Mietzke's POST Holden Adventure

Every day I take nine three and four year olds on a walk,  through the school yard out of the gate and into the field where there is a path to follow and treasures to be found.  It starts out the same every day.  Everyone wants to be the caboose.  There is josteling and hurt feelings and sighs of disatisfaction, sometimes tears and tantrums, and when all of this is settled and each little hand has found its way holding on to the rope we set out with our little choo choo song.  Several times all of my little friend need to be reminded not to push or pull not to let go not to run, not to lay down or poke the friend in front of you.  Somehow we always make it at least to the end of the field where the fox has a den and the acorns lay waiting for little hands to fill empty pockets.

Some days we walk to a little tree where we have been building a fort and have hung a tire swing.  Some days we walk to the tunnels that catch the rain and keep it from flooding the horse path.

Every day we see poop and we bend down to see what kind of meal the animal who left it might have had.  There are lots of different poop presents that are left for us, horse poop, fox and cyote poop, skunk poop and bird poop.  The children love to stop and talk about the poop.

My favorite part of our walks are when we pause and the children explore where we have stopped.  The tunnels become underground caves with diamonds,  Our jumping rock becomes a mountain and jumping off of it a great adventure.

Then it is time to hold onto the rope again the jostle for the place as cabuse and the constant gentle reminders of where the rope is and where little hands may hold.  I don't think I ever wanted to hold onto the rope until now.  I always just wanted to go my own way and my own pace, and now I can see the point and the value of learning to lead and follow, and of joining in something uncertain.

It is hard to hold onto the rope when the desire to let go is so great.