10 Ways to Make the World a More Beautiful with Miss Rumphius
As part of the Natural Nester At-Home Nature Summer Camp eCurriculum we’re sharing the day with a very dear friend of mine Miss Rumphius. How many of you love Miss Rumphius ? I Do !!! I Do !!!
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney is a classic. I’ve read it to a variety of nieces and nephews throughout the years, and my own children grab it often. Miss Rumphius is an old friend that we go back to again and again.
Miss Rumphius is the life story of Miss Alice Rumphius (otherwise known as the Lupine Lady) as told by her young niece, Alice. When she was a young child, Miss Rumphius set two goals for herself; she would follow in her grandfather’s footsteps by traveling to faraway places and then settle down in a home by the sea. Alice’s grandfather tells her there is one more thing she must do.
She must do something to make the world more beautiful.
Alice agrees to honor her grandfather’s request, but does not yet know how she will do it. Alice grows up and accomplishes her goals of traveling the world and finding a home by the sea.
Still, Miss Rumphius wonders how she will make the world more beautiful.
Then one spring day, after having spent many months in bed with a bad back, Miss Rumphius discovers that the lupines she had planted in her garden had spread to a nearby hill. Miss Rumphius orders five bushels of lupine seed and begins to sow them wherever she goes that summer. By the next spring lupines are growing all over her seaside town and Miss Rumphius, now known as the Lupine Lady, has accomplished her grandfather’s request.
Now a very old woman, Miss Rumphius graciously entertains the neighborhood children with stories of faraway places. Her niece Alice says that she will follow in her aunt’s footsteps by traveling to faraway places and then settling down in a home by the sea. Aunt Alice tells her that there is one more thing she must do.
She must do something to make the world more beautiful. Young Alice agrees to honor her aunt’s request, but she does not know yet how she will do it.
This is a legacy story. Just as Alice was asked by her grandfather and then Alice asked her niece, “what will you do to make the world a more beautiful place?”
I’m now asking you. I asking, “What will you do to make the world a more beautiful place ? “ It’s completely alright if you don’t know what that is yet. The joy is in the discovery. Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
10 Ways to Make the World More Beautiful
1. Smile
2. Eat and Buy Locally
3. Start a garden – Plant a Tree
4. Be Kind
5. Recycle – Repurpose – Reuse
6. Be a Good Neighbor
7. Ride Your Bike – Walk
8. Participate in a Community Clean-up
9. Give a Compliment
10. Conserve Water and Electricity
**what will you do to make the world more beautiful today?
Don’t forget!
The we teach Summertime June SUMMER LEARNING twitter event is TODAY (June 11) 8:30-9:30pm ET
Details and prize information HERE.
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