SEEING THINGS: A CREATIVE, REFLECTIVE CITY WALK FOR EDUCATORS
What If… We Truly Saw the World Around Us?
The Art of Noticing
Everyday life is full of unnoticed moments; glimpses, sounds, textures, shadows. Yet any one of them holds the power to shift our perspective. When we pause to observe with care, to really see, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. The world begins to speak to us in subtle languages, ones that evoke memory, emotion, and meaning.
This workshop invites educators and curious minds to slow down, step outside, and engage in a city walk not as tourists, but as attentive observers and meaning-makers. Through prompts, creative exercises, and reflective pauses, participants explore their surroundings with fresh eyes, tracing the layers of light, story, material, and memory that shape a place.
Inspired by the Mapping Reggio project by Reggio Children, this experience draws on the idea of the city as a context for learning. Just as children in Reggio Emilia map their city through drawing, photography, and storytelling, we too ask:
What do we notice? What do we value? How does place shape our thinking?
Why It Matters
Format
This walk aims to open us to the ways the world might change us when we pay attention. It’s an easy way to engage with place as a living curriculum, to foster a kind of pedagogy rooted in attentiveness, wonder, and relationship. It
Encourages deep observation and creative thinking
Models place-based, interdisciplinary approaches to learning
Explores how perception and reflection support professional growth
Reinforces the role of environment in shaping identity, memory, and meaning
This is a half-day workshop designed to be adaptable and accessible in any city. It can be offered as part of a professional learning experience, an event, or a stand-alone creative session.
If you’d like to receive a sample handout with prompts and activities, feel free to reach out.
