the listening rock

A friend was telling me about her variation on making quiet. I am not sure about all of the details, but I loved her idea so much that we've added it to our nap time routine. So, here I'm sharing with you, in hopes your ideas will come out in the comments and encourage many more little quiet afternoons around here. :)

The Listening Rock... (best told with open windows)

The Listening Rock sits in our front yard. It has tall, gray sides and a smooth, flat top. And if you close your eyes, and listen real hard, you'll hear what the listening rock hears in our yard...

The Listening Rock listens, and can you guess what he hears? The wind blows the leaves, and it tickles his ears. The branches on the tree swish back and forth. The listening rock wonders if the wind came from the south, or the north. A butterfly bounces by, a bird hops through the bushes. The listening rock sits, and listens, and listens... and if you close your eyes, and listen real hard, you'll hear what the listening rock hears in our yard.

This goes on, as long as you hear things and can imagine what they might be. A car door closing... perhaps a knock on a neighbors' door... a squirrel running across the roof... a motorcycle engine at the stop sign down the block... a laugh from a child outside...