Day two at the Secret Garden

The children attending The Secret Garden begin at 8:30 at a local park. This green space is very much a part of the local community, there having been a project in partnership with the nursery to develop it, adding challenging play equipment in additional to the old merry go round, ancient slippery dip and swings from the sixties. I was pretty excited to see a merry go round, as they have been absent from Australian playgrounds for many years. The park also boasts a shelter built from straw and mud, which was provided by the nursery and is used as their 'headquarters' and as an additional shelter. 

The children are brought to the park by their parents and released into the care of the three practitioners. A half hour walk up a hill along a country lane begins the day, as the children make their way to the woods carrying on their backs the necessities for the day. The three staff also carry packs, or rucksacks as they call them here. These are filled with afternoon tea, a laptop, note books and their own provisions. 

Again I sat quietly observing the children as the staff do here. I curbed my usual tenancy to join play or suggest possible options for learning. I sat quietly, a little withdrawn and if children approached me I responded as sensitively as I could. It was hard. It was also peaceful and I found myself watching with great interest the play choices, the socializing and the imaginations of the children flowing through the day. It was in a way a kind of meditation. Perhaps I was learning to engage in what Cathy calls mindfulness. It would take more practice to perfect it, as I was often drawn in where other educators stood back, respecting the children's competence and confidence where I tended to want to scaffold, 'teach'. 

Behaviour guidance is practiced here in a way that I aspire too. Children are sometimes corrected but it comes with great respect, firm guidance and high expectations. The practitioners, while standing back, are highly aware of the ebb and flow of the children's play and are ready to intervene and guide when it's needed. Children know the limits and are responsive to correction as it is respectfully and sensitively delivered. For instance, yesterday when a little boy helped himself to my iPad in my back pack I responded with disappointment that he hadn't asked first. His teacher was there in a flash. She bent to his level, a look of concern and openness on her face and explained the importance of respecting other peoples belongings. I couldn't hear the exchange, but the little fellow approached me once his teacher had finished with a stricken look of apology on his face and said "I'm very sorry that I didn't ask you for the iPad and I promise that it won't happen again". I was moved by his sincerity. He then asked very politely if he could use it and I had to explain that the woods offered all he needed for the day and it was put away securely and safely in my back back. 

So today I took paper to write on and record some of the play that was occurring. 

INVITATION

Two boys spy the paper I'm writing on and asked for a piece. I was a little concerned because I didn't have a lot to spare so I tore a piece in half and scrounged around in my back pack for some pens. They enthusiastically find a log with a smooth surface and write on the paper, sharing the limited space and conferring with each other what it was about. They told me it was an invitation in Indian and then one read it to me in his own made up foreign language. Before leaving this task, which took a good half hour, they tore it in two to share the finished product. Later I saw these scraps of paper in other children's hands. Perhaps they had been invited to the party. 

SLUG

I see two children crouched low over a rock. 

This pose is a common sight here and you can see the intensity of their interest, the 'being in the moment' is communicated in the bend of their bodies, their heads inclined to the subject, hands freed to investigate tentatively, gently. 

"A slug" he exclaims and she comes over to join in the investigation. She draws back a little, "ooh" she says.

"It's ok, I'll show you" he encourages. He finds a very small stick and gently pokes it. The long slugs curls into a protective ball, still clinging to the rock. He then touches it with his finger.

"You touched it" she says

"It's slimy" he responds. "Look, it was big and I made it smaller"

She runs over to tell me. "We found a slug and it's not slimy, just a bit wet"

"No", he corrects. It was slimy.

CLIMBING BRANCHES

There is a fallen tree with its branches spread horizontal to the ground. Two boys spend hours here. They bend limbs and bodies, twist and pull, clutching one branch after another to change to a new spot, legs and feet negotiating, testing, bouncing, as they explore every possible branch that will accommodate their bodies. They see what that tree can provide, testing it's potential bit by bit. They return to it regularly throughout the day, exploring further, higher, but not where the drying branches won't support them. I imagine when it first fell they would have enjoyed springy green branches, perhaps complete with leaves. Now it is dry and bare and I often hear a crack as a branch gives way. They are ready though, holding on and ready for it. I wonder what they know of this tree, of its demise and slow deterioration. Their long hours of time spent within it giving them a certain intimacy with the earth. 

