Whirligigs

 

When I am in transition, I find I am drawn to two amazing places to contemplate and ultimately prepare myself for change. Like a homing pigeon, I gravitate to the rocky shore of Lake Superior or to any of the nearby beautiful forests. How lucky we are to be surrounded by these wonderful places!

As I think back, I realize now that it was my parents who taught me to visit natural places during important times. As a family and individually, I watched them practice this and I quickly learned the magic of this soul-searching quiet adventure. It became a tradition in our family to take a short camping trip to Madeline Island just before the start of a new school year. We eagerly anticipated spending hours simply playing with the rocks on the beach, wading in the cool water, and watching critters of every kind. Sometimes my siblings and I played together, but much of the time, we were spread out in our own “zone” of contemplation. It happened naturally with the only requests being to keep my parents in view or informed of where we were and to do some thinking about the upcoming school year.

 

We would then talk about the upcoming year on the way home. Each of us was given time to talk about our hopes and wishes and what we wanted to work on and get better at. The sky was the limit for our possibilities. Our hopes could be things such as “work harder in math and get at least a B” to “make some new friends” to “try out for basketball.” Every kid is different in what he or she pictures as success; the important part is to think about it ahead of time.

As I see all the families hanging out along the beach, hiking on any of our many paths, or paddling in one of our lakes, I realize that this is not a new idea. With that said, I worry that with our fast pace of cell phones, computers, TVs and life’s many interruptions, this important time is getting lost for many adults. Thatmeans kids lose it too.

It now takes more effort for parents to provide the setting and the time to do this. Of course, it can be done in many ways and in many places, from taking a far away trip to an ocean or mountain landscape to hanging out at a stream in the back yard, or even spending time in a nearby park. Thekey is to be in a place of nature for a block of time with no agenda other than to let your mind wander and wonder.

Starting a new school year is an important time for children as well as parents. Taking the time to teach kids ways to prepare both physically and mentally can get them off to a much better start. Having a tradition such as a trip to a special place is not an option for every family, but there are other things that can be done.

Before school begins, set the kids up with a variety of papers, pens, pencils, or perhaps give them a blank journal and have them write or draw pictures of their wishes and goals for the year.

If you do give them a journal, it would be important to revisit it throughout the year and not forget about it once the year proceeds. Or, at least plan to revisit it at the end of the year as a review and tool to see how it all went.

This is a place where kids can let themselves go and internalize possibilities. The key is to once again spend a block of time on this activity and to get in the “zone” of contemplation. It is also good to set aside and do this several times before school starts. Once the kids start thinking about it, new ideas and thoughts will pop up that they will want to include in their pictures and writings.

On the first morning of school, prepare a special family breakfast and invite each child to present his or her thoughts, pictures and writings as a rite of passage to a new beginning.

Kelly Dupre is an artist, children’s author, and educator with over 20 years teaching experience with all age groups in a variety of settings. The activities in this once-a-month column are spinoffs and combinations of ideas she has used and learned from teachers, parents, kids, books, and workshops. Only some of the activities has she actually thought of herself!