Kindling: Hapa Zome (beating up leaves with hammers)

Kindling: Hapa Zome (beating up leaves with hammers)

Provocations Bring Back Childhood Memories

A life-long blessing for children is to fill them with warm memories of times together. Happy memories become treasures in the heart to pull out on the tough days of adulthood.  

                                                                                        Charlotte David Kasl

While on a recent business trip to Tasmania I found a shop filled with an eclectic mix of interesting objects. I wandered around reflecting about my age as many of the so called 'antiques' were objects I remember from my youth!! Then I saw it ..... shiny and silver; I tested the handle and it still worked! Vivid childhood memories came flooding back - the sound of metal scraping on metal as you opened it, the smell of hot steam, the reflections of all the shiny metal and of course the heat! I doubt that many other adults wandering through this shop would have had the same reaction to this particular object - an instrument sterilizer!

My father is a Veterinarian although he has been retired for many years; I had just heard that he was gravely ill so my thoughts were very much with my parents so far away in South Africa. As I stood there I was transported back to another era when my father had one of these in his surgery.

Climbing the rough old Mulberry tree outside the surgery window with my brothers, peering in through the slatted glass windows watching my father with his patients while we ate the ripe juicy Mulberries. To see better we would silently try and move the window slats without my father noticing, we also had to avoid getting those ripe mulberries on our clothes - they stain my mum said!
Dogs; big, small, noisy, friendly, scared as well as cats and kittens spitting and hissing or purring. Sometimes there would be birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, parrots, snakes, tortoises and other house pets, I even remember a deer! I was fascinated by everything that I saw and heard  in that surgery.

When I was a bit older I was allowed to come and 'help' in the surgery which made me feel so big and important. I could be present during some surgical procedures, I had to wear gloves, held and passed on the instruments my father needed. The sterilizer was on the counter and I was able to open and close it to get the instruments out although I was not allowed to actually remove the boiling hot instruments. Sometimes when there was not enough water in it the smell changed and the instruments were dry, at other times I had to leave the tray up for a while to allow the instruments to drip dry. I remember the green cloth used to cover the animal to keep the area sterile, I remember the sound of the instruments as they 'clinked' together, I remember the even breathing of the anesthetized animal and I remember my father being fully focused on what he was doing.

I remembered these opportunities so clearly - as if they had happened yesterday although I had not thought of those early years for a long time - all of these triggered by the visual provocation of that instrument sterilizer unexpectedly found in a shop in Tasmania.

Most adults would not have had the same reaction to that instrument sterilizer as we all have different childhood and life experiences but we know that the memories we retain the longest and the best are those linked to just such sensorial experiences. A certain sound, smell, taste, feeling sighting as well as situation can act as the provocation and trigger vivid childhood memories even many years later. These sensory experiences allow long term learning.

As adults we need to ensure that all our children have access to experiences and resources that are highly sensorial  especially in this day and age where children are exposed to so many brightly coloured but basically bland plastic toys as well as over structured opportunities and environments that do not offer children the challenge they crave. These sensorial moments are what build valuable childhood memories. Thank you to my parents for these and many more amazing memories.

“To be in your children's memories tomorrow,
                          You have to be in their lives today.”                                                                      Barbara Johnson

What About The Detail?

The richness I achieve comes from Nature, 

the source of my inspiration. 

                                                                                                      Claude Monet                                     

Walking in the Australian bush is an adventure, there are so many unexpected elements of interest in this environment which are easily missed, to me these surprise elements make the bush experience what it is - and a reason to grab the camera! I have a great love and respect of nature; the perfect detail of even the smallest leaf or bug, which I often only notice through my camera lens, still creates that overwhelming sense of awe and wonder in me. Pattern, shape and colour in nature serve an important purpose and it is this detail that might make a difference in a variety of circumstances.

Some of the range of flowers possibly not noticed in the large photograph!

I have in the past been 'accused' of paying too much attention to detail - why is this so important to me? It is this attention to detail that best demonstrates my respect of the people and the environment I am in - I really care about them which is why I do my best!

It is very often the small things that might be overseen, dismissed or considered unimportant which may make a big difference! Artists know the importance of attention to detail as do bakers, architects, doctors, builders, carpenters, builders, mathematicians, scientists, and doctors! 

