Discovering Secret Portals

I love discovering secret places. Especially if they are in the forest. Especially if they are magical. Our school is on 46ish acres of forest, meadow, and creeks. Each morning my students and I take a walk through our wild woods. Every hole in a tree or the ground, every corner we find becomes a secret place, a possible portal to to another world.

I have been writing an episodic story to share with my students that weaves their adventures in the portals of our wild woods into the storyline. At some point in the story, each student gets to be the hero for a moment. I am always watching their natural play and discovery as inspiration for their story.

Last week a student became a hero for a moment when she discovered a ‘cave’ hidden by ivy and roots under the creek bank. It was an especially large cave. At the far end of the cave there was a beam of light shining in. As we curiously looked in, we saw that this beam led to the forest above.

After thoroughly checking for wildlife we might startle and finding none, one brave student became the second hero of the day and took the path possibly no human has traveled and popped out above us all grinning like a possum. Before long, we were all testing the cave portal out.

There is so much I love about this. I love seeing them get a little dirty. I love seeing them own this place. Mostly, I am thrilled they have just found a real-life underworld! They have seen these in video games and read about them in books. They will never forget the one that was hidden deep in the forest at their elementary school, the one their own bodies found a way through.