Our Listening Walk

Today, we spoke about nature and the place in our classroom where we collect nature. The children were encouraged to find nature at home and bring it into the school to share. The nature is then placed in our large "nature bowl" for observation.

To expand on the concept of nature and enjoying nature, we read the book The Listening Walk.

I just adore this book, probably more than the children! This little girl goes for a walk with her father in the city and in a park. Her daddy's shoes go "clip, clop, clip, clop" and her sneakers are silent! The author goes through and describes all of the sounds that they here. The children love to hear me imitating a pigeon in the city and a duck at the park!

After we read the story, we went out into the community for a "listening walk". The children walked silently as they listened to the world. Afterwards, we sat outside and wrote down a list of the sounds we heard. Here are a few noises that were noticed:

• the wind in a tree
• GC's rain jacket
• a UPS truck
• a cricket
• my flip flops
• a hawk
• a garage door

I know the activity made an impact on some of the children because they made comments throughout the day about the fish tank noise or the sound of someone sweeping up after snack. It's important for children to become aware of their surroundings and to refine their senses. That is, after all, one of the goals of primary Montessori education!