Collecting and kids just seem to go together. I suppose that the things that children collect reflect their environment. I remember collecting rocks, shards of pottery, and seeds that I had discovered outside. The collections in our house are quite different. S collects Canada goose feathers, information on President Lincoln, and sticks. Yes, sticks. I am not talking about tiny sticks from different trees; oh no, we are talking branches. Okay, not branches either. She collects sticks that are at least three feet in length.

Collecting sticks started last year. I am not sure why, but she picked up a stick, gave it a name, and carried it around for the duration of our time outside. Since that point she will pick up a stick whenever she finds one that suits her fancy. The sticks are usually placed outside the condo next to ours or in the shrubs outside my office building.

This morning she picked up two different sticks and put them to good use. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground. S decided that the stick could be used to write messages in the snow. This was great fun. When she spotted tracks in the snow, she used the stick as a pointer to show me the details of the tracks that lead her to conclude that a dog had been on a walk with its owner. Then she spotted "evil" ahead (pretend). This was easily vanquished by the stick. The sticks found a home in the side yard of a house just before we turned the last corner before arriving at school. I am sure that they (the sticks) were exhausted after such a busy morning.