These pictures give an insight into the mind of a Nature Kid – a young child growing up surrounded by nature and permaculture.
Take a look at these pictures drawn recently by my little boy who turned three in April. He only recently started taking an interest in drawing and now he loves it – I mean page after page after page.
This series of drawings was done in one sitting. Each picture has an amazingly in-depth story. I understand what they all mean because I sat with him and listened to his active commentary while he was drawing, or sometimes I asked him extra questions when he’d finished. I was astounded at the depth of detail he was describing, and the absolute focus he had on places in nature and the wildlife that surrounds him (real and imaginary!).
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Birds feature a lot – here Mr Bossy Boots the seagull (who Monty met on a beach outing) and a bush turkey from our garden. There are over 160 species of birds at Crystal Waters. |
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| Monty loves playing in mud and watching other animals play in the lake below our house. The sticks and mudzone are an obvious feature for him. |
He has grown up in an ecovillage spending a lot of time outdoors, in natural spaces, down at the river, around lakes, in the permaculture garden, at community gardens, playing in muddy puddles, watching wildlife – that is his daily reality. These pictures represent some of what he thinks about.
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| Rocks for rock hopping in the little river near our place.
| | One of the sections of river I think he had in mind… | |
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| This drawing Monty did as he told the story of a large creature called Jaca who met a little beetle and a snake (his story). |
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| A Sea Urchin. Monty loves going to the beach to fossick in rock pools. (He also loves David Attenborough shows and the Octonauts). |
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| The baby sea urchin looking for it’s mummy. |
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| An underwater creature – perhaps in the lake below our house. |
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| Monty is super excited about Grandad’s boat – a wooden trailer sailer he is restoring. We hope to go sailing in it later this year in the Gippsland Lakes. |
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| The night sky out here is INCREDIBLE. Monty loves going out to see what we can see, and to say ‘Hello Moon’. He sings to it. |
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| My little nature boy (it’s actually hard to find a picture with his clothes on that I can share here!) – the river is his favourite place. |
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| He loves the beach and ocean too. |
Your little man is adorable! And his art is amazing. Thank you for sharing.?
Goodmorning Morag, what an idealic childhood, your children are so blessed to be raised as a nature kid. It will stay with them through their entire lives. I love his in depth drawings.
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Fi
Love your blog Morag, lots of achievable inspiration for this middle-aged convert to permaculture and sustainability. I live in Hawkes Bay, NZ and look every few days to read your posts. Cheers, Keriann.
A beautiful blog post.
Thanks Maggie – he's certainly a character!
Thanks Jean
Thank you for your message Keriann.
Thanks for your message Fiona – I'm so glad to have the opportunity to raise them here.
My son is almost 10 months old, so this post is especially exciting. I can't wait until he can draw and talk – looks like you all are having a blast! I really enjoyed seeing your son's artwork. It makes me want to get into the nature habit again. I barely even garden or go to the park anymore. Time for a change, I think.
Thanks for writing – I hope you enjoy your outings with your little one. I have to say that I have always found it much easier inspiring my kids and keeping them engaged in the outdoors. There is just so much natural stimulation for creativity.