Seldom has a presentation resonated with me as did Beth Toland’s for Iola Rotarians Thursday concerning ways to positively affect the early development of children.
The process she outlined has scientifically proven twists and turns, but there is more. When she mentioned exercise – with relationships, experiences and environment as key ingredients – it all came alive, blended with what I long have thought.
To wit: Send kids out to run and jump, do whatever it is kids like to do outdoors, without adult-dictated boundaries other than those to do with safety. In simple terms, let kids be kids. Such freedom allows kids to exercise their bodies and their minds, by deciding what to play and how to go about it. Having a few intriguing toys, such as huge foam blocks and a giant checkerboard seen during warm weather on the courthouse square, are helpful.
Over the years a trend has been to pigeon-hole kids through multiple activities — have something for them to do, as if given the opportunity they couldn’t find plenty on their own.
Toland said among things now available on area trails are markings for a round of hop-scotch and places where kids are encouraged to follow a path of walking and jumping, maybe even sitting squarely down to finger-trace intricate outlines. Other things, such as a mud kitchen, offer hands-on enjoyment.
Development also is enhanced by encouraging kids to “get off the trail and play, maybe find neat sticks” to show companions or parents. Let them pick and enjoy wildflowers, chase butterflies and marvel at squirrels coming down a tree trunk headfirst — along a trail or in your backyard.
Don’t fear. Kids are resilient.
Because a preponderance of learning occurs from birth to 5, such activities can’t come too soon, Toland said, and encouraged Rotarians to reach out to disadvantaged families that may no be equipped to foster such development.
So reach out. Nothing is more valuable than our kids.
