The Ants Go Marching One by One
“The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah. . . .” Remember the beginning of the children’s marching song in which the ants continue to go “down, to the ground to get out of the rain, boom, boom, boom”? Ants are everywhere, and if you make the effort to get out and see them, they will provide not only rich lessons but also times that will feed your soul!
What are Your Ants Doing?
Perhaps the ground is warm and the sky blue with just a few clouds. You’re walking along and your child notices some ants. Down to the ground he goes to get a better look. He lies on the warm earth, head propped on his hands, and he watches. He notices patterns—a row of ants marching this way and another row marching that way. You become interested too. Soon both of you are lost in wonder as the ants wave their feelers, carry their loads, and keep to their work. Later you talk about what you have seen that morning.
But wait! The ants just keep marching, and the ground is sometimes warm, but who goes outside these days? How many fresh air walks do we take where we might actually encounter some real live ants? Have you lost contact with the dust of the earth as well as the creatures that God made? If you have, what can you do about that?
Outdoor Time
It would be easier to make “outdoor time” each day a priority if you were convinced it was truly important. Indeed, the Bible has much to say about various parts of the Lord’s creation: ants, stars, creatures, rocks, and so forth. Most precious of all is the idea that we can know God by what He has made and that He can teach a lifetime of lessons through what He has created. Those are two important reasons for returning to the outdoors, at least for brief times.
Yet, there is so much more. You can add to your day walks in the mornings or evenings—on sunny days as well as cloudy ones. These times outdoors will allow you and your children to notice the habits and ways of creatures as well as plants (like discovering that the heads of certain flowers move during the day according to the position of the sun).
Soul Feeding
However, an important addition to all of the above is that the mere act of being outdoors and absorbing what it can do for your soul, as you cultivate the habit of drawing near to the Lord’s creation, does something deep inside a person—children and adults.
Time spent outdoors simply walking, lying under a tree, sitting quietly on a stone ledge, or gazing up at the stars releases tensions and brings times of peace, often joy, comfort, and deep tranquility. All this the Lord has so abundantly and graciously provided, yet many are perhaps still suffering from being too much an “inside people.”
Parent, Lead the Way
In the days to come, don’t you long for your children to know how to find breaks from the tensions of their surrounding culture and of the world’s events? Then why don’t you lead the way outdoors? Spend time learning how to enjoy the ants and stars and whatever is in your own natural space. Take time to let the Lord teach you and fill your soul.
Keep in mind, on an outing, that at first you don’t even have to talk. Your children can just walk and watch, or sit and search, or lay and look. Indeed, you can target some days just for soul feeding. Simply take in as much as you can of all in your surroundings.
When it’s finally time for some conversations, you can discuss the shape of ants, how many legs, how many antenna, and such. You and your children can ponder if ants behave differently during the morning or the evening or if they change their routine when it is about to rain. Have you found ants in different sizes and colors? Are some of their anthill mounds larger than other mounds? You can let eager questions lead to research, finding books at the library, or searching for information on the Internet until all inquiries are finally satisfied.
Ant Lessons
Reminded by an “ant text” in the Bible, your child may ponder what the Lord means by His references to the tiny creatures, and he can grow from such thoughts, as well as worship the One who has made such wonders.
What if watching these little insects would lead to a story. Perhaps there is a young Beatrix Potter-type author in your household, who might utilize personification to transform the amazing ants into a host of characters in a wonderful tale, while another of your children might want to chronicle a nonfiction work.
I’m not suggesting that you turn a warm morning of ant watching into a “have-to” assignment, but rather that such a story or nature journal piece might naturally come from times like these, because your children want to capture and work with the wonders they have seen. It’s a joy to provide or encourage times of outdoor exploration and discovery that might lead to such creative works! Permitting time for this type of spontaneous creative outlet is another form of feeding a child’s soul.
If lessons and deep times of soul feeding, more lessons, and more deep times of feeding the soul continue to flow from something as tiny as an ant—not a cyber ant, not an ant from a book, but a real living ant in the great outdoors—then spending the time to visit nature truly is important. So, sing the song aloud with joy, march along with abandon, and see what your ants are doing today!
©2009 Homeschooling Today magazine, Nehemiah Four, LLC