This being the first week back to school for the kids, the fresh start and good beginning reminds me of why I do what I do. The photo below was taken when a child put his hand into mine to lead me to something in the room he wanted me to see. I looked down at our hands and immediately felt the impact of what I saw. By this child putting his hand into mine, he knew (and I knew) he could trust me--that I could help him solve a problem or help him discover something new. Or perhaps show me with pride what he had just constructed or created or share something he was excited about. The fact that he didn't just call out my name, but he physically wanted to lead me, spoke volumes. Since my camera happened to be out, and knowing it wasn't an urgent matter, I snapped a quick picture on the way.
The wonder and the facination of the natural world around children as they make their discoveries is a joy for me to witness and facilitate in. It also allows me to view the world through their eyes, never for a moment losing the appreciation and the awe in my own discoveries. The little frog in the pictures below was found on the playground. Of course 15 kids wanted to hold it, especially when they saw the challenge the first child had being able to hold it without squishing it so it didn't hop out of his hands, there were giggles and squeals and impatient "I wanna hold it!!" requests. After explaining a more gentle and unthreatening way to hold the frog, they saw it sat still for a while in open hands (there's that element of trust again) and several of the children did indeed have their turn before they let the frog go "to it's family" as one child surmised.
I love to use activities that stimulate the senses, and the more senses involved, the greater (and more memorable) the experience. I've done this simple art activity before so I knew the outcome, but to watch the children's faces as it unfolds before them and the level of excitement the children reach is wonderful! I start with a simple squirt of shaving creme applied in front of each child's seat at the art table for them to fingerpaint with it right on the table. Even unscented, plain shaving creme still has a mild scent. At first they usually use one finger to feel the texture of it. Then they begin using their hands to rub it around, describing what/how it feels to them. They'll draw pictures in it, spell their name, scribble--whatever. After a few minutes I'll walk around the table with the three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) of powdered paint and sprinkle one color of their choice on their creme. They marvel at the color change. Of course they want a little more, so I give them another choice of those same three colors, each time allowing them the time to mix and create new colors and they become amazed bywhat they've done, just by using those three colors. The second photo below was taken just after a child said to me "It looks like the sun is coming up!" The fact that this child associated what he sees from his natural world to the colors he and his friends made all over the table nearly brought a tear to my eye and it was a reassuring tap on my shoulder, so to speak, that I am indeed doing what I am supposed to do.
Every year I acknowledge Earth Day with a week-long celebration of Earth Appreciation--from taking care of it to giving back to it, recognizing the wonders of it and working together. One of my favorite activites is creating nature bracelets. We'll go for a walk around the property with little brown bags and gather little bits of things like flower petals, blades of grass, weeds, dirt, leaves--etc. We'll dump our collection all over the table I apply a band of clear, transparent contact shelf paper to their wrist, sticky-side out. They then stick their 'treasures' onto their bracelet and as the day wears on, the little natural objects they applied somehow gets 'sucked into' the band, allowing them to become almost fossil-like. The colors of the blossoms and grass remains steadfast and even the veins of each little leaf becomes imprinted on the bracelet. They are really quite beautiful, and they last forever! Flower children indeed!
Speaking of "Little Hands"..... the hand in the photo below obviously doesn't belong to a child! However, early one morning when the children ran onto the playground, many of them began yelling "Miss Laura! Miss Laura! There's a dead animal on the playground!!" Grabbing my camera, I went to see what they found. What the f**k???? What IS that????
Sometimes the learning and seeking of information is shared. Surprisingly to them, I certainly don't know all the answers, and I certainly don't pretend that I do! In fact, quite often I'll say "Gee, I don't know--let's all find out!" about things so we can go through the process together. I took several pictures of this animal, which was skinned and the head missing which made it difficult to identify at first. The level of excitement on the playground that morning was astounding! And what extended their 'find' led to so many things, like the kids searching for clues of how it got over the fence in the first place, what happened to the head, and all kinds of things. The things (hypothoses) I overheard brought smiles to my face. So many lessons in this teachable moment! Yes, it could have been a very 'gross' thing, having this dead creature there (before I swung it over the fence--and believe it or not, it got stuck on a branch and I had to retrieve it and fling it even farther!) But this is the natural world we live in and it's what happens.....
The final photo was taken recently when a child brought in her baby chicks for Show 'n' Share (an updated version of the 'show and tell' we all grew up with!) The kids saw me buying fresh eggs from this girl and her family each week. I'd always open the carton as soon as she delivered the eggs so we could see the different colors and sizes of each egg. They ranged from blues to greens to browns and whites..... much different than the eggs you get from the store! When the child who raises the chickens asked if it was okay for her dad and her to bring in baby chicks, I thought it was a great idea! The kids got to hold them (if they felt brave or confident enough) and watch them and listen to them peep..... it was a great experience for them.
Their hands may be little, but they hold very big things.
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