Playing in the Forest

Today I played in the forest. Jane picked me up and we drove to Høndruphus Nature Kindergarten, Lindum. Again we went through beautiful scenery and I was pretty excited as we pulled off the beaten track and started heading quite deep into a forested area. The forest is private, but the public are given access and the kindergarten leases the land. They have been given the use of an old cottage and some sheds that are quite ancient, and these have been converted into a kindergarten space with the usual cloak room, fully equipped kitchen, dining tables and a small space for play areas indoors. The shed has been converted into a workshop which has tools, timber and work benches for serious making and construction.

As soon as I arrived I was warmly welcomed by the pedagogues. Being keen to plonk myself amongst the children, one of the staff followed me to the sand pit and began translating for me to the children. I was grateful for this opportunity and it really helped me to feel more like I was a part of the place and not just a stander by. Soon the children were gathered to start their treck into the forest. They sat together and I was introduced and the children learned that I came from Australia which is on the other side of the world and right at the bottom. They sang galoop went the little green frog in my honor, asking if I recognised the tune and I eagerly shared the English version and was applauded for my troubles. I really felt included. 

We followed a path into the forest and it was decided that we would visit a huge tree that had recently been brought down by a mini hurricane. This tree would have stood twenty or thirty meters before it's demise, and when it fell the root ball was still attached, forming a huge mountain for the children to climb and a trench and ridges and many interesting nooks and crannies to play in and discover. The children crawled all over the tree. It was slippery and there were one or two spills and a few scratches but the staff were nearby to comfort and attend to them and I was able to reflect on the need to give children exposure to risk. One child fell a bit of a distance onto his back and his boot was caught and twisted in a root that he'd been riding like a horse. He was immediately attended to and helped up and comforted. The fall hurt, but it was a valuable lesson. Bitten the head, was keen to elaborate. He learnt about the need to be more careful when it's been raining and when it's slippery. He learned that a fall can hurt but that there are people nearby who care and that the hurt will go away and he will be ok. He learnt about the value in taking risks because it's going to be fun, and the need to take special care in certain conditions. All this builds for children who are not risk averse and this knowledge helps to keep them safe as they become more and more skilled, try ever more challenging activities and learn how to negotiate risks. Studies have shown that children who are overprotected are actually at more risk of more dangerous accidents. The little bumps and bruises that children attain in early childhood are good for them because they can prevent the major breaks and even death that comes from inexperience, bravado or peer pressured risk taking as teenagers. Interesting stuff. 

Look at that chappy way up high. 

The little boy I'm talking to in this picture was quite interested in the spiders we have in Australia. He asked if there were spiders that can kill you and with my iPhone I showed him an image of a funnel web and told him that sometimes I get them in my house and that I take them outside. Then I showed him an image of a huntsman that is not dangerous and I told him about Berty: the name I give to huntsmans  that find their way into my home and become loved pets. Through a pedagogue translating we had quite a long conversation and he asked many questions. 

When we returned the children changed and ate a packed lunch. There was a group time where Bitten read them a story about a koala who was getting too big to sleep in his mothers pouch so found a sleeping kangaroo and crawled into her pouch. The story had a variety of Australian native animals in it and  as she read, soft toys of Australian animals were taken out of a bag and shown to the children. It was touching to have my homeland honored through story and again I felt a wonderful sense of belonging. 

Bitten explained some of her philosophy to me and all this can be found on their website, which you might like to access. It has an English page. http://www.hoendruphus.dk/Forguests.html

I was greatly inspired by what I saw today. As we went outside before leaving I was shown around the extensive outdoor space that the children have access to. It includes three large goats and the biggest rabbits I've ever seen. Also also chooks. These are cared for by the children and the staff. There are play areas that contain challenge, promote socialization and imagination. There are garden plots, hides, swings and trees to climb. Everywhere I looked children were highly engaged and pedagogues were amongst them in their learning. 

There are plans to extend the play areas and develop more play spaces. This is something Bitten has encouraged all to have a say in so that all voices can be heard and acknowledged. It is also an opportunity for the pedagogues to embrace what they are passionate about, because it is through this that children's learning is optimized. 

Wingate Children's Centre Training and Research Base

http://www.wingatenursery.com/landing.asp?id=2

Today I travelled about forty minutes South East to Wingate Children's Centre Training and Research Base. I had heard great things about this place but was unsure of what to expect. On entering I walked into a roomy and inviting space and was greeted with a welcoming smile from across an admin counter. There was a large sitting area with a couch and colorful cushions, and children's artwork on display that have been made into the centres trade marks. I'm always impressed when children's drawings are respected enough to form an expression of our adult world. They are truly beautiful images, created by children within this learning space. 

I waited on the comfortable couches until Paddy came from the nursery to greet me and take me to the training room. Her warmth and welcome was greatly appreciated as I was feeling the usual nerves at being in a new place and wondering what I would find here. 

