This Artwork Brought to you by Mother Earth

I know many teachers (and parents) who swear that arts and crafts are critical for the developing child's creativity. They stock their shelves with scissors and paper, paints, craft sticks and cotton balls. I wonder at these folks, who seem incapable of creativity if they haven't paid for something. What about the forest? The colors and textures of nature's materials far exceed those of glitter glue and construction paper. They require the kids to locate, smell and feel their materials, and even to create them (like a pile of purple made from hundreds of asters). And when you're done, they simply recede back into the earth. This is the kind of creativity I seek.