The children I saw running and joyfully jumping up and down in the thick, sweet clover seemed to be playing some sort of game, laughing and calling to one another. One unhappy young boy hung back, trying to make the others stop; as I got closer, I understood why. The “game” they were playing was called “kill the bees”; the object was to jump on and squash as many bees as possible.
In vain, this boy tried to keep his friends from their destruction of creatures as complex and valuable as the bees. What do you know about bees? How do they make honey? How do they find their hives? How do they make their hives?
As the giant soap bubbles formed by the large hoop began floating upward, the children ran gleefully toward the bubbles, arms outstretched, faces filled with determination ... and they slapped and clapped their hands together to burst every bubble they could reach. Two children tried to keep the bubbles intact, reaching out gently to let them rest on soapy hands, their faces filled with wonder and awe at the magic they saw. Bubbles after bubbles streamed past, the wonder of such incredible creations seemingly lost on all but a few who tried to hold on to the fragile, fleeting magic. Do you know how bubbles form? Can you explain what makes them rainbow-hued and iridescent? Why are they round instead of oval or square?
Bubbles and bees ... two fascinating and complex examples of the wonder and magic of our world ... objects, for many children, to destroy. The children stepping on the bees had no sense of the importance to our complex ecological system of the bees ... they did not place any value on the seemingly insignificant life of such creatures ... and were unwilling to listen to the boy who tried to stop them. The youngsters popping the bubbles took more pleasure from destroying than from watching the bubbles gently glisten as they floated about. None questioned why or what or how.
Our world is filled with magical and wonderful things children know little about unless adults help to make the magic and work to keep the wonder alive. Children ask questions about their world ... why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? How do fish know where to go underwater? Why can’t I see the wind? What keeps an airplane in the air? Children need adult help with answers and experiments to encourage learning for themselves.
Maybe children don’t value bees, bubbles, or other wonder-filled objects because adults who don’t know answers or won’t take time to answer or to help children discover answers for themselves discourage questioning and experimenting. Almost every new idea begins with “I wonder” ... Henry Ford wondered ... so did Edison, Ben Franklin, and thousands of others who have changed our world. They saw the world as wonder-filled and we must teach our young children to do the same. The magic of childhood is in that sense of wonder and excitement, valued, supported, encouraged and protected by adults.
