But when you refract those through the voices of talented people, you see how many original and singular moments are held in those common events. Of course, the social value of a book like Down to Earth can include the example of community gardens, activities that people can actually do with growing things, and the simple and primary joy of sharing what you have grown, harvested, cooked, or rendered in some way. I hope has a message of contagion in that they too can take on the same charge. Use the book as a survey of contemporary authors and illustrators for a creative springboard, where everybody picks a plant or flower, or imitates a writer to find a unique voice. Use any of the book's entries as imaginative paradigms.
Words can become more than letters on the page.
When kids use more than short term memory, and have play with their words, they are involved and invested. Years ago I was at a state park on a walk with a class, and a kid was looking at the ground and putting his hands around his face like horse blinders. Don't look at anything. The teacher will make you write about it later. Writing isn't about filling an ice-cube tray with water and dumping out cubes.