Connect, Explore, Engage with Learning and Wellness

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Girl blowing bubbles outside

A Note to Kids, Families, and Caregivers: 

Learning outdoors is active and benefits physical, mental, and emotional health, including decreasing stress and supporting wellness. As regular schedules and community connections are interrupted by the COVID-19 public health emergency, it is more important than ever to get outside and connect with and make sense of one’s feelings, emotions, and the world outside the door.

We invite learners of all ages to get outside and explore, learn, and play. Spend as little or as much time as you like with these activities. Do one or all of the activities, in any order. Use them as they are written or get creative and add your own twist. Each activity has three parts: Connect, Explore, Engage.

Adopt a Tree

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girl hugging a tree

Adopt a quarantine tree! 

Trees are a joy to adopt—they grow, provide shade in summer, and you generally don't have to feed them!

Blowing in the Wind

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Boy blowing on pinwheel

Connect

Connect with a Walking Breath  

As you walk outside to explore, try breathing in as you lift one foot and breathing out as you put your foot down.

Water All Around

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Dew on Grass

Connect

Whole Body Grounding Breath

  1. Begin by standing with your feet firmly planted.  Imagine roots holding your feet to the earth and bringing sap/energy up to the top of your head.  Stand tall and strong.  
  2. Relax your shoulders by gently dropping your shoulder blades down your back.

Sketching Sound Maps

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Boy laying on stomach in grass

Connect

Return to or choose a sit spot. Close your eyes and tune into your sense of hearing. How many different sounds do you hear? If desired, map your sounds in your nature notebook. Make a mark in the middle to represent yourself. Place words, images, or symbols to represent the locations of sounds that you hear. 

Spotting Seasonal Change

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Girl sitting in filed

Connect

Return to or choose a sit spot. Be still and quiet for as long as possible. Tune into the senses as you observe everything in this space. Take several deep breaths. You can use your open hand to do five finger breathing- as you slowly trace one hand with your pointer finger from the other, breath in slowly as your pointer finger moves up the side of the open hand, pause briefly at the tip, and then exhale as you trace down the other side of the finger. Repeat until you have traced your entire hand. Alternatively, you could choose a stick or leaf to trace instead of our hand.

Nature Noticings

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Girl walking through flower garden

Connect

Find an object in nature that interests you. It could be a tree, a rock, a small plant. Ideally it would be something that will not move away from you during the few minutes of this experience. Get in a position where you can observe your object comfortably, resting your hands on your thighs. Look closely at the object you have chosen. What do you notice? Use your fingers to count your observations. Challenge yourself to notice 10-20 things about your object. Share your noticings with someone in your family or sketch your object in a nature or art journal. 

Adapted from The Sky and Earth Touched Me, Joseph Bharat Cornell

Displaying 1 - 7 (of 7 posts)
Displaying 1 - 7 (of 7 posts)