This place has developed from a simple and basic regular nursery that was pre-war to support the needs of mines workers. I was shown photos of the original building, stark environments, a cement yard. Again I was amazed at the realization of the vision of a person, and its fulfillment. Paddy saw the possibilities and with a secure and supportive team behind her she grew the place. It now boasts a family centre, a training base, a nursery (preschool) and a childcare centre. Each learning space is aesthetically presented, including the adult training space. There was comfortable and attractive furnishings, book cases full of resources on hand, jars with spring flowers, a place to get tea and coffee. I think adult learning spaces make a difference to our readiness to learn just like for children. 

While my main interest on this study tour is the use of outdoor spaces and the utilization of local wild places, a comment on the indoor provision at Wingate cannot be overlooked. It is beautiful! Any early childhood educator would drool at the provision of the play spaces here. The materials available and their design, the careful placement and organisation of work spaces, the thoughtfulness that has gone into these provisions all tell us that children are valued and seen as highly competent. The walls are a testament to the work and learning that children have been engaged in. I see beautifully displayed images of flowers throughout the room. Each painting is either in a frame or within a border. Learning stories and wall documentation tell of the learning that has taken place. I ask about the process that was undertaken to bring children to such competent art works and Paddy explains that the art work are a culmination of children's exposure to the subject over an extended time and opportunities to revisit it. For instance, the representations of many colorful flowers were developed from a project where children planted bulbs in the winter that would flower in the spring.  The variety of flowers that this produced are in pots throughout the garden and paddy spoke of how the educators point out the various aspects of the flowers as they bloom, talk about colours, shapes, textures. The children are supported in mixing colours and in thinking about design. The results were fantastic. 

According to Paddy, when children feel it's their space and where they use the space for whatever they need, optimal learning results.  The children decide for themselves what they do and it's the job of the educators to ensure that they are provided with the materials, space and time. 

I was fortunate to join two other educators who are here as part of a learning partnership between their centre and Wingate, which is a part of the role Wingate plays in the early childhood community. I was particularly interested because these ladies were from a school that have a nursery school attached. The learning partnership that they have undergone began with an observation visit from the  Wingate staff, and a planning meeting to consider possibilities for change. This process, in time, involves the educators having opportunity to spend a day at Wingate and observe the learning in action. There are lots of support materials made available and many robust conversations as the educators meet with Paddy and her deputy to learn about the centre and it's values and to discuss the changes they have been making. This particular nursery had a focus on giving the children more choice and leadership. The training opportunity occurs over a long period, I think six months, and involves various opportunities for support. I quite like the model in that it has a coaching, mentoring basis that I believe can be very powerful. Bolden Nursery engaged in this training with Wingate a number of years ago and are an example of the change that can occur when people come together, see the possibilities  and reflect on practices with a view to making change. 

You may subscribe to 'Exchange Every Day' where I came across this little gem. I love the quote from the author of Smarter Than You Think, Clive Thompson in Psychology Today (March 2014):

"Think in Groups: Our intelligence has never been entirely just in our heads.  A huge amount of our thinking takes place in... the 'extended mind' - all sorts of resources outside us that help scaffold our thinking.  We rely on other people as cognitive amplifiers."

So I encourage you to be some bodies cognitive amplifier today. 

It's 5:30 the following morning. I can hear birds outside, song birds, as I'm in the English countryside staying in an old manor house. It's a lovely way to start the day. I'll have more on Wingate tonight (or if you're an Aussie, tomorrow morning) as I'm spending another day there today. 

Bye for now. 

The theory of the flow zone

A fellow called Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chick sent me high) came up with the 'theory of flow'. It's that place where people go when they are completely and utterly absorbed in an activity and where they are at their happiest. When we go to this place our hearts and minds are ripe for learning and this is the case for all age groups. The 'flow zone' is where challenge is equally matched to a persons skills. Where difficult challenges are met with a low skill level, there might be panic and learning is hampered. When skills out do the challenge, we become bored and again learning isn't optimized. But when skill and challenge are balanced and equal, flow can occur. You lose all sense of time, you are completely absorbed and you don't get distracted easily. 

So today we went out into the bitter cold. We were shown how to use wood tools then set loose with branches, knives, splitter tools and chisels. I tried to carve a duck of my own design from a tree branch about 5 cm in diameter. It was hard work. There were times I stated to feel discouraged as I couldn't get the hang of the movements needed in the use of the knife. I had to experiment, solve problems and create and I did this for three hours straight. At one point I realized that my bottom was numb from sitting astride a log for the better part of two hours. My toes were numb from the cold and my hands and wrists hurt. All of these were with me for the majority of the three hour session but I was so absorbed in what I was doing that I didn't notice. I was not aware of the passage of time. I was in my happy place, a place of mindfulness. I was in the zone. 

I leave you with this tonight. What takes you to your zone? Where do you get to experience 'flow' as I did today?

Before I go, a friend and colleague sent me this TEDTALK. It is very relevant to my journey and certainly got me thinking, as I hope it will you. Thanks Robyn.

http://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_on_5_dangerous_things_for_kids?utm_campaign=&utm_source=m.facebook.com&utm_medium=on.ted.com-facebook-share&awesm=on.ted.com_g08Ji&utm_content=awesm-bookmarklet