The Magic of the Sit Spot

Background: A Sit Spot is your secret doorway into the wild world right outside your door. Find a cozy spot that is close to home and easy to get to. This could be a sturdy rock, a soft patch of moss, or under the arms of a friendly tree, and settle in. We’ll ask you to return to this Sit Spot throughout the year. We want this to be a place that you can regularly go to and spend time in solitude with nature.

Here, you’ll sit quietly, like a spy on a nature mission, and let your senses wake up. Listen closely, a bird trills a hidden song, leaves whisper in the wind, and maybe a squirrel scurries through the brush. Feel the cool earth beneath your hands or the sun warming your cheeks. Watch the tiny adventures of ants, the shimmer of a beetle’s shell, or the way sunlight dances on the water.

The magic of a Sit Spot is in the waiting. The longer you sit, the more secrets nature reveals. Patterns emerge, visitors appear, and you become part of the rhythm of the world around you. The more often you visit your sit spot the more connected you’ll feel to the natural world.

Activity: Tune in to Bird Songs

The best time to listen to the birds sing is during the dawn chorus. I like to do this activity when the days are still short enough that I don’t have to wake up too early! This is often a special, peaceful time that is free from other distracting sounds. (This time of year on the West Coast, the first singers you’ll hear are likely the American robins – they like to get the party started before the sun even rises!) 

Begin by taking a few deep breaths and become aware of your thoughts and notice any feelings you are experiencing. Just let them be as they are. Then close your eyes or soften your gaze and begin to tune in to any bird song around you. See if you can pick out individual songs. Can you tell which direction the song is coming from? Is there a call and response between many individuals or are you just hearing one bird?

I tend to think that 20 minutes is the perfect amount of time to spend in a Sit Spot for teens and adults, but it may take some practice to work up to such a long period of time. For younger naturalists, start with 5 minutes or even fewer if that seems too big a bridge to cross. 

Extensions:

Bird Song Mnemonics: Bird-song “translations” are fun and helpful ways to build your memory for identifying birds by the songs they sing. A familiar example is  “chick-a-dee-dee-dee,” for our friend the familiar chickadee. “Who cooks for you?” for the distinctive call made by a barred owl.  Or the American robin can be remembered with, “Cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up.”

Invent your own silly or memorable phrases for the birds they hear. This builds memory skills and invites play. Pro-tip: Use the Merlin App to help identify birds by sound! You can listen to your recordings later to practice them. 

Rhythm & Pattern Challenge: Have your kids tap the rhythm of a call on their knees or with sticks on the ground. Older learners can try to notate the rhythm in their nature journal using simple marks (dots for short notes, dashes for long ones). This activity helps deepen attention to call structure and builds skills for pattern recognition.

Nature Journaling: Emotional Weather: Journal about or have a discussion with your group or partners about how each bird song feels to you. Does the song sound cheerful? Alarmed? Sleepy? Curious? How does the song make YOU feel when you hear it? This activity connects bird behavior with vocal cues in an age-appropriate way.