A Child’s Touch
“Don’t just tell your children about the world, show them.
When children are in nature, they’re not just playing in nature, they are: learning, creating, observing, sensing, believing, discovering, wondering, connecting, appreciating, experimenting, and understanding!”
-Penny Whitehouse
We believe at A Child’s Touch that children still need a childhood with gardens, waterfalls, mud, rocks, sticks, and where nature is the classroom!
Part of creating a natural environment for children involves trying to surround them with the beauty of trees, plants and bushes and natural areas for play and discovery. Unfortunately, when we came to ACT in 1989 our “backyard” and future playgrounds were basically barren except for an “acre” of weeds. We had a dream, we had a vision of what the outdoor space could be and how it could help so many children, but we had a long way to go.
We immediately began planting small trees and shrubs to transform our play space to a more natural setting. Dreaming and building of natural spaces began. Well, like anything, growth and dreams take time but our trees have certainly gown over 36 years. The castle and our three toddler playgrounds have a canopy of trees that now provide natural shade for the children. On those hot summer days our children can still feel comfortable outside to play because of this natural shade. These trees are also home to squirrels and birds which the children find fascinating. Now we are blessed with multiple sections of Nature Explore areas that span over our 15 playgrounds. And we’re not done. We continue to see the need and value of bringing this to the children and continually ask, “How can we do it better?”
This year ACT has added a special way to see the transformation of our vast play spaces. If you go to our website achildstouch.com you can view our “Drone Video” and its journey through our nature playgrounds. You can easily see the transformation from an acre of weeds in 1989 to our present playgrounds. Enjoy!