At a recent dinner in Scotland I felt the table centre pieces needed some nature added to them - picking up a few natural materials and placing them on the central mirrors to me added the final touch, not critical but still meaningful!

In a recent blog I recalled an experience while traveling that was memorable to me - the small details made a big difference! I linked this to the opportunities we offer young children.

Does attention to detail in creating a high quality play and learning environment for our young children add value to their experiences? Children are aware of minutia, they notice the small things that we as busy and rushed adults often tend to miss - valuing and showing an appreciation of this demonstrates to children the respect they deserve from us.

Stopping and enabling children to closely study a tiny bug or explore the 'mechanics' of nature.

Eating lunch at a beautifully laid table with real cutlery, drinking glasses and a vase of real flowers

Wingate Children's Centre in England

Having access to beautiful high quality resources presented in a respectful manner

Auchlone Nature Kindergarten in Scotland

Giving our full and undivided attention, going down to the appropriate physical level when communicating, asking for opinions and consulting about small and large matters, being respectful of personal dignity and treating others in a manner we would want to be treated are all signs of showing respect but are also part of the finer detail of relationships. It is often the relatively small details in interactions that cause the most hurt or upset; not getting appropriate recognition, feeling an action is unfair, not feeling valued or appreciated - this would apply to humans from birth to 100!

By really caring and knowing the people around us, we can value them for who they are, value their unique strengths and support them in many ways by paying attention to the detail that would mean most to them at that time such as a gentle hug, a card, a kind word, a smile, a flower, a phone-call and other small acts of kindness! Paying attention to the finer detail does equate to being respectful towards those I care about.

Everything that happens to us leaves some trace behind; everything contributes imperceptibly to make us what we are.
 
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Learning for Life: Outdoor fun in the Southern Hemisphere

Learning for Life: Outdoor fun in the Southern Hemisphere

What it is to Wonder!

What is Wonder?

                “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”             (Socrates)

I wonder? What is it to wonder? Do we all wonder? 

Children wonder and it is no surprise that they do....they have only been on the planet for a short time and there is so much to discover. I still wonder daily and feel privileged when a child allows me to enter their world of wonder.

Walking along the beach with my husband I spotted an office chair standing on the sand and pointed my camera at it. What are you taking a picture of the chair for?" he asked. "Because it is an office chair on the beach and you don't usually find them there!" He shrugged. When we got closer I again took a picture. "Why are you taking MORE photos of the chair?" "It's covered in hundreds of snail like creatures". He grunted and waited for me to finish. "I wonder where it came from, how did it get there, I wonder how long I has been in the sea? "Well you will never know" he mumbled and walked on. 

As I walked I continued wondering. That chair must have been in the sea for a long time? Whose chair could it have been? A couple of hours later the chair was missing. I  continued to wonder what story that chair would be able to tell if it could talk. Maybe it got washed into the sea after a flood, maybe it fell off a passing ship, maybe it came from the other end of the world? 

During the week I often thought about the chair and continued wondering about the chair and it's story. The following weekend we again walked along the beach and there, in the dunes, stood the office chair. "I know," my husband commented when I again started to wonder "that's a migrating office chair!!"

I continue to wonder about the office chair on the beach and our differing reactions to it. Why did I keep wondering while my husband didn't, he must have wondered when he was a child...or did he? Has he just lost the ability to wonder? Did I retain my sense of wonder because I work with young children. I love being drawn into their 'wonderings' and joining in the magic world this takes me into.

 

Why? Do children only ask this because they want to annoy us or are they wondering? Are they asking for a detailed answer or inviting us to join in their journey of discovery? Do all children wonder or have some children stopped wondering? Could this be because  adults no longer facilitate or support this? Being able to wonder about the world allows us to be creative and imaginative, to hypothesise and theorise, and to engage in the amazing changing world around us.

Noun - A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.

Verb - Desire or be curious to know something.

Synonyms - marvel - miracle - prodigy - astonishment - amazement

      

 

 

 

Children should be allowed to be little explorers and scientists as well as 'wonderers' and when we are invited into their world full of this awe and wonder, become a 'wonderer' with them.... experience an amazing journey of discovery .....and remain a life long 'wonderer'.

