Seeds, Bees, and Chaos In Motion

 Seizing the Chaos at the Pond's Edge

Today we took a walk.

We didn't pack any field guides or clipboards. We didn't have a plan. What we did have was open eyes, gentle hands, strong legs, and hearts ready to be enthralled with the wonders around us. That's enough. In fact, that is more than enough required to seek adventure. 

It was calm and overcast, but even without the sun, the pond was dancing with sparkling ripples. The trees standing in reverence and protection at its side, birds weaving on invisible lines through the air. It's a storm pond, sure. But today it was something sacred. 

We touched everything. The children stroked the leaves and petals with curious fingers, comparing textures like the young scientists in muddy shoes: Soft, smooth, fuzzy, and even, for those brave enough, prickly. They noticed and talked about everything. The vocabulary possibilities were limitless. 

"Bees eats the flowers"

The children picked clover and dandelions, but not all of them.

"Bees eats the flowers," one child declared.

I also explained that flowers are the way the plant makes seeds for new flowers. This idea was passed from one child to the next like a treasured secret. 

"Flowers make the seeds", they whispered.

Make a BIG wish....

We blew parachute seeds into the air and watched them drift in the air. Over and over, giggling and delighted, they sent the seeds soaring. 

We met a 6-month-old Yorkie puppy who accepted love from every small hand. 

We watched bees drink nectar from fireweed and we talked about pollination and honey making. One child quietly whispered, Bees are fuzzy like kittys". I told them I think bees are magical, and most of them seem to agree.

We pointed out ducks on the water, ripples hinting at fish below, and tried to guess the name of a bright redheaded bird that none of us could identify. A mystery that still lingers in the back of my mind, as the little mystery would not let me get close enough to get a good picture. 

"Its not often we get to use our sense of taste when in nature"

The Saskatoon berries, ripe ones, not two ripe ones, and those still waiting, drew the children like treasure hunters. They observed, selected, collected, and brought them home. Them and taste at the moment all over again. The more senses we use when we're learning, the greater the joy and experiential knowledge we gain. It's not often we get to use our sense of taste in nature, but it's very special when we can. 

We also saw rose hips, but they were still green. We also explored pine cones and spruce cones, causing sticky fingers of curiosity as we touched, smelled, and looked at these miracles of nature. 

Their feet, attached to their brains so full of curiosity that they could not stay on the path because the world was just too interesting on either side, Ran from one side of the path to the other drinking in everything they see like the little sponges they so often are at this age.

Reflecting Through the FLIGHT Lens

This wasn't just a walk.

it was a spontaneous explosion of:

Play and Playfulness - blowing dandelion fluff, running down paths, chasing flying seeds.

Seeking- Every question, every discovery, every "What's that"? Whispered into the wind.

Caring- Learning not to pick every flower, watching bees quietly, letting the duck float undisturbed.

Participating- With the world, with each other, with nature as both stage and co-actor.

Persisting- When the right colored berries were hard to spot, when the thistle stung a fingertip, when the grass got thick and tall, making it hard to walk through.

These are the learning dispositions that matter, not just for school readiness, but for life. They don't come from curriculum checklists. They come from being in the world, from seizing the chaos.

Seize the Chaos, Always

If we tried to plan this experience, if we tried to package it neatly, we would have missed the best parts. The moment the red bird landed. The flow of seeds catching the wind. The feel of a Thistle's prick. The taste of a berry plucked fresh by one's own fingers. The sound of a Red-Winged-Blackbird trilling in the bullrushes.

We didn't create the magic. 

We just showed up for it. 

That's what Seizing the Chaos looks like in early learning. 

Messy. 

Honest. 

Full of Beauty. 

Full of life. 

Let this be a reminder: 

The setting doesn't need to be perfect. 

The plan doesn't need to be polished. 

The learning is already happening. 

If we let it.

We just have to remember to follow our little seeds into their tornadoes, and just keep floating along with them into the chaos!