Join us for our daily walk.
Most days I head out of the house with Immy for a walk around our neighbourhood block. It is just one square suburban block but when walking with a sixteen month old child it can take quite a while. Especially with all of her rituals, none of which can be missed. They include…
Knocking on this garage door which is about three doors down our street. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) no one has answered her knock so far. I am sure she would be in shock if they did.
Being intrigued and pointing out every letterbox she sees. This is accompanied by looking to see if anyone has any mail yet and watching out for the postman and if we are walking mid-morning we are usually lucky to see him riding by.
Jumping in the leaves. Jumping is a new skill which we are practising and there is nothing like a nice pile of autumn leaves to practise in.
We also excitedly say ‘hello’ to any dogs, cats or birds we are lucky enough to come across. And wave at trucks or particularly noisy cars.
But her favourite part of this daily journey is stopping to pick up a varied selection of seeds, nuts, flowers, leaves and small rocks. We have a new collection everyday.
I am amazed by what she spots on the path and the length of time our walk takes depends upon the number of stops we make that day. She will find a little treasure, carry it for a few steps and then gesture for me to carry it as she spots her next item.
I tried introducing her to the idea of putting her treasures in her pocket to keep them safe but we are not quite there yet.
She doesn’t yet understand that the item will still be there even if she can’t see it so I guess Mummy will have to keep carrying the treasures until we learn that one.
One completed collection – an autumn leaf, two small white stones, an interesting seed pod, a small gumnut, and two partly dried olives which had fallen from a tree laden with fruit.
“Our identity is also formed by our relationship with the place we inhabit, our community.”
– From the Reggio Emilia Australia Information Exchange Landscapes of Possibility Conference 2007
Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