 

 “I would rather have 30 minutes of "wonderful" than 

                           a lifetime of nothing special.”      Julia Roberts

Magical, Mystical, Moving ...... Boys!!!

A few months ago a very good friend, Alistair Bryce-Clegg of ABC Does, and I decided to write a simultaneous blog on a subject that is very close to both our hearts - BOYS! Life got in the way and it is only now that we have managed to coordinate our diaries and publish our blogs! We do not know what the other has written and I am excited to find out what I will learn in Alistair's blog! 

I first met Alistair when we were both presenting keynote speeches at a conference and during Alistair's speech we had to take our shoes off, write holding a pencil with our toes, we had to build a den (cubbie) and then he poured water on us to see if it was waterproof! He made quite an impression!!! We met up at other venues where we were both presenting and then found that we were both working on separate projects in Liverpool. Alistair is an Early Years Education consultant and his formal biography reads: "Alistair enjoyed a successful 10 year career as the Head Teacher of three-form entry Infant School and Early Years Unit in Cheshire. Alongside his headship he established a successful consultancy career specialising in the education of children in the Early Years."  For a more interesting insight into who he actually is visit his not boring biography

 

"It is, in fact, nothing short a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom." Albert Einstein 

Although Albert Einstein was referring to 'curiosity of inquiry' in the above quote - he could also be referring to children who need the motivational opportunities and then the freedom to explore these to thrive and develop.

What is it about our boys? Why do so many parents, teachers and educators find them a challenge to work with? There is an ongoing debate about the influences of nature versus nurture in shaping the behaviour of the boys and girls we work with. I feel there are a number of other influences we should also consider such as culture and the life experiences that these children have been exposed to. It starts right from birth, t-shirts for boys have the slogan "Here comes Trouble!" while little girls have "Little Princess". Girls tend to be socially more responsive from a very early age, they smile at a face while boys might not make that distinction and will smile at a face and a toy!

From an early age David would choose to 'drive' the tractor

I have always been an advocate for boys - maybe because I grew up with 3 brothers and I also have 3 amazing sons! I love their honesty, their mischievous nature, their energy and vibrancy. Consulting with kinaesthetic children including boys I realise that they thrive in the outdoor environment. Why is the outdoors different? Why do we insist that children need to be indoors, sitting at a desk to learn? Why do we feel that they need to sit still for long periods of time to listen? Maybe we should look at ourselves and decide if our expectations of boys are reasonable or are we setting our little boys up to fail from an early age? Dr Ferre Lavers feels that for anybody to achieve THEIR full potential they need to have high levels of well-being and involvement. Are our boys happy in a formal classroom situation? Are they fully engaged in the opportunities on offer? If not, they are unlikely to reach their true potential.

Fully engaged in a motivational sorting and matching opportunity. Photo Ronel Boshoff Bakker, South Africa

During a Mindstretchers Action Research project in Liverpool, United Kingdom we looked specifically at Boys and tracked 3 boys in 20 schools over the 9 month period using the Leuven scales of Well being and Involvement. By introducing a child centred consultative planning approach using Claire Warden’s Talking and Thinking Floorbooks™ methodology we introduced opportunities for children to explore what challenges, interests and motivates them, increased natural resources in the classrooms and increased risky opportunities including the introduction of real tools and fires. At the end of the project we were able to demonstrate an increase in the boys’ levels of wellbeing and involvement! What meant even more to me was how the perception of the Teachers changed - top four adjectives to describe boys went from “energetic, fun-loving, boisterous and noisy” to “energetic, fun-loving, caring and sensitive”!

Construction - 3D transient art, light and shadow, science, maths

One of the major concerns regularly raised is connected to boys’ education! The Australian Government has managed a number of research projects relevant to this and this as well as public debate have identified a number of key issues which are very similar to findings in the United Kingdom:

• Schooling is not a positive experience to many boys.

