Observing

I think it was DaVinci who adjured us to learn from nature.


A trick I learned years ago was to take a piece of string, maybe three foot long, and tie it in a circle.
Each child gets one circle and a pad and pencil. they put their circle down on a random piece of lawn
or forest floor and write down all the things they see within that circle, then write intelligent questions
that come from their observations.

All of the observations and questions are shared with the group at the end of ten minutes.

Adventures don't necessarily need to invoke a boat or foreign shores. Sometimes they are inches away from your nose if only you can take the time to look.