Another one of the beautiful things about Self-Directed Education is the novelty that comes with living our lives in the world, and having the opportunity to enjoy and explore the opportunities that come our way, or that we create. At Abrome we don’t have to adhere to a standardized curriculum that limits those opportunities to a tiny sliver of what is possible, as determined by some board of education. And going outdoors this year has given us multiple such opportunities each day. On Monday that was being outdoors in the rain, all day.
I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to go on a run, and after I got back and took a shower I checked the weather forecast for the day. The forecast was rain all day, but because the temperatures were going to be hovering around 70 degrees with no sign of thunderstorms there was no need to cancel Abrome for the day. We made a commitment to outdoor learning so that Learners and Facilitators could safely come together and practice building community with each other during this pandemic, and that means even when the weather is not great. We are also lucky to be in Austin, TX, where cold and miserable here is laughable to folks in many northern states. But, we acclimate to the climate that we live in and we all want to be comfortable, so I get finding 70 degrees and wet in Austin in September to be uncomfortable.
When I arrived at our meet up location I found Facilitator Lauren and we debated how many Learners would be with us on our first rain day. We already expected to be missing some Learners as two had previously scheduled appointments and one is still out of state. Of the other four, only one decided to sit out the rain day. The other cell was not as fortunate, with every Learner opting to stay home for a variety of reasons or needs.
Jumping for joy? Or jumping on a flower?
After the Learners arrived we asked them what they wanted to do. One Learner wanted to go toward the lake, but we asked if they would be willing to go on a hike that morning. Facilitator Lauren and I discussed the benefit of going on a hike to get physically active early in the day, and to prevent everyone from getting stuck just sitting in the rain. Each Learner agreed that a hike would be worthwhile, and that we would head uphill first, with the caveat that the hike eventually took us to the lake.
Scaling down a steep slope
The hike was great fun, challenging, and wet. The rain soon started to come down on us as we were scaling the first hill, and by the time we reached the top we each had started to develop our personal opinions on the merits of wearing raincoats, ponchos, or going without. Some of us enjoyed the views from the top of the hill, while one was eager to get moving. We eventually headed out by moving laterally at essentially the same elevation along the edge of the park. This then took us down some steeper slopes where we practiced various techniques of movement such as walking sideways to increase friction with the ground, or scooting down on our butts, or turning around and holding onto branches.
Along the way we took time out to enjoy nature and beautiful settings. For example, we found some mushrooms that looked like perfectly cooked pancakes (just brown enough), some moss coated trees, and occasionally really beautiful vistas when we came through a clearing. We also came across a really lovely waterfall that one Learner wanted to get a picture in front of so I could share it with her mom. It was at that site that one of the Learners slipped as they were crossing over some rocks and partially fell into the water. While he was already wet from the rain, that only increased the degree of wetness for him.
Scaling back up
After that we scaled another hill, and then had a more gentle descent until we found a stream crossing that led us back to a more familiar location that we had all been to before. This led us back to the drop-off location, where we arrived two hours after we started our hike, and everyone quickly settled in for lunch.
Even though the temperature was around 70 degrees, now that we were stationary, and wet, we began to feel the cold. One of the Learners was particularly wet (the one who fell in the stream) and was visibly cold. We asked him if we could give him a coat or a poncho to warm up, and he eventually let us know that he had a raincoat in his bag the entire time. Facilitator Lauren asked him if he would be willing to trade out his wet t-shirt for the raincoat and he said no, but eventually Lauren convinced him that it was worth trading out.
Wood carving as a group for the first time this year
I had just gotten a bunch of wood carving knives sharpened so I asked the Learners if they wanted to carve some wood. One indicated an interest in it, so Facilitator Lauren found a Ligustrum (privet) tree, an invasive species, and took a branch so we could practice carving. We have an awareness about knife safety on our community awareness board right now, and two practices we are currently focused on, so it was great to be able to take advantage of the rainy weather to work with the knives.
Some of the Learners took cover at the end of the day
When we were done carving I asked the Learners what they wanted to do next. The answer was basically to sit there, in the rain. We talked about the benefits of being able to sit with discomfort, but I wondered if it might be better to do so where we had more cover. So we all agreed to move to a place that had an awning to set up at. With about two hours left in the day, most of us sat there (masked up), some of us talking, one collecting various plants, another proving to us that he didn’t mind standing in the rain. We played some word games to pass the tie and we talked about ways that we could make rainy days more interesting. By the end of the day the conversation turned to how we were going to warm up when we got home (e.g., drink hot chocolate, eat hot soup, get a hot shower, wrap up in a blanket).
All in all it was a wonderful day for those who showed up, although they may tell you differently. There was some disagreement on what was the best and worst part of the day, with three of us agreeing that the hike was the best part of the day, and two others agreeing that it was the worst part of the day. It was also a great way to learn the lesson that being wet can make us feel cold, and that there are ways that we can dress to help protect us fro that feeling. I shared the following in an email to families in the evening for the benefit of those who did not get to learn the lessons first hand, and for the guardians:
Some of the Learners had a tough time with the weather today because of clothing issues. Many outdoor schools have a saying—there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices. Fortunately, our first wet day was on a relatively warm day (70 degrees) as opposed to a cold day, so the learning was uncomfortable but not dangerously so. When we are wet we can easily feel 10 degrees colder than the outside temperature, so it is important that we do our best not to get wet, and that we dress for that possibility.
… Wet cotton on the skin can feel nice on hot days because it sticks to the body and stays wet, and does a great job removing heat from the body. Unfortunately when it gets colder this is a dangerous situation. There’s another saying that is popular with those who spend a lot of time in the outdoors—cotton kills. Here is a short article which explains why that is. So if you can get your Learner to wear wool, polyester, nylon, silk, or the other fabrics mentioned in the article that would be great. This goes for underwear, socks, and pants, as well. Jeans are not a good option, either.
I also updated our planning document for the year to make more explicit the importance of not wearing cotton against the skin, and I added a suggestion of bringing some extra clothes in a ziplock bag that Learners can change into if they do get wet and want to change into dryer clothes.
The forecast for Tuesday starts out similarly wet and cool. And I can’t wait to be outdoors again, and I hope lots of Learners join us.
The waterfall we found provided the best shot of the day