• Boys are less engaged and  less motivated in their schooling

• Behavioural issues are more likely to be associated with boys

• Depression and suicide is more prevalent in boys

• Boys are less likely to stay at school

• Fewer boys than girls are achieving  the national literacy benchmarks

• The gap between boys’ and girls’ academic achievements has increased 

Large construction opportunity in the classroom, not seat based! Thank you to Cornish College, Melbourne

At the recent EYEC conference in Sydney I spoke about "Nurturing our Boys" and had a number of delegates come up to me afterwards admitting that they need to change the way they work with young boys. One young man shared that he had hated school and that in all his school years he only had one teacher he considered a great teacher - a male teacher! In an ideal world 50% of Teachers would be male but the sad fact is that there are very few male Educators especially in early years. There are however many excellent female Educators – we as female Teachers and Educators cannot be males but we can research and understand what boys need so that we are then better able to support them appropriately. We could invite male role models into our environment to model behaviour – ask the policeman or the janitor to read a story, a sportsman to show how he uses maths in his sport etc.

Classroom in a tipi, thanks to John Marsden, Candlebark School, Melbourne.

Boys have two sensitive periods during their development, one at about 4 -5 years and then again at puberty. We tend to recognise and excuse the behaviour of our teenagers but what about those younger children? This is when there is a massive surge of testosterone coursing through their bodies which is linked to muscle development, violence and social dominance. It is difficult to keep still... why then is this the age we often expect children to start seat based formal schooling? I would say this is a recipe for disaster for those who are trying to cope with their 'new' bodies. There is certainly a place for ‘buying time’ by allowing kinaesthetic children to start formal seat based schooling closer to the age of 6. We should recognise that children can learn as well if not better if they are allowed to move as it takes more muscles to sit still than it does to keep moving. A child sitting still on a mat is not necessarily learning any better than the child moving, in fact I would even say that the child sitting still may be so busy trying to control his body that he is unable to listen!

Scientific exploration - a REAL experience. Photo Ronel Boshoff Bakker, South Africa

Get active! Boys need to move and physically 'feel' the learning opportunity. They also need to know why they are doing something, if they can't see the point they will not want to do it so offer contextual learning opportunities. Most boys feel that most of what they have to do at school is pointless including lots of writing or copying from the board. Boys are competitive so offer opportunities that encourage healthy competition and they have a great sense of fun and humour so use this to motivate them.

Boys behaviour is often seen as being aggressive. What is interesting is that we interpret play behaviours differently. I asked male and female Teachers to write observations of children's play, the males all referred to rough and tumble play while the majority of females recorded aggressive play. Boys are programmed to protect their territory, to be the hunter gatherer so it is no wonder that they have a natural instinct to make and use guns to protect their space or to go 'hunting'. As females we often over react to this urge instead of seeing it as a role play opportunity and sensitively supporting boys to explore their instinct. Fairness and the rights of other children should be recognised. Making and using bows and arrows for example takes a lot of skill and is a motivational learning opportunity. Boys should not be made to feel 'bad' for having this urge - many families also have friends or relatives in the armed forces or game hunters - it is not the weapon that is bad but how it is used.

Stuart climbing trees demonstrating his skills

Children learn best after exercise - we sometimes talk about letting them run off steam but it is more than that. Brain gym has become popular and there is a place for this but it should not replace 'proper' active physical play such as running, jumping and climbing. What saddens me is that very often children who have not completed their work, who are struggling to keep up with the class are held back in the classroom to do more work instead of having their break! These are the children that should be allowed to have the physical opportunities outside to allow them to do their ‘work’ better. When I was taking a group of educators to Denmark for a study visit the senior lecturer commented on the fact that children's playtime was being reduced to allow more time for subjects such as Maths and Language.....he compared it to making children take more of the same medicine that didn't work in the first place!

Martin at 3 seeking the challenge of sliding down a waterfall

Boys need challenge and risk. They search for these opportunities and will use equipment inappropriately if they are not provided with appropriate opportunities and resources. I have seen children (often boys) climbing up walls or railings in a shopping mall. In settings where the outdoor equipment is not appropriate for their age and stage of development they  will find resources to create bridges or add height which is then often less safe that providing them with appropriate equipment. This extends to inside the classroom too – many children feel that school is boring and offers them no challenge....we often interpret this as being a behavioural issue.

Teenage boys seeking risk and challenge

Boys tend to not be great listeners so ensure that the core message is concise and direct. Get to the point! I have heard a number of husbands say that to their wives too! Boys are more likely to be told off than girls – not because they are ‘naughtier’ but because they are louder and get caught more often! Offer praise but make sure it is not empty praise but well deserved praise.

