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| " random smile": ink |
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2GN2S
Funny thoughts about age, just sayin' ...
Dolly Parton passed recently, and I think we lost some much needed light and joy. I paid attention when they said she was 80. I find that I have more interest in peoples ages now. A few months ago I was speaking with a parent of a former student, and I mentioned that my Dad passed at 86, so I thought I'd be good to make 86. The parent is a very smart, reveered professor who I admire, and he stopped and I could see him thinking. Then he said, "No, I think you can add ten years. You are not allowing for the advances in medicine and care." I responded 96 didn't seem too appealing to me, and we both smiled.
It's not that I am afraid of dying, I know it happens. I think I am ready. Like my Dad said, I would have to say that I have had a wonderful life. Some parts not of my choosing, but they worked out okay. I guess it's the unknowing? You see I am a bonafide procrastinator, yet capable of getting a lot done at the last minute. You should see how I can straighten my little house when you call that you're on your way! But there is an invisible long list floating around in my head of things I would like to get done before I can't. Yet I don't? I watched a wonderful show on PBS last night, Mary Oliver, just one of my heroes.
"Truly I try to be good but sometimes a person just has to break out and act like the wild and springy thing one used to be."
- Mary Oliver
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| Front: Brett Tolmie, Brandon Nomura, Josh Taylor, Colin Morris, Brian Center Back: Kristie Koch, Nanette Taylor, Jeff Walker, David Walter, Jim Koch, me. |
Demura Sensei's Costa Mesa Dojo Jr. Competition Team.
1984
(*After taking group pictures, always as unwanted task, I always let them make any goofy face they wanted, this most enjoyed.)
Denmark has formalized outdoor learning as a core component of its national elementary school curriculum, requiring students to spend one full day every week learning outside, including in forests, parks, and natural environments. The initiative builds on Denmark's longstanding "friluftsliv" philosophy, a cultural commitment to outdoor life that has shaped Scandinavian education for generations. Teachers across participating schools report measurable improvements in physical activity levels, classroom focus, and emotional regulation in the days following outdoor sessions.
The Danish model goes beyond nature walks. Students conduct mathematics, language, and science lessons in outdoor settings, using the natural environment as a learning tool rather than simply a recreational break. Research from Aarhus University supports the approach, finding that children who regularly learn outdoors show reduced cortisol levels, stronger peer relationships, and improved attention spans compared to those in conventional classroom settings. Finland and Sweden have adopted similar frameworks, and education researchers in the UK, US, and Australia are increasingly citing Scandinavian outdoor learning as a model worth replicating.
Sources: Aarhus University, Danish Ministry of Education, The Guardian, World Economic Forum,
A 5 minute video, moving sculpture, here.
Just because ...
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| Páramo Tapaculo (Scytalopus opacus) |
Thursday's Smiles ...
Hoping you see all the good things in your day.
4 comments:
96 seems pretty appealing to
Me Jacki……..😤😤
Jacki, I think, I agree. It's the unknowing, that let's me feel uncomfortable when I think about it. So great, Jacki, that you wrote about this topic. I nearly feel the same ... the invisible long list - not knowing it exactly .... what do I still want .... get it done before I can't (anymore) .....
One day a week learning and staying outdoors is such a great idea. I'm sure it would help all children - and teachers and parents, too.
Thanks for your interesting blog again.
Love your drawing, Jacki. The eyes are really smiling. Wonderful!
Dear Jim, or Annonymous, please forgive my words. As Ii was going to sleep last night I had the strange urge to go check my comments, unfortunately sleep won out but I do apokocise. How smug of me. As you can see, I am definitely a work in progress! ;op
Thank you dear Elenor. I know we seem to often think along the same lines, so I am relieved that you liked the topic. I was thinking I was being self-indulgent. I have had a tiny bit more energy lately, even in this heat (100' today) I have added calcium and zinc to my regimen but don't know if that's why? One night I couldn't sleep and I turned on the Japanese channel NHK and watched a program on zinc and learned that it help many elderly feel more energy. I called my guru, grandson #! the paramedic about the dosage and he suggested 100 mg, so that's what I am taking. Nice to have a "dr" in the family! ;o)
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