{"id":688,"date":"2021-05-28T15:32:06","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T15:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/earlyyears\/?p=688"},"modified":"2025-07-08T14:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T14:59:16","slug":"blog-series-adopting-adapting-and-adoring-sometimes-the-hardest-path-is-the-only-one-you-can-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/earlyyears\/blog-series-adopting-adapting-and-adoring-sometimes-the-hardest-path-is-the-only-one-you-can-take\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Blog series: Adopting, Adapting and Adoring- “Sometimes the hardest path is the only one you can take\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is the second post in the blog series.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to go for a day out, isn\u2019t it Daddy?\u201d my eldest son turned to me and told me. It wasn\u2019t really a question or certainly one that he needed an answer to. It was our first real day out in over 12 months. Since last March we hadn\u2019t really ventured any further than the local park and the excitement of finally being in the car for longer than 15 minutes, was palpable. Even the electronic devices had stayed at home – of the boys\u2019 own volition I might add! A sure sign that big things were being anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We reached our destination, hopped out of the car and began to follow the footpath to the countryside walk we had chosen. It wasn\u2019t a new activity; walking together is something we have regularly done as a family. Yorkshire, the Lake District, Wales and on the odd occasion several floors of Manchester Primark. However, the destination was new and the boys were instantly transfixed by the views around them. \u2018What\u2019s that over there?\u2019, \u2018Is that a horse?\u2019, \u2018Do you think that\u2019s an electric fence?\u2019 were all questions that began to flow as they explored their surroundings. We carried on a little further and talk turned to where we were heading as we spotted the first summit on our little journey. \u2018\u2018All the way over there? No you have GOT to be kidding, Daddy! That\u2019s not even possible.\u2019\u2019  My youngest son feigned shock before adding, \u201cCome on then. We can do <\/em>this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It struck me that a change of environment and a change of challenge, brought about an entirely different way of thinking and attitude towards accomplishment. Had I produced a piece of paper, a reading book or handful of calculations I would have watched a very different scenario unfold. Yet out in the open air, with the sunshining and their support network around them both of the boys acknowledged the challenge before them and decided to tackle it head on. \u201cWe\u2019ll go in front and show you\u2026 you know\u2026 old people\u2026 the way to go!\u201d My ten-year-old laughed as they passed through a gate and out into an open field. Over the proceeding two hours, they became adventurers, explorers and zoologists as they surveyed the land, discovered hidden streams and tried to track the mysterious footprints left by an unknown beast! (I hadn\u2019t the heart to tell them it was most likely one of the many dogs we had already passed.) They became wizards creating wands and staffs from discarded sticks and long grass, casting spells of protection and challenging one another to a wizard\u2019s duel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here they were, in the great outdoors and in the best classroom of all \u2013 the one roofed only by the sky *, using their imagination, drawing upon the resources they had, planning and evaluating and best of all collaborating. They worked together to navigate this unknown terrain and all the while continued to reference our destination. \u201cCome on it\u2019s just a little further. If we go over that way, I think there\u2019s a path.\u201d At one point as they picked up momentum and began to hurtle down a particularly steep slope, my nerves got the better of me. \u201cBe careful!\u201d I cried out to them, \u201cYou\u2019re going to hurt yourself if you don\u2019t slow down!\u201d My eldest laughed, looked back at me and said, \u201cIt\u2019s ok Daddy, sometimes the hardest path is the only one you can take.\u201d  And on that point I could do nothing but agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by John Clarke, Early Years Education Lecturer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the second post in the blog series. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to go for a day out, isn\u2019t it Daddy?\u201d my eldest son turned to me and told me. It wasn\u2019t really a question or certainly one that he needed an answer to. It was our first real day out in over 12 months. Since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1691,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-families-parents-and-carers"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Blog series: Adopting, Adapting and Adoring- "Sometimes the hardest path is the only one you can take\u201d - Early Years<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/earlyyears\/blog-series-adopting-adapting-and-adoring-sometimes-the-hardest-path-is-the-only-one-you-can-take\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Blog series: Adopting, Adapting and Adoring- "Sometimes the hardest path is the only one you can take\u201d - Early Years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the second post in the blog series. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to go for a day out, isn\u2019t it Daddy?\u201d my eldest son turned to me and told me. 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