Boys’ brains mature in a different sequence to girls and they develop concepts of movement and space first so an environment that allows these concepts to become concrete is vital. The best place for boys to learn is the outdoors! There are no walls to bounce off, plenty of opportunity to be active, to take part in large scale construction and role play opportunities. 

The outdoor classroom, thanks to John Marsden, Candlebark School, Melbourne.

 To allow all our children to succeed we need to ensure that we consult with them and offer them opportunities that motivate and stimulate each and every child in our care. Only by doing this will our children have high levels of well-being , be engaged in the opportunities on offer and be able to reach their full potential whatever that potential is.

 

"Children are born passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of things around them. If we attempt to control, manipulate, or divert this process...the independent scientist in the child disappears." John Holt 

Footnote: Please note  that although I refer to boys generally many of the observations would also apply to girls who are kinaesthetic learners and some might not apply to all boys.

For more information
West, P. (2002) What is the Matter with Boys? Choice Books, Sydney.
Warden, C. (2006) Talking and Thinking Floorbooks™
Ros Bayley, Sally Featherstone. (2010) Cleverness of Boys

I also acknowledge the work of
Gary Wilson, freelance consultant, Huddersfield, York, UK
Joseph Tobin, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Arizona State University
Dr Jeremy Swinson, Liverpool John Moores University

Following the Child’s Interest

“All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talents”  John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Ryan (5) is into 'where places are' and has a globe which he uses to see where the different countries are. For his 6th birthday he asked his granny, Jackie, for a world map birthday cake. When he told his dad of his special request Dad's comment was: "that's a bit of a tall order isn't it?" Ryan's reply was: "well, she'll just do the best she can!"

On his birthday Ryan received a huge wall map of the world and his dream cake; the first thing he did was to make sure that the flags had actually been placed into the correct countries checking each and every one of them! 

What impressed me is that a child this young has an interest in the wider world, he knows that the earth is round as represented on the globe but that it can also be represented flat on a map ..... or a cake. He also knows where the different countries are and not only that, he knows what the different flags look like....he certainly knows a lot more than me! 

It would be nice to know that Ryan's extensive knowledge and special interest in his subject is also celebrated at school; that he is able to share his knowledge with his class and is able use his special interest as a focus in his learning but unless teachers have the flexibility to follow the child's interest and for the planning to be child led this would be highly unlikely.

  

  

 Ryan’s sister, Elia, had requested a butterfly cake for her 4th birthday and again Jackie produced her dream cake. It is most likely that in her class there will be an exploration into butterflies as young children are generally interested in mini- beasts and teachers are very comfortable with doing the life cycle of a butterfly. Elia and many other children interested in this subjects will be able to share their knowledge and interest at school BUT not necessarily at the time when they have that interest; rather when the adult decides it is time to explore life-cycles. 

We all have different interests, talents and intelligences as well as different learning styles. Teaching a group of young children with different interests can be a challenge but I feel every child deserves to be taught in a manner that best suits them so that they can achieve THEIR true potential. As adults we can choose what interests us, we can choose to attend art classes or to go to physics seminars but young children in schools are often taught the subjects that are considered important by the adults even if these are subjects that may not be culturally relevant to some children and subjects where not every child has an interest or ability in that subject. 

Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard University, developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) in 1983. According to him we have nine different kinds of intelligence that reflect different ways we interact with the world. We all have nine intelligences but none of us have them in exactly the same configuration as we each have a unique profile. For Gardner, intelligence is the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued; the skills to problem solve; being able to gather new knowledge to create solutions to problems. I would say that a child’s in depth investigation into something that really interests them and is relevant to them will display what Gardner considers intelligence; whether that child has an interest in nature, mathematics, music, language etc. 

In an ideal world children would follow and explore their interests in the classroom through a play based curriculum; children being part of the planning process and teachers having the confidence, freedom and ability to observe, assess and identify the learning that is happening to support child led planning. Could we strive towards this ideal world for our children?

BTW......... Jackie had got it right and Ryan did not need to correct any of the flag positions on his cake! 

 

Jackie drawn by Neve

One of our roles as the adult is to create an environment that allows children to have high levels of well-being and engagement so that they may reach their true potential - whatever that potential is.

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him”    Pablo Casals