My daughter ran wildly up to our screen door.  “Mommy! Mommy!  I caught a toad! I caught a toad!  Look! Look!” (You know she’s really excited when she’s saying everything twice)  In her cupped hands was a lovely, bumpy, spotted, clever-looking toad.  She looked up at me excitedly as I snapped this photo:

“He peed on me, but that’s okay!” The sparkle in her eyes when I fumbled to take this photo was an instant inspiration to me.  My daughter is so full of life when she’s out exploring and discovers something exciting!  It is one of the most beautiful parts about her.

Part of it, I admit, is because I have a passion for the creation around us and it overflows from me when I’m enjoying nature with the kids.  I think it’s because there are endless things to observe from afar and inspect closely outdoors, both big and small.  The delicate balance that makes our earth thrive in this universe blows my mind.  One can be exploring in their backyard, a nature preserve, a vegetable garden, or a zoo exhibit.  It can be mid-July or mid-January (which in Chicagoland, could look identical!).  We can be studying the planets through a telescope or observing berries ripening on a bush.  Regardless, there is always something we can be excited to notice and learn about.  We can all be explorers and enjoyers of nature.  We can all appreciate how intricately beautiful and awesome our surrounding creation truly is if we stop long enough to notice.

But little girls are wrongly stereotyped as only being interested in princesses, ponies, pink and purple, dressing up and completing quiet, pretty projects, right?  In my humble mommy-opinion, none of these are wrong, and some girls are just naturally drawn to interests like these.  My daughter enjoys them as well!  But life was not meant to only be enjoyed in the neat indoors.  Girls were not meant to be boxed into just the “pink, pretty, and tidy”.  Maybe your daughter IS pink, pretty, and tidy.  That is wonderful!  But I encourage you to help her see beyond that!  There are ways you can open your daughter’s eyes to see past what our culture says her interests need to be.  You can help nurture your daughter’s inner-explorer!  After all…

And besides even just expanding your daughter’s horizons, nurturing her inner-explorer can have a profound impact on her future and the future of others.  It is said that Jacques Coutsteau invented scuba diving because he enjoyed exploring caves.  Think of the impact his inner-explorer has had!  And I’m sure Sally Ride, the first female astronaut in space, was frequently awed by the universe around her.  So no matter what magnificent thing your daughter enjoys exploring, you’ll want to nurture it!  Here are ten ways you can do that…

1.  Get outside like an explorer.  Put down the phone and close up the laptop (when you’re done reading this blog of course) and get yourselves in an exploration-conducive environment!  If you live in the city, go to a nature center in the suburbs.  If you live in the country, head out to the backyard or take a walk.  If you live in surburbia, find a new place away from people and your everyday schedule.  If you can afford it, purchase a membership to a zoo or arboretum instead of an amusement park.  Just get outside so the exploring can begin!

2.  Let go of fear like an explorer.   Okay, by a show of hands, how many of you, when my daughter said the toad peed on her, automatically thought about salmonella poisoning?  Would your first inclination be to say, “Put that toad back NOW and go wash your hands eight times!”  Moms, if you are  only concerned about keeping your daughter germ-free, she will not truly be able to explore!  So yes, have her wash her hands, teach her not to put her hands in her mouth when handling animals, but for the love of getting dirty every once in awhile, RELEASE the germ fear and let her enjoy!  You can be cautious in situations without being fearful.  Speaking of getting dirty…

3.  Use your hands like an explorer.  Explorers learn by touching and doing and feeling!  Frequently when you go to the zoo, they’ll have workers showing animal skins or claws or teeth to kids.  There’s a good reason!  These workers know that a lot can be learned by touching.  Even if it’s out of your comfort zone, model to her by touching it yourself and commenting about it.  Maybe you and your daughter can begin nurturing your inner-explorer together!

