Letting Nature Teach

I took the boys to the Dollar Tree yesterday to re-stock some of our craft supplies, and we stumbled across some magnifying glasses.  They are not anything of high quality, but I figured the perfect way to introduce the concept of exploring and looking at how things are not always as they appear.

We finally had a break in the rain and extreme humidity this morning, so we ventured up to Kent Falls.  On the way there, I had Pierce take a guess about whether the waterfall would be moving fast or slow (he guessed fast), and why it would be doing what he had guessed.  He told me that with all of the rain, the water has to go somewhere and it all goes to the same place.  Not bad for 3 year old logic.  :)  Both boys also had their magnifying glasses in their hands ready to explore.

The first part of the morning we stayed below the falls and looked at the ants crawling in the moss through the magnifying glasses.  Pierce figured out that he can change the size of the ant by moving the glass closer to the ant, or farther away.  Carter enjoyed using the magnifying glass as a way to look at the rocks under water and the flowers.  Then the boys realized they could swim in front of the falls, and we ventured up.  Pierce was even more excited when he realized that the falls were moving very swiftly due to all of the recent rain.

We spent about 2 hours playing in the waterfall with the dog.  I even let them venture up to the second tier of the waterfall, where Pierce tried to convince me to let him ride it down, since he is a big boy now.  Carter did not mind the fact that the water was ice cold. He actually had a ton of fun in it, watching the sticks go downstream, and laughing at mommy trying to find more crayfish. 

We even took a little hike to the top of the falls, where Pierce started realizing the rocks were carved into different shapes due to the water flow. I am so proud of Carter, since he actually hiked all the way to the top and did not want to be carried. 

All of a sudden the skies became black and it started to pour. With thunder off in the distance, I made the boys evacuate the park. On the way home Pierce was telling me how much fun he had being outside and learning about waterfalls and using the magnifying glass. I asked Carter if he wanted to go back to the waterfall. His response?  "Glasses again!"  I guess that means this lesson was successful. :)