WHEELBARROW 

A wheelbarrow is used by the practitioners to transport supplies for the day. Two boys ask if they can use it and they are given permission as long as they empty it carefully and replace everything when they're finished. They agree and get to work. I saw it being used in various ways with different children throughout the afternoon; it was a mixing bowl, a mulch mover, a taxi, a rocker, a bed and a hide. Children shared it with little conflict and turns to use it came and went. Again the term 'ebb and flow' comes to mind as the wheelbarrows uses were transitioned seamlessly. We often talk about giving children open ended materials to use, and this wheelbarrow is the perfect example. 

I caught some of the language of the children as they played. 

"I'm the mechanic"

"Ok it's fixed, let's go"

"No wait, it's not working"

"Put the oil in. That's it"

"Ready to go"

"No it's not"

"Yes it is, it's fixed now"

"We just need to check. There's rust inside now"

"And I've out the electricity in so it can go now"

"I can give you a lift to Edinburgh"

"Do you know where Dundee is?"

At one point another child squeezed in the front of the driver. He was told "hey! Noooo!" And was pushed from behind. He turns and says "Well that's not nice" and the driver explains "Well you didn't even ask". The interloper gets off and is told "You can sit at the back though", which he does and the play commences peacefully. 

PARENT CONVERSATIONS

I met Rachel and her daughter Sophia today. Sophia is about to start coming one day a week and today was a short introductory visit with her mum. I asked Rachel what is was about this nursery that she chose it for Sophia. She doesn't hesitate and tells me that she likes that there are no toys, no plastics and that really appeals to her. The children in the woods get to use their imaginations and make use of what the woods provide as their inspiration, not have it dictated to by plastic reproductions. It's hard to do this at home, although she tries. Rachel also feels that this is the last chance for Sophia to enjoy her childhood before being in school. Rachel perceives the school system as being a place where children sit from 9 till 3 at a desk. 

I later watch these two bending over something on the ground. There it is again, that 'in-the-moment' pose that I see so often. There is obvious curiosity and delight in their body language, heads bent close to the ground and to each other. Mother and child sharing a moment. The object is carefully picked up and brought over to Cathy. Sophia is holding up a small slug in both hands, smiling broadly as Cathy comments and encourages. 

In the afternoon I meet the parents and I get the opportunity to ask a few more about what they chose this nursery. Each time their eyes light up with enthusiasm as they talk about it allowing children to be children, giving them opportunities to play freely in a natural environment. One spoke about her child's struggles to begin with but that she can see he's stronger now, more resilient. Another told me that when looking for an area to move to she chose this area because of the proximity to the Secret Garden. Cathy told me that the local health care centre recognises 'Secret Gardeners' when they come in for their immunizations. They don't cry with from the jab. 

Well I'll leave you with this for now. It's time to get up and get moving for another day. I'd just like to leave you with this image of delighted children getting to know each other within the arms of a unique tree. 

A work of the heart

Today was pretty special. I arrived at Resen Nature Kindergarten with Jane. There were children and their pedagogue in icy wind flying a kite, all in a huddle. Johann saw us drive in and left the kite with the children to come and greet us. When I looked back at them I could see them laughing and squealing as the colorful kite took flight. 

Johann showed me around the place. It has an indoor space that is heated by a wood stove. This space had the usual kitchen, dining room and a small play area with a variety of activities that children could access. These play areas are nothing like what we have in Australia. There are no shelves bursting with craft materials, construction activities, games or toys. There are shelves, there are activities that children can freely access, but they are minimal and simple. At Resen I saw very little plastic, which warmed my heart. Outside there was even less, hardly any at all, just a few sandpit toys. 

