Cloud Watching
Lie on your back and argue about what the clouds look like.
Sit still outside, close your eyes, and draw every sound you hear.
A quiet outdoor activity that works in a garden, a park or a balcony, and needs one sheet of paper.
Most children have never deliberately listened to their environment, and the first thirty seconds of silence is uncomfortable for them. Mapping sound to direction also involves spatial reasoning that visual activities never touch.
Stay within sight in public spaces.
None.
Lie on your back and argue about what the clouds look like.
A tally chart, a window, and fifteen quiet minutes.
A stack of sticks, leaves and cardboard tubes for things to live in.
Ten pictures on the walk. Only ten. Choose carefully.
Grass, then paving, then a towel. Shoes off, eyes closed.
One pot, a few seeds, and a reason to look out of the window every morning.