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Changing It Up

3/23/2016

8 Comments

 
Picture
​Clare’s post yesterday got me thinking about change, so today I decided to change things up a bit. While I was out doing errands I didn’t follow my normal routes, but found other ways to get to where I was going, always on the lookout for new things to notice. If I hadn’t done that, I might never have noticed that a restaurant near us that has been abandoned for years was finally torn down, or that there are live llamas in the front yard at Discovery Day Care. (Really!)
 
My greatest discoveries came when I was walking Cyrus. Instead of starting the trail where we normally do, I drove to the endpoint and started backwards. So while technically I always walk that portion of the trail, today it was first, not last. I kept my ears and eyes open and this is what I noticed:
 
a child’s delightful laughter coming from the playground
the quiet rush of the meandering stream
the stump of a tree in the shape of an eagle
the distant rat-a-tat-tat of a woodpecker
a lone clump of yellow daffodils on a hill
buds emerging from climbing vines
a swing on the tree in front of the house I often wonder about
a bench for sitting or thinking or reading or writing
 
In the classroom, some kids have trouble with change, but small changes, even temporary small changes, may be just the thing to give them a new perspective or energy boost – a new sharing partner, a new spot for reading, a new responsibility. And then I think we have to talk with kids about how that change affected them. For me, I think the changes I made in the routes I took heightened my senses and made me more aware of my environment.
 
And without that small change I made in the direction I walk with Cyrus, I might never have noticed the bench, where we paused for a selfie.
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8 Comments
Diane Dougherty link
3/23/2016 03:38:50 am

Great slice, Rose. Love the selfie and your observations along your walk. Good points about the classroom too. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
lynne dorfman link
3/23/2016 04:08:50 am

What a great piece! A list poem within the text, a selfie (so cute!), and the tie with our classrooms and the value of changing things up. What a great idea to take something you do the same way almost every day and decide to do it differently! We can all benefit from some small changes to daily routines! Thanks, Rosie!

Reply
Aileen Hower link
3/23/2016 04:56:51 am

I love this idea! Thanks Rose and Clare!! How "eye opening"!

Reply
elsie
3/23/2016 05:10:55 am

Isn't it funny how changing the direction of a walk can change the perspective of what you see. When I ride my bike on the trail, it always looks different on the way back. Love the selfie with Cyrus!

Reply
Karen Szymusiak link
3/23/2016 10:46:18 am

Loved your post today. I used to change up the route I took to work. It gave me a new perspective and a new attitude for the day. Glad you had the time for new noticings.

Reply
Clare link
3/23/2016 01:28:26 pm

Ohhhh... I wonder what would happen if I reversed my running route? Heartbreak Hill in the opposite direction??? I just might have to give it go in your honor --love how you extended the idea of change! Thanks for connecting.
Clare

Reply
arjeha link
3/23/2016 02:21:40 pm

Sometimes a little change yields huge results. Glad you took that change today, Rose, and shared it with us.

Reply
Shelly
3/23/2016 04:48:36 pm

Loved your slice, Rose! Changing things up can be positive. I liked how you tied change into the classroom too. Cute selfie!

Reply



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