<p>
	Imagination and inspiration are two words that can summarize my experience over the past four weeks at Au Sable.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Lauren24.jpg" style="width: 149px; height: 200px; float: right; " />Working with children reminded me what it&rsquo;s like to approach the world from an imaginative perspective.&nbsp; Taking them into the quinzy or on hikes and having children suggest imaginative games such as &ldquo;You can be the momma bear, and we&rsquo;re your cubs in our big cave,&rdquo; or &ldquo;We&rsquo;re all the snowshoe hares, and when we reach the end of our hike we&rsquo;ve reached our home,&rdquo; makes exploring the woods a new experience every time.&nbsp; These little one sentence story-lines are the beginnings of continuous pretend games that allow the children to get out into the woods and explore, seeing the world in ways they haven&rsquo;t experienced before.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Lauren25.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 150px; float: left; " />Even using my own imagination as I went for snowshoe hikes or skied through the woods made me think about things differently.&nbsp; Renaming plants or asking creative &ldquo;what-if&rdquo; questions gets your brain thinking in new directions.&nbsp; Imagine being in a snow globe as the snow drifts slowly down or that you&rsquo;re back in the period of the Native Americans and trying to use birch bark for a variety of different things.&nbsp; Soon each day becomes exciting with new things to learn and mysteries to solve.</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Lauren23(1).jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right; " />After spending time imagining and reflecting on things, I often feel inspired both by the nature I&rsquo;m surrounded by, but also by the people around me. &nbsp;The children&rsquo;s imaginative exploration and the various conversations I&rsquo;ve had with the rest of the Au Sable community have left me with many ideas to think about and new things to pursue.&nbsp; It feels as if the whole world stands before me as I go out from here.&nbsp; What to do next?&nbsp; What beautiful places will I go?&nbsp; What natural wonders will I experience or study?&nbsp; Hearing about the experiences, thoughts, and passions of other people ignites my own.&nbsp; Being in nature and relearning to use my imagination like the children as they explore has left me with an inspired passion to always continue to discover new things about the world around me, wherever I am. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
