Four Hills of Life

Definition of the topic

The four hills of life are an Ojibwe take on the life cycle of all living things, and it is

distinct in how the broad phases of infant, youth, adult and elder are connected to the seasons on

earth (Peacock & Wisuri, 2011). Infancy is compared to spring, where life is new and bursting

with energy but also quite changeable, like the rainy days followed by warmth that fall back to

colder, wet weather. Youth is the season or hill to climb with the most heat, steady growth, and

potential overwhelm or intensity, encapsulated within summer. Adulthood is the clear, brisk fall

where the mind is clearer, more capable, and home to the great harvest of our lives. Winter is the

reflective, wise climb of elder-hood, a healing time with supreme quiet, peace, and plenty of rest.

There is a thorough interweaving of nature’s way within the understanding of the four hills: the

acknowledgment of all things working in circular patterns of birth, death and rebirth like seasons

on earth.

I see it as an insightful and helpful connection to draw upon in the

workplace, and it centres a close relationship to nature, and all of the wisdom it offers. The

comparison of regularly lived experience interacting with the seasons and a possibly more distant

understanding of each stage of life, make the four hills a comprehensible, and creative analogy.

The understanding of this approach inspires original thought, and a closer examination of our

interconnectedness with nature.

How this topic/concept/theory impacts preschool development

Preschool development touches the end of spring and the beginning of summer in a

unique set of early years (Peacock & Wisuri, 2011). We can gleam correlated characteristics like

fruitful energy, and a flurry of activity are natural during this time because of this connection to

the warming hill of youth. The analogy of the hill in general also offers a compassionate view

that their journey up the hill is underway, they are traipsing new territory and being challenged

on all levels. Summer is warm and full of comfort too, so we are prompted to be sources of kind

support for these youth, as it is an essential element of this time.

How this knowledge will impact my future practice

We can be extra attentive to the needs of children living through this season, and

continuously reflect on our experience of the characteristics of this age range and the season of

summer, as we perceive it, to flesh out the complexities of this connection. Spending time with

children, and learning to support them on a personal level, is just as important as acquiring an

internal database of sorts that allows us to understand minute details of their development.

Impactful aspects of that database are acquired through self-reflection, in conjunction with a

thoughtful analysis of the natural world because we are so inextricably linked.

Example of a learning experience to support this area of development

Connection to the natural world’s cycles is essential for a sense of peace and belonging at

any age. With the dizzying amount of activity that occurs in the summer of youth, illustrating

their place in things and their current season’s gifts and challenges becomes that much more

pertinent. Walking them through this information can be done in numerous ways, storybooks

about the season of summer that paint the imaginary experience for them to compare with their

feelings. Time outdoors is also a crucial part of their daily activities and so a guided, intentional4

walk outdoors that encourages more thought about the patterns of nature, especially in the

warmest season, would assist in the helpful messages being registered on more experiential

planes. Layering the either the imagined or firsthand experience of the summer season with a

creative and reflective activity that ties together their feelings about being a child, and how the

surrounding natural elements process the intense, warm and sunny climate of summer. In order

to have them reflect and express themselves, we could intentionally lay out warm colours of

crayons, and a long strip of craft paper with enough room for each child. Then, prompt them to

express themselves freely with the materials provided following the experience portion.

References

Peacock, T., & Wisuri, M. (2011). The four hills of life : Ojibwe wisdom. Minnesota Historical

Society Press