As “Rock Band” plays on in my basement, I can’t stop pouring over the pages of this old children’s poetry book. A friend of mine recently read some articles on the lack of contact that today’s young children have with nature. I am still not going to be planting a flower garden anytime soon, but these thoughts and this poem have inspired me. Does anyone know anything about butterbean tents or any other great, natural outdoor play spaces for children?
The Butterbean Tent (by Elizabeth Madox Roberts)
All through the gardent I went and went,
And I walked in under the butterbean tent.
The poles leaned up like a good tepee
And made a nice little house for me.
I had a hard brown clod for a seat,
And all outside was a cool green street.
A little green worm and a butterfly
And a cricket-like thing that could hop
went by.
Hidden away there were flocks
and flocks
Of bugs that could go like little clocks.
Such a good day it was when I spent
A long,long while in the butterbean tent.
My grandma used to make tents from beanpoles but I rarely played inside them. I preferred to walk in her phlox and pick bouquets for the kitchen table.
Our girls are so excited about our property in Mahomet. Thing 3 keeps asking — when we move out there, can we be *farmers*? like it’s some mystical occupation.
By: fruittart on June 25, 2008
at 1:38 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beanpole tent. It does sound like there are a lot of bugs to observe inside the tent, which might not be appealing to everyone.
Our kids have made a little house out of a big pine tree on the side of our lawn.My cooler was lost for months and found in there.
I sure didn’t appreciate growing up “out in the country” like I do now. It’s nice that your kids will know both enviornments and be able to appreciate what they have!
By: ktshea on June 25, 2008
at 2:00 pm
I have heard of a sunflower house. You plant them in lines where you want the walls to be. After they have grown tall, you have a shady little house (rectangular, circular, oval, etc. Just make sure you leave an opening for a doorway.
Sunflowers are pretty hardy, and easy to grow, and don’t require any support stakes or anything.
By: egana on July 8, 2008
at 11:43 am
We’ve been “nature journaling” in our weekly art class. I have expanded that activity somewhat, to include a picnic and some free exploration.
So they draw / paint for their class, then we talk and play and eat our picnic, then the kids run around and explore while the grownups talk some more, or we all go exploring together. Piggy-backing off the art class has been really fun.
It always seems as though we need several hours to actually enjoy the outdoors. It takes about a hour for the kids to stop complaining about how boring everything is and to get interested in their surroundings. At least, that is what it is like when we simply go to a park.
But the nature journaling the kids are doing in this art class seems to dray them in more quickly and specifically so that when the class is done, they already have ideas of areas they want to explore. The outdoors portion of this art class has been the highlight of our school year.
By: egana on July 8, 2008
at 11:50 am
ummm… thats “draw them in” not “dray them in.”
*grin*
By: egana on July 8, 2008
at 11:51 am
My grandfather planted ‘pole beans’. He would stand long poles in a circle, stick them in the ground and tie them at the top to keep them together. He planted the beans at the base of the poles. The poles were for the beans to run up. I never played inside one but it sounds like fun. But this sounds like a butterbean tent.
By: D'Ann on January 20, 2009
at 7:25 pm