What Nature Exploring Can Do for Your Child [ 21 



growing up with an acceptance of all the sounds and sights that 

 have a rightful place in nature's scheme. But he did not come 

 by this attitude through chance. His parents have been giving 

 him a knowledge and understanding of wildlife since he was 

 three. They have told him nature stories and taught him nature 

 lore and hobbies that have widened his world and made it more 

 enjoyable. All this will certainly contribute to a healthful serenity 

 in later years. 



You will find it easy and delightful to do the same for :y_Qur 

 child or children. You are building for the future when you instil 

 in your child a true appreciation of nature and outdoor activities. 

 No one who has this heritage is likely to become a neurotic adult. 

 His conception of the universe and our own earth and the life 

 on it, including himself, is on too grand a scale to permit petty 

 man-made problems to shatter his nerves. 



Famous People As Nature Lovers 



It is true that some children show a deep interest in flowers and 

 birds and beasts without any special encouragement from adults; 

 but if they can share their interest with their parents, the whole 

 experience becomes more vital and the bonds of family affection 

 are strengthened. Many leading citizens, who are not only famous 

 but have also been successful in their personal lives, have happy 

 childhood memories of nature exploring with their parents. 



Theodore Roosevelt's closely knit family had a wealth of such 

 shared interests, and when he was President of the United States 

 his letters to his children away at school were filled with nature 

 news. When spring came to Washington, he reported that "not 

 only are the song sparrows and robins singing, but white-throated 

 sparrows which will soon leave us for the North." The oncoming 

 of fall was noted with: "The Virginia creepers and some maple 

 and gum trees are scarlet and crimson. The oaks are deep, red 

 brown." He told of watching a mother bird bring worms to her 

 babies, of feeding elk at the zoo, and countless other incidents 

 about animals and plants. 



Mary Mapes Dodge, who won world fame with Hans Brinker 



