Sound Map with 'Deer Ears'

Following our Mindful Blindfold, we talked about noises we might hear outdoors and created symbols (Sound Legend) to represent six common noises; birds, wind, tractors, frogs, swaying grass and dogs.
Last week we worked on a View Finder exercise that encouraged us to focus on a specific spot.
https://mamadrool.blogspot.ca/2018/05/willow-watercolour-with-viewfinder.html
This exercise was quite the opposite; we had to use 'splatter hearing' to allow the sounds around us to be located on a Sound Map.
We also spoke about how animals ears are designed for hearing and created 'Deer Ears' by cupping our hands behind our ears to funnel sounds clearly.

Everyone chose a spot outdoors with their Sound Legend.
They marked an 'x' in the center of their map to represent their location.
Then I asked that they draw two or three large items in the area (the yurt, pond, house etc.) to help them map sounds location more accurately.

Mindful Blindfold involved attentive touch, but a Sound Map involves attentive listening.
Tuning in to the sounds of nature, also brings a sense of peace and blocks all the jargon normally racing through our brains.

Once the maps were quite full we noted which noises were heard the most and which regions they were located (birds near the tree's, frogs near the pond)

EXPAND ON MINDFUL MOMENTS IN NATURE
Basement Windows/Hunker Down. In Big Book of Nature Activities, by Monkman and Rodenburg, they suggest allowing children to wander before calling 'Hunker Down'. At that point, they can focus on nature activity in their direct vicinity or play 'Basement Windows' and flip a log/stone in their area to discover what lays beneath. You can further expand this game by adding Direction Dice, or allowing children to draw/map their findings.