Because it Mattered

Last Fall, a group of three year old’s took it upon themselves to protect all of the mini beasts found in the forest. They wanted a place where the mini beasts could be cozy and safe; a place where every beast, from spiders and worms to fairies and gnomes were welcome.

What is safe?

What is cozy?

Mila: We need a bed for a pillow!

Weston: First, we need to make a house with cool rocks and sticks.

Arian: And a house needs a roof on it.

Norman: A pillow and a roof and a couch and a fence. I think we should make one giant house for all of them to live in.

This project was born out of compassion and an innate desire to take care of creatures smaller than themselves. Amidst the day to day, it is all too easy to lose site of the grander picture that is forming. Advocacy in young children plants a seed that, when nurtured, produces stewards in the community. Because they know their ideas matter, they grow into citizens with the power to affect change, speaking out for those who cannot speak for themselves.

This was not some cookie-cutter project filled with clear-cut steps and a souvenir craft to remember it by. It was messy and unpredictable and it truly meant something to the children.

Four months later, the same group of children can be found constructing mini beast homes all around the Raintree campus.

Because it mattered.