In the Garden activity box.
Two Melbourne mums have joined a growing worldwide movement to get children active and back in touch with nature. Their acclaimed new dvd activity box sets “In the Garden” and “By the Pond” both encourage parents and toddlers to go outdoors and explore their gardens and nearby lakes and creeks.
Research from the USA[1] and anecdotal evidence from Australian paediatricians is presenting parents with a worrying picture of the future for their over-timetabled, screen-adoring children. In his landmark work, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv coined the phrase Nature-Deficit Disorder to explain the increase in childhood obesity, ADHD, and a host of other physical and psychological problems that he connects with today’s children’s lack of interaction with nature.
Louv claims that ‘outdoor’ children are less stressed, have higher concentration, more creativity, and higher self-esteem than their ‘indoor’ peers. Yet disturbingly, 8-year-old children in the US can identify 25 per cent more Pokemon characters than wildlife species. Sadly, Australian kids aren’t immune from this trend. The parenting blogs went wild last July when PlanetArk released their research that showed that in a single generation, Australian kids have shifted their play from outdoors to indoors, and that only 1 in 5 Australian children still climb trees[2].
Louv is joined on his crusade by individuals and institutions like David Suzuki, the US government, and The World Foundation Forum (WFF), which has prioritised the need to get kids back in touch with nature, due to the global concern that ‘children in today's world are being adversely affected by their diminishing connection with the natural world.’ [3] At last year’s WFF conference in Nebraska, almost 2000 early childhood education professions from around the world met to discuss addressing the issue.
In 2007 when author Sonia Orchard and multimedia artist Martine Corompt met at a council mother’s group, they had never heard of Nature Deficit Disorder, but were drawn to the topic when they couldn’t find any available materials that encouraged toddlers to explore the wonders of nature.
“We decided to do something about it. We are both garden- and nature-lovers, and we were also concerned about the fast-pace of available media, and its clear merchandise-orientation,” Sonia said.
Released in October 2010, In the Garden caused something of a sensation among Melbourne retailers. Readings Bookstore chain named the resource Children’s Nonfiction Title of the Year for 2010, and on her website Justine Clarke says it’s her favourite pre-schooler DVD and calls it “David Attenborough for the under 5’s. Absolutely perfect”. It is also being used in childcare centres and kindergartens around the country to teach kids about the environment.
Kathy Kozlowski ,Readings’ Children’s Book Specialist, wrote in her review: “Here is a rare and lovely thing: a DVD that encourages children to turn off the box and go out and explore their own backyards!” Watching the DVD with her three year old grandson, who was transfixed, Kathy went on to write, “he wanted to go through and name all the creatures and couldn’t wait to get outside to find all the things we had seen. I hope [In the Garden] finds its way into every pre-school and kindergarten in the country, as well as young family households.”
Their new release, By the Pond, which explores life in an Australian wetland, was launched last month at the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens by Play School presenter Alex Papps who said he was ‘transfixed’ when he watched By the Pond, ‘such a beautiful, beautiful rendering of our [Australian] animals and plants’ and ‘as a child who grew up [amongst] nature, it really appealed to me.’ By the Pond has been officially endorsed by Justine Clarke who writes: “I recommend By the Pond for every young family. It is gold”.
So what’s so unique about the dvds? For starters, there is no narration or dialogue throughout the animated day and night scenes – just gorgeous music and sound design. According to Tracy Young, one of Australia’s most qualified early childhood education and environmental education professionals, this makes the dvds “like a moving book”, with parents and children encouraged to ask questions and comment on what they can see, rather than sit and passively watch. This has also made the dvd very popular with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who tend to be visual learners and can find too much verbal information confusing. Naomi Labrum, clinical director at Learning for Life, an organisation that focuses on intensive early intervention for children with ASD, says that “Without having intended to, the clever creators of this series have not only opened up the world of nature to young children, but they have managed to open up this complex world to children with an ASD also”. The dvds are also accompanied by ‘activity cards’ which are filled with information, questions and indoor and outdoor activities. Including the information on the cards mean that parents can make up a new narrative, and ask different details, every time they watch it. The parent – not the tv – becomes the nature-guide.
Sonia and Martine agree that it’s ironic that they’ve used technology to get kids away from technology. Sonia says “I grew up watching David Attenborough from a very early age with my dad. As an inner city kids, these documentaries had a profound effect on me. I think the issue with tv-watching for children and adults, is more an issue of quality. We couldn’t find any media that we were happy to put our young children in front of – visuals and sounds that would inspire them, rather than make them switch off or want to buy merchandise. Many parents have said that their toddler’s vocabulary really developed from watching ‘In the Garden’, because they’d get so excited watching the dvd, pointing and shouting out all the creatures’ names. The only complaint we’ve had has been from a dad who said that his son won’t go to bed at night because he wants to go outside to see the owl, moth and spider!’
Martine adds: ‘’It’s great that we read children fairy tales and tell them about exotic animals like elephants and giraffe, but there are so many enchanting things to be found in the familiar environment of a toddler. What could be more magical for a toddler than sitting with their parent watching a spider spin a web? But many children aren’t given the opportunity or encouragement to discover such simple pleasures”.
In the Garden and new release By the Pond use contemporary design and entertaining animation to explore the natural world: dandelions growing, flowering, producing seeds which are carried away by the wind, or by busy ants or birds; frogs laying eggs that grow into tadpoles and then into frogs; duck’s nest-building and feeding their young – all set to music and real animal noises, and at an gentle pace rarely seen on children’s television today. Each DVD is accompanied by 18 activity cards with information about the animals and plants, and questions and activities to get kids exploring outside.
In the Garden and By the Pond are available at select retail outlets and online www.beginnertime.com RRP $35.
