It’s time to return to the simple life.

, I have a confession to make.

I have spent a lot - I mean a lot- of time scouring Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers for “engaging” activities for my preschool and Kindergarten students to do. I spent a huge chunk of my paycheck at The Dollar Tree to bring these adorable, tidy ideas to life on my kitchen table.

I was inundated with other people’s ideas, and the children were overwhelmed with choices and endless rotations of brightly colored, plastic, crafted “play” centers. I was married to a curriculum and when the children weren’t engaged I felt i had failed as an educator because we weren’t doing what everyone else was doing.

Even though I was pouring so much love and care and time into my “curriculum” and materials, the children were not engaged. There was still something missing.

I was tired, burnt out and frankly, at my wits end. (Have you ever felt this way?)

So, I went outside with the children every chance I had. Because it felt good for all of us. It felt good to move, breathe fresh air, listen to the outside sounds, and just be without walls. The children had space and finally some freedom to just BE without constraints or unreasonable expectations to perform to a standard.

But then, I noticed something.

The children were building letters and numbers with wood chips. On thier own. They were making patterns with colored stones from the dirt walk way. On their own. The more time we spent outside (even if it was an extra ten minutes) the more settled into ourselves we all became. I took note …. and then I took lessons outside.

I checked the recess schedule and got my classes outside as much as we possibly could. We looked at clouds, we discovered creatures, we did math with side walk chalk, we wrote math stories with our voices instead of pencils. We adapted and we were thriving in those 25-30 minutes.

This story is one of a return to simplicity. Back to basics.

As humans we have a primary NEED to be outdoors, to soak up sunshine, feel the rain on our skin, and feel the grass between our toes. It might not have been “allowed” but that didn’t matter. This simple shift opened up infinite opportunities for love, care, connection and real learning. More so than the primary color schemed, windowless classroom we spent 90% of our day in (sometimes more if it rained).

This is the last call for the Stick Play Beta Course. I am extending enrollment throughout the weekend. Take the time to read through the course description and schedule.

Consider what impact honoring your intuition can have on not only your well-being but the children as well. Imagine days sprinkled with joyful moments of learning through exploration and play. Childhood is meant to be lived; not to be forgotten amongst the noise and bustle of an overloaded schedule.

Let us remember our own childhood and honor those we live and learn alongside every day.

Join me today.

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Questions? Email Ade at [email protected] today.