As simple as going for a walk...or not

A beautiful fall day. The kind of day where the leaves are just starting to fall and change but it's still warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt. Add a slight breeze to make the leaves go skittering across the pavement and rustle together and you've got a great day for a nature walk. Especially when there's the added excuse that the normal play yard is currently under construction to trim back some trees and put in a new fence. Now the children in the classroom were more than excited to watch the men cutting down trees and tearing out the old fence. They were even more excited when the miniature bobcat drove around the corner to help cart the debris away, but it definitely was not a safe place for recess. So we planned a nature walk for recess instead. Unfortunately that wasn't as simple as it sounds.

Our normal recess schedule begins when the first group of children finish lunch and change into their outdoor shoes. Usually these are the older children who are quicker at eating and cleaning up due to years of practice. While an adult takes this first group of children outside, another helps the younger ones finish cleaning up their lunches and changing shoes/putting on jackets. Normally this is about a 20 minute process (there's quite a spread between a 6 year old who is racing to put on their velcro shoes, and a 2 year old still trying to figure out the zipper on their lunch box).

Then today with our plan for a nature walk we added in a new kink in the system- a bathroom break. Normally in a Montessori environment the children are responsible for realizing when they need to use the bathroom and reminders from adults are kept to a minimum. The only instance where an entire group is actually brought to the bathroom by an adult is right before nap time (for what should be obvious reasons). But since we were not going to be near a bathroom we needed to get 21 children to at least try and go before we left. Now that is a long process. All in all, by the time each child was ready to go we had about 5 minutes left of recess.

Now I don't want this to  seem like I'm complaining. When I actually think about it, that's quite an impressive feat. 21 children have eaten their lunches, packed them up, cleaned their table and swept (if needed), changed their shoes and put on coats, and stood in an orderly line. Oh, and remember, they are all under the age of six AND did all of this with little adult intervention. That means that while we might have helped them snap shut a tricky container, even the 2 year olds put them into their lunch boxes and zipped it up on their own.

So after all that work, for a nature walk we went. Hand in hand the older children helped direct the younger ones to the safe areas in the grass or sidewalk. We walked in the sunshine, listened to the rustling leaves, and even picked a few flowers. Then we reached the end of the block and turned right back around. Ok, so we only made it one block from school, but did the children mind? Nope, not in the least. A few did ask why we weren't going further, but they completely understood when we explained that recess was over. Dr. Montessori recognized that children are process oriented, not product oriented. While an adult might have felt disappointed to not really achieve the product (the walk) the children were happy simply taking part in the process (getting dressed, lining up, etc.). Though as an adult, I still hope we can go a little further tomorrow!