So much can be learned about nature just by going to the beach with kids. I visited a dear friend for an afternoon in Vancouver and we wandered our kids down to the beach near the Aquatic Center across from Granville Island (my favorite place on Earth) so we could sit and chat while the boys all threw rocks into the water and played in the sand. It was a little rainy but with boys this is the perfect afternoon activity and as moms of boys we both knew better than to keep them cooped up while we tried to catch up.
All was going well until the boys found a big fish flopping on the sand.
They grabbed a bucket and rescued it and sent it back into the water.
And then a seagull found it and even though the boys tried to chase it away, it was too late. The fish was lunch.
My friend and I watched in horror as our boys quickly learned the circle of life until suddenly the seagull and all the crows that were on the beach looked up and flew away.
Out of nowhere two big eagles swooped down and one grabbed the fish and flew off with it in its beak.
And that was all the three boys could talk about on our walk back home. (Until we spotted a coyote just leisurely sunning himself under a tree.)
Guess what this week’s art at school looked like?
I guess this is why we need to pick our kids’ activities carefully. This was an amazing adventure and I can’t wait to see what we see at the beach the next time we go back. (And neither can my kids.) Thanks S! It’s always exciting when we hang out!
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)