This Saturday, Dec. 6 we will be enjoying friends, atmosphere and shopping at the Nelson Waldorf School Winter Faire, 10 am to 4 pm. In my little booth, besides books and mounted illustrations for a child’s room, I have Nature Treasure plates, all to encourage ways children can connect to nature. (More ideas are offered below photo.)

We have either a sweet baby bird, or a little star child, and many tiny things from nature to to be examined and fantasized about (what is this? where do you think this came from?) and rearranged (and joined by other things the child treasures). The real value of such a little world on a plate, in my mind, comes from opening doors to invite more interactions with nature when the weather warms up.

Did you know, Rudolf Steiner teaches us that the young child’s reverence is for their environment? While playing outside as much as possible is wonderfully healthy and good, reverence is not really experienced unless the child is in solitude, or they are with an adult that models reverence and care.

“What’s this? A little ant friend. Where is he going? Let’s watch…What is he saying?…I’m looking for my home.”

“Oh, look. A little snail person…Look, she’s worried… What does she say?… Please put me back where it is shady and safe for me…There you go, little snail…Let’s see if there is another snail house around that is empty.”

“Oh, look. Another snail shell. How beautiful!…Where is the snail?…It has died. Its life has gone back to God, (or Creator, or the Universe). What did the snail say?… Thank you for my life, good-bye….But it will come back….We can put this shell on our nature treasure plate. Thank you for making a beautiful shell, snail.”

“Oh look at the beautiful flowers (or nuts, or strawberries, etc.) May we pick you?… Yes, yes we may!… Thank you, thank you!”

“Oh look at this piece of wood. It has a very strange shape. Should we take it home to our nature treasure plate? – maybe our star child can sit on it (or hang from it).

The value here is learning to connect with loving feeling and reverence for LIFE around us, and the givingness of that life. The exact scientific accuracy is entirely unimportant – the small child relates to living things according to their own model of self (person) and family and home. The beauty of this is to develop a feeling for the sacredness of life, the care we offer to that which lives around us. Reverence.

I hope to see you there!