Special or "Magic" Spots

Find and sit down in your own small  "magic spot", "special place" or "observation spot" where your can spend anywhere from a couple to 15 minutes (depending on age and experience) quietly doing any of the following possible activities (you choose from below).  Try to connect with nature.  In Japan, this is often a part of a practice called "Forest Bathing" (see other activity on this too!) and it has been shown to be great for our physical, mental and spiritual wellness and also helps keeps us from experiencing "nature deficit disorder".  Share your experiences when the time is up and you rejoin the class.  Was it fun, challenging, scary, enlightening?  Next time try it for longer and/or with a different purpose.

1. What do I hear?: Silent listening (with your eyes closed?).  How many natural (and unnatural) sounds can you hear (or identify).  Make a list or a map (with you at the center) of where these sounds are coming from.  

2. What do I see?: Observe everything you can find within a 1 meter radius (distance) of your spot,  Make a map or drawing.  Write a story or a poem about what you see.

3. What do I smell?:  Smell everything you can find next to your spot (soil, different leaves, sticks, flowers).  Make a list and describe in words everything you have smelled.  Write a story or poem about or inspired by the scents in your spot.

4. What happens if I try to DO absolutely nothing for a change?: Meditate (or just relax and try to think about absolutely nothing).  Try to focus on only you breathing (in and out).  Try closing your eyes.  Our days are full of so much stimulus, so use this time to focus on as little as possible by focusing on only one thing (a rock, a word, a leaf, your breathing)

5. What questions do I have?: Think about questions that you have about the natural world around you.  Write them down.  These could be a source of inquiry, research or investigation.

6. Create your own prompt for students to follow...