Watering the Rocks

I recently read The Day the Crayons Died or the Straw that Broke Mam Bean's Back. It's long but I think it's worth reading and thinking about.

I was reading this on my iPhone while I was also outside watching my kids:

Austin all dressed up for his government simulation camp and waiting for his ride

Nyah racing around on her bike

Olivia & Jolie playing Go Fish on the front porch

And my sweet Sophie watering the rocks in our yard.

Yes, watering the rocks.

It started when I turned on the hose to water a dry spot in the lawn. Sophie commandeered the hose as all almost-3-year-olds do, pretended to help me water the lawn for a minute, then splashed the bushes a bit, before settling down to the serious business of watering the rocks.

As I read Mama Bean's words and watched Sophie, I could hear the voices of possible critics in my head:

Why is she watering the rocks?

Rocks don't need water!

She's wasting the water!

What a waste of time!

She should be doing "XYZ" instead.

What's the point?

What's the value?

What could she possibly be learning?

I realize some people may have a hard time recognizing the value of what she was doing and what she was learning. After all, it's impossible to measure the thoughts and conclusions of an almost-3-year-old as she explores the world around her.

But let's dust off the "scientific method" from our elementary school days and see what we can come up with for a possible hypothesis!

What happens when I water the grass? What happens when I water this bush? 

What happens when I water the rocks? Why are the rocks changing colors? Why are they all different colors?

 What happens when I spray the concrete? 

What happens when I water Nyah? 

What happens when I water Mom? 

What about these bigger rocks? This bigger bush? 

What happens when I water this dirt? What happens when I step in it? 

What happens when I gab the end of the hose? 

Cause and effect, biology, physics, hands on experimentation - the possibilities are endless! 

This particular morning all of my kids were engaged in this type of real-life, hands-on learning:

Austin sat with me on the porch sharing his ideas, theories, and philosophies about what he'd been doing at camp while snuggling with Dade (who has missed his boy so much this week) until his ride came and he was off for another day of camp.

While Nyah was riding her bike she accidentally rode down the side of the house and stumbled upon 3 deer grazing in the backyard which we all tiptoed down to watch until they bounded off. She was annoyed when Sophie got her pants wet, but then dashed off the change clothes and join in the fun.

Olivia & Jolie grabbed the cards and played Go Fish all on their own - Olivia teaching Jolie how to play as they went along. Then they started riding their scooters and bikes down the hill - racing and laughing (and later crashing - more on that in another post). 

It was a beautiful!