Moving Day Sit Spot 

Ekone kids are likely all familiar with sit spots,but here is a little background on what they are and how to use them. Sit spots offer the opportunity to establish a personal connection with nature and also allow us valuable time to slow down, reflect, de-screen, and appreciate the sensory rich environment.

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How do you do it?

Typically, you just find a spot in nature, where you can sit alone for 10-20 minutes (or however long you can!) – and sit there! Use this time to make observations about what’s around you. You can observe something right in front of you or something far away. And don’t forget that your eyes are not the only way to make observations! Your ears, nose, skin, and tongue can all offer you different ways of seeing and knowing (although never eat anything if you don’t know for sure it is edible. You can often catch faint tastes on the wind, though!) Bring a journal and your favorite writing tool(s) to your sit spot for observations, drawings, and other tidbits. (I like to bring all the writing utensils in case I get inspired. I bring: a ballpoint pen, a pencil, colored pencils, and sometimes markers too)

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If you think it will be hard to sit for 10 minutes, it can be helpful to set an alarm (on a watch, or away from you - don’t keep a phone anywhere nearby!) or have a parent or friend let you know when the time is up. Sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable at first. That usually makes us want to “finish early” – but there’s no such thing with sit spots :) The more you practice, the easier it will get. And you may find that eventually you will keep sitting long after the 10 minutes is up because you are making so many amazing observations!

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Moving Day Sit Spot Reflection Questions

A few suggestions for what to think about during your sit spot. You can pick one or use them all, or come up with your own.
 

• Watch for one animal that’s having a moving day, or is moving around the neighborhood. Who is it? Where do you think they are going? Are they alone, or with friends? Do they seem happy? Nervous? Lazy?
   

• I know most of us can’t do a lot of moving around right now. What does that feel like? Do your feelings about it change throughout the day or the week? If there was somewhere you could be moving to right now, where would it be, and why? 

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Moving Day Activity Prompts

Some other things you can do to think about spring moving...
 

• Build an animal home. You can use natural materials in your backyard or in a park nearby, or if you are staying inside, you can use recyclables to create a work of art (I like to use things like cereal boxes, egg cartons, paper towel tubes, and things like that.) 
   

• Draw a picture of yourself in your most ideal summer home if you were a migrating animal.

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Please send in photos

of any artwork you create, any reflections you want to share,

or even just a photo of you in your current natural habitat!

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We want to see what you’re up to out there! We will post anything you send in here to the website -- send to michelle@ekone.org

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Help keep 'em coming:

Can you help support Ekone and our staff so that we can keep great content coming to you throughout the "stay at home" and so that the ranch will be strong and ready for action on the other side of this disruption?  Please Make a Donation!