‘Ever dreamed of being otter? That utter underwater thunderbolter, that shimmering twister…’ From ‘Otter’, in Robert Macfarlane’s ‘The Lost Words – A Spell Book’, inspired by nature words removed from the children’s dictionary.
We are in lockdown and now teaching our children, while also trying to work and stay sane in challenging times.
With one of us at risk in the family, we’d been isolating for nearly a week before the schools officially closed and gave ourselves a good few days to adjust before really engaging with school. This nature game really helped bridge that gap between feeling totally flummoxed and making the getting of words on paper fun again for both my son and I. Copying out an extract of the poem was an assignment set by his class teacher, but the game we made up ourselves, inspired by Robert Macfarlane’s ‘The Lost Words’. My son is eight, but this game would work for younger or slightly older kids, too.
Nature Game – Part I
A mysterious ‘word snatcher’ monster has been stealing nature words from the children’s dictionary. Words like, ‘acorn’, ‘bluebell’, ‘otter’! Soon, they might disappear altogether and never even be spoken, or seen again. So describing nature will be a bit like if you have lost your voice – what’s that? I can’t hear you!
So, are you ready to beat the word snatcher? You have ten seconds to write as many different ‘nature words’ as possible. What’s your first one? Great. Nine seconds left. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two and one. Now, count them up and say them aloud to save them! (If more than one child, you can make this a competition).
Now, if you have a garden, go outside on a nature trail, to collect more nature words to save. What can you see, hear or smell? If you don’t have a garden, you can go into an imaginary garden and describe what you can see, hear and smell, too. What is on the ground, under your feet? What’s growing around you? What can you hear in the sky? Pick up something – what is in your hand?
Collect 5 words to save, write them down and then when finished – say them aloud, to cast your spell, beat the word snatcher!
You can also play this game on your exercise, in rural or urban areas. Nature is growing everywhere – on walls, flats and around our houses and connecting to it, is nourishing. Collect words over a number of days to build your collection, if doing on exercise, take a notebook with you to jot down what words the kids spot. Remember to say them aloud – that’s where the old magic is!
When ready, we will play with the words to build something longer like a poem or story.
If you would like to order the book, I’m recommending we support independent booksellers. Bookbugs and Dragontales is a family run business whose shop/cafe is closed, but are shipping throughout the pandemic (link below).
‘There is recognition of the importance of time and space – in art and music and literature and life. Space to think: to ask and answer questions, to ask and answer questions, to observe, reflect, understand, create and share. Time to think about the absence, or threatened absence of things, and what is truly important to us, to create a sense of personal responsibility with regard to protecting and cherishing the natural world and the creative opportunities that are open to young people.’ (Eva John, in The Lost Words Explorers Pack).
Links
The Lost Words https://www.thelostwords.org/resources
Free Nature Sounds https://www.calmsound.com/
Bookbugs and Dragontales https://bookbugsanddragontales.com/
