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FEATHERING OUR NESTS: O-MAMA’s Perspective on SPRING CLEANING

Spring is in the air.  The birds and the bees are flitting around doing their thing…nature abounds.  The birds are feathering their nests and laying their eggs, while the bees are busy pollinating every flower in the garden.  The air is crisp and clean.  Chirping and buzzing fills the air.

Everything seems fresh and new.  So, let’s take a new look at Spring, shall we? The first thing that comes to mind is cleaning. Ugggh.  But, let's talk about the birds and the bees instead...the part of the story that happens...

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“Be Nice to Spiders”
  • Margaret Bloy Graham • 10 Comments
  • Tagged in: For Kids
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An oldie but a goodie!

In my former-pre-kids life, I was a Kindergarten teacher, and as Halloween approached every year, I used two thematic units in my “curriculum.”  The first was “Bats and Bones” and the second was “Spiders!”  The week of Halloween itself was usually a total loss anyway, so I was less ambitious then and didn’t attempt any radical science lessons etc.

Anyway, I know more about fruit bats and arachnids than your average stay at home mom!  One of our favorite story time books during Spiders week was, “Be Nice to Spiders” a book first published the year I was born—1967.

“Be Nice to Spiders” tells the simple story of Billy and his pet spider, Helen, whom he must leave at the zoo due to regulations in his new apartment in the city.  Helen is a godsend for the fly-addled and miserable animals until the zookeeper demands that all spiderwebs be swept away in anticipation of the mayor’s visit.  Well, with Helen gone the flies come back and once again the animals suffer.  With great wisdom, the zookeeper realizes the error of his ways and brings Helen and the rest of her ilk back to stay—no flies = happy animals.

Not only does this simple children’s book have all the pacing and illustrations necessary to keep even very young children engaged but it also manages to sneak in some pretty great lessons about giving people (and insects) a chance, appreciating others—no matter how they look or what our prejudices/fears may be, and maybe understanding that for things to eventually be mutually beneficial, each side may have to give a little.

The perfectly clean cages (houses) are not necessarily the ones where the animals (families) are happiest and most content!  So maybe leave that laundry pile today, read a book to your child, and go outside and look at some spiderwebs!