On a chilly yet beautiful Monday morning, our elementary cohort got to go on a peaceful adventure to West lake. When I stepped out of my car that morning, I immediately felt a sense of peace wash over me. The water of the lake was calm, and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I knew that we were in for a beautiful start to the day.

Not only did we get to enjoy this beautiful scenery, but we also got to explore the walking curriculum and really center ourselves with the land that we live on. In random groupings, we got prompt cards like “make a list of what you hear, see, smell,” etc. With these prompts, we were able to really focus on the quiet around us and notice the things that we may not have if we were too busy with the sound in our minds. During this trip to West Lake, my connection to the land grew stronger, and I was even tempted to start all my days at the lake, just taking a minute to think about the day.

In my future classroom, I plan to bring in as much of the walking curriculum as I can because I love being outdoors, and I believe that there is so much that we can learn from the land itself. Each piece of land has so many different stories behind it that it is our duty to at least learn a little bit about it. After this trip to West Lake, I might honestly start my morning out on the land to get that sense of peace that I felt when I arrived at the lake.