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Encounters with the Bunnies
he group is familiar with the fallen tree trunk that lies on the forest floor. Over the last few months, they have returned to it repeatedly in search of the bunnies, or at least the tracks they leave behind. Some children decide to follow that log again and begin to tell me about that particular day they spotted the bunnies. We walk through the same path they had followed many times before. As we walk along, many narratives unfold; some of them about rabbit tracks and rabbit poop. They wonder why today we do not see any tracks or poop. As we move, they decide to uncover some ice and…
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Avocado Encounters – Extended
I do love how easily it marks up. I love how I can manipulate charcoal in ways that make me feel like an artist. I’ve never really paid any attention to shading in order to make a particular thing I’m drawing look round or to account for the light and think about shadows. In fact I’ve never really noticed shadows from an artistic perspective before. I definitely never noticed that an avocado seed can actually cast a shadow over the rest of the fruit depending on the light. I’ve never taken any art classes, but charcoal has a certain way about it that offers me the illusion that maybe I…
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Shadows and Tracings: thinking through poetry
Shadows and Tracings snow reveals tracks tracks reveal possibilities possibilities reveal stories shadowy stories of humans and nonhumans that have crossed time and space wonderings and wanderings moments fleeting what tracks go unnoticed when snow no longer reveals shadowy presence remembering and forgetting stories untold erasing, rooting following, leading, walking, crawling, slithering, running, leaping away from and towards paths converging and pulling apart snow reveals tracks who/what walk(ed) these places? waiting watching listening what might the presence and absence of tracks reveal being neither (a)lone nor lone(ly) Maria Puig de la Bellacasa (2017) reminds us that speculative inquiry “pushes the boundary of acceptable” (p. 73), while Val Plumwood (2002) writes…
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Encountering the Transformed Forest and the “Lakes” Within
As we left the center for our walk in the forest, we could already see, looking from the distance, it would be a new and transformed forest. The temperatures have risen, a 15 degrees increase since our last forest visit. As we arrived at the slope, our challenge was not to move across the snow but to keep our feet away from the mud as Laura, the educator, requested we keep our steps on the grass. When we got up there, we saw this time we had to choose our way to get into the forest as large puddles covered the usual path. We passed one such puddle in our…
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The Avocado Seed
The tiniest of moments happened today and I almost missed it. I was waving goodbye and I’ll see you next time when I noticed the small commotion. The children were sitting in their seats for lunch while their chili was being served. Ryan, the wonderful cook, provided all the necessary toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese and some whole avocado to slice up. Once the avocado was sliced open the children were excited to see the pit, they called it the ‘avocado seed’. It was passed around, so each child had a chance to look at it and observe its special markings. How easy it would have been to just throw…
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Paying Attention to the Sounds of Water: A Simple Encounter with a Storm Drain
listening on a simple walk around the parking lot We can’t stop too long in this frigid weather but even a brief listen and look at the run-off drain provokes a range of meanings and possible thoughts. It is loud. We peer down and look and listen. Where is it going? What is down there? What is happening? Are there fish? Where does the ladder go? We discuss this simple, often overlooked feature so prevalent in urban worlds. It prompts us to look at the road and wonder what’s underneath us? A storm drain is an innocuous item yet part of our system of living. It connects surface to soil,…
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Disturbance
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Inside-Outside Intersections: A Cow is Sheltered From the Storm
As inclement weather is upon us, our walk to the forest was not possible, and for the day we had to be inside the classroom. Through the glass, we could see the wind carrying the snow, and even when we were constricted to the inside space, the outside was present in children’s questions and curious observations. Some of us wondered if it was indeed as cold as others stated and tried to feel it through the glass hoping for some of this wind to break through any possible holes. A group of children plans and builds a complex structure, and as we interact, I discover that they try to protect…
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The Tensions of Considering Nature When Confined to the Indoors Due to Bitter Winter Temperatures
Even with a good snowsuit and cold weather gear, taking infants out in a polar vortex is unwise. It presents particular challenges to our role as caregivers and educators.. The cold weather can foster perceptions of nature as ‘other’. In January in much of Canada this is an annual reality leaving us all stuck inside staring longingly out of the window from our place of warmth. How do we engage meaningfully from this physical and mental space? The answer is simple – we talk and remember and observe. We sit together by the window and look deeply out at the ever changing view. We take the time and choose to…
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Simplicity: Simple and Slow
Thinking a lot about simplicity lately and was inspired to be poetic… Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Everchanging. Ebb and flow. Search for answers. Knowledge grows. Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Transformations. Shifts and change. Thoughts and feelings rearranged. Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Reconstruct, revise, redo. Discover what works best for you. Simple. Slow… Static? NO! Seeing things through different eyes. Understandings realized. Simple. Slow… Static? NO!
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Living on the “edge”: Bridging the gap between inside and outside experiences
As we walk through the forest, we stop every now and then to think about how we can continue to live deeply in our forest experiences when we are not physically there. In our minds and hearts, we search for meaningful experiences and materials that would satisfy our curiosities, nudge at our comforts a little, and maybe even pull at our heartstrings. Passions, connectedness, meaningful, exciting… all the words and concepts make their way into our discussions. I think about what inspires me to come to work each day—what excites me, what drives my curiosities, where I find joy. Some days it’s easier than others to realize these things. Thankfully,…
