There are so many things that are so much easier to do, than to go against the cultural grain, why do this?  Why encourage parents to take their children outside, to let them have unstructured play, to homeschool?  Because it's what is best of the children in a growing world where technology rules and the connection to our roots is slowly being taken away.

Below is a link to a recently aired video (it's very short) that says it all.

Nature Valley - 3 Generations

Also, a blog post I wrote several years ago, that really sums it up, for me.

A Sad Story - Why I Do What I Do

My heart has been burdened for over a week now, by a story I was told recently, by a mature gentleman I know.  It was the story of when he was a boy, playing as boys will and should and do.  A story of a boy, exuberant with life, coming home from catching frogs, and smelling ... well a bit swampish, being dirty and wet.  A boy in all the glory of his boyness!  It was a story of exuberance quickly squashed by practical adultness ... get your drippy, smelly, wet self cleaned up, you're making a mess.  The words, may have been gentler, and well intentioned, but the message was clearly conveyed to that boy, still living squelched inside that man ... there is no time or purpose for such foolishness, it is inconvenient and messy!

I know another adult.  A woman, who was once upon a time, terrified of things that crawl, creep and fly.  She too inconvenienced the grownups around her with her hysterics and tantrums.  No one took the time to help her look, see and understand, the way children need to.  Fortunately, God had a bigger plan. 

Why I do what I do  is for children like this girl, and this boy.  These children, who in their natural state should have been able to wonder at creation and have adults to share that wonder with, to share their enthusiasm and help them overcome their fears.

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in."  Rachel Carson.

As the starfish thrower made a difference one starfish at a time, it is my desire, to make a difference, one child at a time.  That child may be, in fact a child, or it may be an inner child, in an adult who needs the nurturing that they missed as a child, but each one is still in need of an adult who will joy in the wonder of their discovery, whether it is overcoming fear of crawling things or their sharing their awe in discovery.

That is why I do what I do!