Walking Wednesday

 It was the perfect break in between two rainy days, for a walk.  Today we didn't have any sort of plan or big question.  We talked with our friends about the different ways our bodies move.  If you have spent any time around young children you are all too aware that they move FAST!  So today we talked about moving slowly.  We were going to "wander" and "wonder" in our community.  We wondered what we might notice when we took the time to notice our surroundings.  What would we notice with our eyes?  With our ears?  Even with our nose!?

So off we went, to wonder, wander, walk.

We hadn't gone very far before we had our first noticing.  

"Look at those presents!"     "That's where Santa lives!"

There are so many holiday decorations around our neighborhood.  Some of them are SO big we can't help but notice them.  This one IS pretty spectacular.

We said our walk was without a specific purpose, but that wasn't entirely accurate.  Even without a big question our walks always have purpose.  We are learning how to walk safely throughout our community.  We work on sticking together and not running ahead or lagging behind.  We work on being aware of our surroundings so we stay safe - are we wandering out into the street as we cross or are we staying together on the crosswalk?  

One of the biggest things we work on is being respectful of the homes and businesses we pass.

There are so many beautiful flowers along the curbs of some of these homes, but they aren't OURS to pick.  They belong to the people who live there.

There are lots of wonderful thick green lawns along the sidewalks, but those aren't OUR lawns to run in.

There are often really fun boulders, ledges and retaining walls that might seem perfect for climbing or balancing - but those aren't ours.  Even if they seem like the perfect balance beams they might not be so perfect after all when you walk on them.  Those walls are part of the homeowners landscaping, something they have worked hard to create so their homes and yards look and feel beautiful to them.  And sometimes, they are beautiful..but not very strong.

Which leads beautifully to another thing we work on, fixing our mistakes.

CF you weren't the friend who walked on this wall and knocked these stones over but you noticed and wanted to stop and fix it.  Way to be kind to our community neighbors!

DM you noticed that the grass along our walks was not green anymore.  

"The grass is all brown." DM

Our friends always notice nature and this walk was no different.

After such a long walk we knew we needed to add some extra energy to get us all the way back to school.  Ms L started singing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands."

We went through each verse and then our friends began to create their own ways to show happiness!

"If you're happy and you know it be a tree!" GC

It was a wonderful walking, wondering, wandering Wednesday!