With delicate literary style and allusions, Louise Chawla combines her ecological research and Montessori background to portray the unfolding of childhood in natural places. Starting with "enchantment with the world" as the basis for nature education for the child under six, the article suggests that the "loose parts" in the landscape that children manipulate and use result in optimal creative involvement. The act of finding favorite places in all weather, combined with the companionship of an adult role model, leads to a lifelong appreciation, concern, and activism for the natural world. [Reprinted from "The NAMTA Journal" 28,1 (2003, Winter): 133-154. This paper was prepared for the NAMTA Conference titled "Montessori Education for Human Development: The Child and the Natural World," October 31-November 3, 2002 in Chicago, IL.]