A Healthy Childhood Takes Time

We live in a fast world. Life is busy, full and often rushed. Although our sense of time may be skewed due to all the hurrying, time remains a precious resource. Have you ever noticed that when you are fully present, time seems to stand still or to expand? Those experiences are soul nourishing. That's what we want for our young children. Early Childhood takes time, it's about experiencing life in its breadth or wholeness. At the Rose Garden, we are fully present to the slow change of the seasons, daily life, weekly rhythms including the slow rising and baking of the bread; we take time to attend to what is happening. In the springtime, we plant wheat grass seeds in little baskets, place them near a window, water them and then watch for them to grow. First a little green pokes out and then, slowly and steadily, our basket fills with spring green grass. I love to hear stories about children who have come to the Rose Garden and had these life experiences. Recently, a teacher from a school visited and told me about a girl in her classroom who came from the Rose Garden. This teacher noticed how the girl utilizes time well; she is interested in what is happening around her and is never bored. She is content to play alone or with others. I remember this little girl when she came to the Rose Garden at 18 months of age. She was inquisitive, she ran, almost never walked and she often fell down in her enthusiasm to get places. When she left the Rose Garden Early Childhood Center, she was five and a half years old and ready to go to school. Still curious and eager, she had learned persistence, patience, even to walk instead of running all the time. In those four years, we watched, guided and waited for her growth. When she would whine about something, we reminded her to use her words. When she would run and trip, we reminded her to use her walking feet. When she grew impatient with the process of putting on so many layers of outdoor clothes, we sat with her and helped or just waited until she was dressed and ready to go outside. During those four years, she learned many lessons and built a healthy relationship with herself, her teachers, other children, the environment and with time. Given time to grow, time to learn about life and herself, time to engage in meaningful activity through work and play, she did. Young children meet life with wide open arms and when life meets them in the same way, a healthy childhood happens. It is filled with real experiences, with wonder and with delight. Instead of losing time by not rushing into abstract learning, the child gains time to build a treasure trove of meaningful experiences. Most importantly, she learns how to use a precious resource: time.