30/01/2026
This afternoon, on a short walk to post a letter, we spotted snowdrops. I told my little one how traditionally, they are the first sign of spring and that it’s Imbolc soon. I also went on to explain how many people get eager with seedlings at this time of year, but it’s known as a fool’s spring, and that we’ll likely get frosts again soon.
She pointed out buddleja and holly, and asked to touch the leaves and berries. I went on to tell her that there are just as many poisonous berries in the UK as there are mushrooms, and that many people of the older generation get a little jittery when they see children touching plants and fungi. I told her to follow my lead and she’ll be okay.
I have a photo of my youngest admiring an Amanita muscaria. My Mother exclaimed how dangerous it was to let her touch it, and I replied that touching a mushroom isn’t an act of harm- misidentifying one, or trusting a single source, is. I remember being told similar things as a child and often wonder what other mistruths have been handed down through generations because no one ever questioned the source?
Whilst the walk was brief, so much conversation was exchanged. We even spotted a jelly ear on some laurel that’s recently been trimmed. Who doesn’t love a good poke of that? She giggled as it wobbled on the stick. There was a time when I read to my eldest as a baby and remember feeling silly at the time. I know better these days, and I know their brains are like sponges, they generally take what they need from these conversations.
Just like my workshops, I run the children’s ones in the same way as I do the adults’. Whilst I may ask parents/ guardians if they’d prefer me to remove sensitive information about some plants, I think we as adults we often get in the way of a child’s education with too much faff.