4.  Open your eyes like an explorer.  Get down to your daughter’s level to see things more closely.  I think children are naturally better at exploring because they’re closer to the ground than we are!  Adults can be so wrapped up in moving quickly from one thing to the next that it’s difficult to slow down and notice.  Funny, as I was typing this, I overheard my husband exclaim to the kids “Hey guys! Come check this out!”  He had found this moth on our deck that he knew would interest them:

For many of us, this moth looks anything but special, but when you look closely, it has symmetrical wings with light red tips and fuzzy antennae.  My husband has definitely grown in his ability to notice the small and amazing around him and you can, too!  All it takes is a choice to slow down, even for small moments, to show your daughter how wonderful it is to explore by observation.

5.  Open your ears like an explorer.  How many times do we ask our kids to listen carefully?  Now she can apply it to exploration!  What can she listen for?  Depending on the season, so much!  In a Chicagoland springtime, my daughter can hear the twittering birds after a long winter season of hibernation (she loves identifying bird calls!).  In summer, she can hear the frogs croaking and cicadas droning.  In autumn, she can listen to the dry leaves crackling in the wind.  In winter, she can enjoy the silence and the subtle sound of snow landing on the ground.  If you live in a city, it can be hard to hear any of these things, so I encourage city-dwelling moms to take your kids away for an afternoon to a quieter place to enjoy these!  City-dwellers should be explorers, too!

6.  Smell and taste like an explorer.  In case you didn’t notice, writing on this topic has quite naturally come from using the senses God has given us!  Smell and taste are definitely included so don’t neglect pointing these out!    What do these ripe raspberries taste like?  What does a summer day smell like? What does this toad taste like? JUST KIDDING!  Of course, I’m super careful about what I let my daughter taste out in nature, but it is fascinating just how much you can find outdoors that is edible!  We have a pretty neat nature guide on edible plants:

Although, I’ll be honest, we haven’t been daring in the tasting area!  But encouraging your daughter’s inner-explorer wouldn’t be well-rounded without these two senses.

7.  Speak like an explorer.  When your daughter observes, listens, touches, smells and tastes, ask her questions like “How does it feel?” and “Where do you think this toad lives?” and “Where should we release it?” Point things out to her like “Check out how delicate the moth’s wings are” and “I’m hearing two different bird calls.  I wonder where they’re coming from” and “Look at the sun streaming through the trees!”  As you model, she will begin to speak like an explorer.

8.  Love learning like an explorer.  You can learn a LOT be using your senses, but nurturing your daughter’s inner-explorer doesn’t end with what she observes.  It continues when she has questions that she can’t answer on her own.  The question “What bird call am I hearing?” or “What constellation am I seeing?” needs to be followed up by research!  Respond with “Let’s find out!” Lead your daughter to resources that will help her learn more information that will answer her questions.  A girl whose parents encourage asking questions and finding answers will become a woman who loves to learn.  The world needs more people who love to learn!  Which leads to my next point…

9.  Gather resources like an explorer.  Lead your daughter to reputable sources.  Go to the library, watch videos, talk to professionals, purchase science guides & books.  Here are some of the nature guides that our family owns, accessible to the kids at any moment:

Some of these we take with us to look up information as we observe.  The “Birds of the Midwest” guide we take to nature centers.  We mark off the birds we see and record the date.  Gather tools as well.  We have a simple microscope I picked up at a garage sale so they can observe small things up close. Magnifying glasses, magnets, rulers, bird feeders, binoculars, compasses, and other tools will only help.

10.  Enthusiastically blaze a trail like an explorer.  Explorers aren’t boring people.  No matter their passion, explorers are excited to learn and enthusiastic about going forward with what they learn.  They gather the info and admire it.  They are anxious to share what they’ve observed with others in hopes that others will want to explore with them.  So be excited with your daughter when she finds something new.  Forget the “Oh, that’s nice honey” comments!  How about “Whoa!  That’s awesome!  Show me more!”  She will be a trail-blazing explorer who loves learning if you share in her moment.

Moms, I hope you’ll use these ten ways of nurturing your daughter’s inner-explorer.  She may not grow up to be a scientist, but your encouragement of her inner-explorer can only help you love learning even more together.  Because remember:  Little girls were made to explore, and maybe even moms, too.

How else would you encourage her inner-explorer?  Leave a comment!