All that the children need is provided through the natural materials in the outdoor environment, and these are mostly gifts of God, not of people. Johann has turned some natural things into challenging, imaginative and inviting play props through sculpture. He's formed a car, a boat, an aero plane and a bus from logs he found in the forest. He said it takes about a week to rustle one up, and it's obviously a work of the heart, giving him immense satisfaction in his creations. More logs, tree roots and tree stumps, as well as structures made from wood provide open ended options for play and challenge. 

There were many nooks and crannies about the place that children were free to access. The kindergarten area has no fences so children are expected to stay within the boundaries, and they do so to their hearts content. I could see twenty five children scattered about, mostly in small groups of peers. They range for three to six years old and again all I could see everywhere I looked was engaged, happy, carefree children. Kind of like free range kids. We do it for chooks out of a sense of ethics to fellow living creatures, why do we find it so hard to do this for children, fellow humans. We know it's best for chooks to be able to express their natural habits, to allow them the freedom to be chooks. Don't children deserve the right to be three, or six? 

I asked Johan about how these children cope with the more formal structures of school. They go to school here at the age of six. There are no four and a half year olds exposed to formal education in Denmark, and even the six year olds attend what they call play school. It is a lot more formal than their early education but play is still considered a very important aspect of the curriculum. Johann explained to me the importance of children attaining adequate motor development before they can be expected to undergo the rigours of academic learning and formalized structures. The motor development that occurs through freely chosen, engaging and satisfying tasks in the outdoors build muscle memory, kinesthetic awareness, balance and prepares the twenty five muscles in the hands for fine motor activity. They use tools, operate many different sorts of grasps and manipulate natural materials for real purposes. In doing all of this, their bodies are becoming more and more prepared for their brains to work in the way we need them to work for academic learning. Now I'm paraphrasing here, and I will be researching this in much greater depth when I return and write a paper. This blog is a space for me to reflect and write my thoughts as they come, catching what was significant for me at each place, so please forgive me not providing research or theory to back these claims. They will be coming. 

This very young girl got herself onto this tire swing and very deliberately and patiently placed her feet so that she could begin rocking. Bit by purposeful bit she got the swing into a smooth and controlled swinging motion. Is this what Johann means when he talks about the motor development that these children have opportunity to excercise in preparation for school?

Allow me to share a special experience from today with one of the children. 

I wandered around the site, looking for a place to watch and take it all in, but I can never resist joining children in play. So I swang on a swing, balanced along a log and approached some girls obviously making cakes from soil and sand on a tree stump. There was one little girl nearby who I was told could speak English, as her father was English, but she never spoke it out of shyness. I called to her and told her I only speak English, not Danish, and it was so nice to find someone I could talk to. She brightened immediately and began chatting away about her family. When the group of girls didn't want to share their cake, she translated for me that the kitchen was closed. She did, however, run to the sandpit and bring me a bucket of 'cake', just for me. Again I was amazed at one child's capacity to feel empathy for a stranger and to connect.  She followed me around the rest of the site and there was one particularly special moment whee Johann took me to see a blackbirds nest complete with eggs that he'd just discovered in the woodshed. I lifted the little girl to see. I had a book about Australian birds to give the kindergarten as a thank you and had a little time to look at it with her and talk about the beautiful birds illustrated until it was time to leave. 

The pedagogues that I met here today showed a real heart for their work. Johann in particular, as the head, spoke to me with such passion and belief that the kind of education they are offering here is in the best interests of children. The centre is currently involved in some action research with one of the universities and I look forward to reading of the findings. Much of the research I understand is around reflective practice and the why of what they do, as well as what the results are for children. Johan used the term 'provoke' as he explained some of the process of the research. 

If you are interested their website is well worth a visit. It is all in Danish but the video link shows some wonderful images. http://www.resendaycare.dk/afdelinger/skovbørnehaven

I didn't want to leave. I was in my happy place, but Jane had a surprise waiting for me and gently coaxed me away. You can read about that in my next blog.