Teaching a Class

6 weeks / online / asynchronous

Finding Wonder in the World and the Words While Outside and in Motion

from the home page of the class site (on Wet.Ink)

Hi, I’m your instructor, Sara Puotinen. I’m excited to spend time with all of you thinking about, practicing, and sharing wonder. This six-week class is structured around the following plan:

Go outside, move.
Pay Attention while moving.
Be open to wonder.
Write about it in a movement log.

Each week we’ll focus on a different aspect of these instructions, all while working to establish a practice of being outside and moving, then writing about it on a regular basis. Week one will be about the value of going outside and moving. Week two, attention. Weeks three and four, wonder as delight and curiosity. Weeks five and six, translating wonder into words that move and breathe.

Here’s a typical week:

  • Listen to the lecture while moving (or read it, if preferred)
  • Read 1 or 2 brief excerpts, a few selected passages
  • Contribute to discussion questions or threads
  • Post any questions about readings, class, activities
  • Complete at least 3 movement log entries (see other page for more instructions)
  • Share your experiences moving, paying attention, and writing about it
  • Explore additional resources

When you complete these during the week is mostly up to you. Listen to the lecture early in the week, and complete your log entries throughout the week. Try to post your responses and share your experiences early so we can all respond to them.

note: This course has two classrooms: this virtual space, and the outside space(s) you choose to move through while completing the entries for your movement log. My outside space will mostly be the Mississippi River Gorge, where I’ll run or walk, and occasionally Lake Nokomis, where I’ll swim back and forth across the lake. What spaces are you planning to choose?

  1. Week One: A New Practice Lecture / Readings / Movement Log Instructions
  2. Week Two: Attention Lecture / Readings / Activities
  3. Week Three: Wonder as Delight Lecture
  4. Week Four: Wonder as Curiosity Lecture / Read, Watch / Activities
  5. Week Five: Breathing and Rhythm Lecture / Readings / Activities
  6. Week Six: Moving with Others’ Words Lecture / Reading / Abridged List of Activities