Looks like so much fun! And the stuff that your babies got up to and into were exactly the kind of thing my babies would have gotten into at the same age XD
and in the case of finding water to swim/play in, what a couple of them would be doing to this day XD
What an awesome way to learn geology, and probably quite a few things like biology and geography that you may not have been consciously thinking about at the time :)
it was, indeed. sadly we dont have a lot of cases like that! this was rather an exception. schooling should not be boring! chemistry, biology, music -- these have an immense field for creativity, and they can perfectly adjust / direct child's interests to study the certain fields of knowledge and practical activity (in the future). I think this was a cool lesson!