector of children's books as well as all the other kinds of tomes the world has to offer. Starting a child out early loving the printed word and picture is a worthy task for any mother/grandmother. Giving them a desire for books--great books--is a goal which will equip them in their pursuit and love of learning for the rest of their life.

"My Book House" is a simply wonderful series of children's books that are copyrighted as far back as 1920 and were edited by Olive Beaupre Miller. She obviously had good taste. (The last sets were printed in 2000, but look for the older volumes. There are six to twelve volumes, depending on the year.)  Miller did her utmost to provide children with rich content not only in picture but in word as well.  Her choice of colors, authors, material and artists put her in a class of her own as an editor.

Her own words describe the value of the collection best:

In My BOOK HOUSE, I have tried to give children the best in literature, gathered from the greatest authors of the past and present, and from our rich heritage of old folk tales, told from generation to generation in every country in the world. But I have selected those stories with care. Avoiding those tales where evil traits of character, such as lying and cheating to gain one's ends, have been made to appear good, I have chosen only those where truly desirable qualities invite the child's admiration. I have tried also to grade all this material as wisely as possible, that the child might have the right story at the right age, and to put it forth so beautifully illustrated that it would be irresistable to him. Here, in these twelve volumes, adult and child can enter, hand-in-hand, a wonderful realm of imagination and beauty, portrayed in the best literary forms of verse and prose....

"The permanent value of My BOOK HOUSE arises from the fact that at the time of its inception, I had no pet theory of education to advance.... I was in search of fundamentals, simple fundamentals, which must remain eternally true. Chaos then existed and is, unfortunately, still permitted to exist, in the realm of reading for children. They were being given stories, ethically sound, all jumbled up with those where the ethical slant was bad, and stories for the older children were being read to the child when he was too young, overwhelming him with fright and confusion by presenting to him characters and situations far beyond his understanding at the moment. Out of this chaos I was trying to bring order, an order that could never be disturbed. So let me review a few basic principles, with which I emerged from my search and on which I built My BOOK HOUSE.

"First,--To be well equipped for life, to have ideas and the ability to express them, the child needs a broad background of familiarity with the best in literature.

"Second,--His stories and rhymes must be selected with care that he may absorb no distorted view of life and its actual values, but may grow up to be mentally clear about values and emotionally impelled to seek what is truly desirable and worthwhile in human living.

"Third,--The stories and rhymes selected must be graded to the child's understanding at different periods of his growth, graded as to vocabulary, as to subject matter and as to complexity of structure and plot.

"On those three simple fundamentals My BOOK HOUSE was built."

I've often told my children they will never be able to devour all the great books available, so why spend one moment on the mundane or unworthy trash that's out there? If true then, how much more so now?  So, what are you waiting for!  Hop on your frog NOW and find this amazing set of children's books! 

The End!