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CLASSROOM ACTIVITY

What is a Sit Spot?

Children’s days can move quickly from one activity to the next. Returning to one familiar place creates time to notice what is changing on the Land, within themselves, and in their relationship with both.

  • An educator introduces the practice of returning regularly to a familiar place outdoors. She describes how sit spots can help children and educators slow down, notice seasonal changes, and deepen their relationship with the Land.

  • An educator reflects on what Land-based learning can look like in the city. A schoolyard project shows how time outdoors can bring forward family teachings, memories, and stories without leaving the school grounds. 

A sit spot is a familiar place on the Land that a child returns to over time. It might be beneath a tree, beside a garden, or at the edge of a playground. With each visit, the place reveals more: a new track in the snow, a fallen branch, an unfamiliar bird, or a change in the wind. 

A sit spot is not a test of silence or stillness. Children may sway, hum, touch the ground, or follow the movements of an insect. The invitation is simply to spend time with a place and pay attention in whatever way feels natural. 

What emerges from that time may not be easy to capture on paper. A child may draw, share a few words, or keep the experience to themselves. The value is not in producing a response, but in making room for sensations, memories, and stories to surface in their own time. 

Try It in Your Practice: Return and Notice

Invite each child to choose a nearby place. Begin with only a minute or two and return to the same spot regularly.

Offer one simple prompt:

  • “What do you notice today?”
  • “What has changed?”
  • “What sound is closest to you?”

Children can sit, stand, or move gently around their spot. Afterwards, invite them to share through a word, movement, story, or drawing—or to keep the experience to themselves.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

What might a child notice by returning to the same place?  

How can you invite attention without demanding silence or stillness?  

What could help sit spots become a regular part of your practice?  

Explore More Within TREES

  • More videos related to learning on the land and early learning are housed on the Video library.
  • Using MFI’s Early Years Toolbox resource? This topic is related to the Engaging Environments section.

TAKE YOUR LEARNING FURTHER

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Related Resources

2026 © The Martin Family Initiative. All rights reserved.

The Training & Resources for Early Education & Schools (TREES) Network is a space for delivering and accessing culturally appropriate training, professional development, resources, communities of practice and mentorship opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous early learning professionals working with Indigenous children and families.

By coming together across communities, organizations and cultures, we can impact the bigger picture of Indigenous early education, child assessment and policy in Canada, so that Indigenous children will grow up proud of their culture and knowing that they belong.

The vision of the TREES Network is for early learning professionals to feel supported through training, resources and connections with others. The TREES Network strives to support early learning professionals to ground Indigenous children in their culture, nurturing stronger communities.

ACCESS TRAINING

The TREES Network supports access to culturally appropriate training and professional development for early learning professionals through the Understanding the Early Years course and Early Years Toolbox workshops. View upcoming trainings and workshops for your community through the Events Calendar.

EXPLORE RESOURCES

The TREES Network supports access to the Early Years Toolbox website, as well as access to accompanying resources through the Early Learning Library. Your access to resources is determined by your organization or community affiliation. Explore the Featured Partners page to view resources created by and in collaboration with Early Years partners.

CONNECT WITH OTHERS

To promote relationship-building and relational learning, the TREES Network provides opportunities for early learning professionals to build connections across the country. You can check out the Events Calendar to find events related to the early years, view the Interactive Map of early years services in different regions, or learn more about Supportive Circles as spaces to come together with others locally or across communities to share thoughts, ideas and support.

CREATE IMPACT

The TREES Network strives to create spaces through which we can collectively impact the bigger picture of Indigenous early learning in Canada. Learn about how Early Years sites are doing this through Early Years approach innovations, and about the important work many other organizations are doing to influence policy, curriculum, access to funding supports and program evaluation.

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