Nothing but Hill, Sky, and Everything Else

Tracks 2012 ran, trotted, and climbed to the top of Federal Hill in Baltimore. They did not keep going over the top and away, away. They stopped at the top. Some little voice inside told them to stop at the top. To their left they could see over the tops of the new luxo condominiums that now almost obscure the portion of the Bay that the Hill towers above. To their right, they could see the dog walkers and midday strollers enjoying the warm sunshine, green grass, and early blooming trees.

The best view though, would have been straight, and forever, down. This hill is awesomely steep and way, way, way at its base stood the gaggle of grown-ups with cameras and phones out, instinctively knowing that this was a moment to capture. This view was the best because it spoke of trust and freedom. None of the grown-ups ran after them, we all waited at the bottom of the hill. They were free, but we were still there. I have never been able to fly away a Tracks class like this, so I was happy for them. I am glad they got to have that experience.

Then suddenly, they ran down. Imagine that feeling of running down a really steep, really high hill. Is there anything better? Well, yes, there is...rolling down a really steep, really high hill. So once down, they went up again, some to the top, some halfway, and then they rolled or ran down, again, only to turn around and go back up. Three times. Wait, why were we in Baltimore again?

Please visit this site, Where Stuff Becomes Art. We could not take photos inside the museum's exhibit space, so we cannot really revisit the materials through images that we create ourselves. While we were on the hunt for all things round, I wanted the kids to take a look at the paper plate mandala and there is a photo in the collection, Where Stuff Becomes Art. For a more comprehensive resource about the exhibit, please click -here-.

In the meantime, we continued our discussion about William Steig's oeuvre by tearing into Gorky Rises. On Friday, we brought movement outside for a challenge course. The children built a course and then set out, independently, to make it harder. They had quite the workout!