Above is a photo of me circa 1960, with the family car, a Ford Fairlane. My dad loved taking photos of his cars, and if a family member happened to be between the car and the camera, then he or she made it into the slide show. In this photo, I'm pulling my red Radio Flyer wagon and looking for adventure.
As I studied this photo, it became clear to me how dramatically life was different for me growing up than it is for children today.
Traffic. That lazy road with an occasional farm truck is now a major four-lane artery in Salt Lake Valley. Sidewalks were rare.I regularly rode my bike on this road to my cousin's house about a half-mile away.
Laundry day. The best way to learn intimate details about your neighbors wasn't on Facebook. It was by checking out their laundry hung on the "line" in the front yard. Our neighbors were our friends. We played outside with them every day until it was too dark to play any longer.
Haystacks. These were ideal places for climbing, hiding, and building forts. Our neighbors had German Shepherd dogs that had a litter of puppies in the haystack. When I ventured too close, the mother ferociously chased me away.
Our world today is most definitely different. The habitat for children has changed. Natural play areas have given way to manicured parks. Cars are both more abundant and in a greater hurry. It's not surprising that outside play for children is diminishing.
One study said that prisoners get more outside time than children.
Children need the benefits of being outside. A website for an outdoor school in England put it this way regarding their students:
"Instead of breathing recycled stale air, they are running around gulping great big lungfuls of fresh air.
Instead of touching plastic toys that have had lots of other sticky fingers over them, they are embracing nature play, collecting sticks, leaves and other natural bounties.
Instead of sitting down all day, not raising their heart rate, our children are climbing, digging, rolling, jumping and swinging, a mixture of bone strengthening, muscle building, and cardiovascular exercise.
Their physical development and physical health are sustained at a high level."
The lack of outdoor time for children now is one factor that inspired us to start a school based primarily on creating outdoor experiences. Marbles Farm will provide the environment in which children play, dig, jump, swing, and run. Kids will play with other kids and develop the social skills that are sorely lacking in today's elementary school children. Skilled teachers will provide the scaffolding for developing cognitive and emotional skills.
However, one thing that we are pretty sure will be lacking in our outdoor environment: laundry hanging on the line in the front yard.
Marty Oakeson, Manager