![]() So now we leave it and if the string rots we talk about it, if fungus starts growing on it we talk about where it came from, if the system collapses, it is a wonderful opportunity to start again and redesign the space or find music in another way. There was a tendency by the adults to look at the creations the children had made such as a hanging xylophone and consider fixing it, maintaining it for longevity and then we realised that we were fixing it for us, to see something more defined in the forest. We look at how children use the forest when they are there every day. The cycle of nature is an aspect that we often discuss as a group with adults and children. Children will still occasionally refer to the space where they buried the pheasant and wonder aloud when they will be able to dig up the bones to see the skeleton. ![]() The children went on to select a suitable place in the woods to bury the pheasant and after digging a hole they respectfully buried it. Back in the centre the children drew pictures of the pheasant, with many adding details such as feet, feathers and closed eyes. They closely examined the internal organs and one 4-year-old boy was fascinated by the trachea, and on completing a subsequent drawing commented, “I drew something inside the pheasant, it’s like a worm with stripes on it”. Some children wanted to see what was inside the pheasant and staff and parents supported the children who were keen to investigate this by dissecting the bird with the children. “I think he fell off the reindeer and hit on gravel”Ī 4-year-old boy commented, “I wonder if the pheasant bumped into electricity wires and he got electricity shock!” The children expressed an interest in further investigating the dead pheasant and closely examined the eyes, the feathers and the feet. “I think Santa made him die ‘cause he fell off his car” ![]() “It was hit by a gun and fell on stones and was dead” “It’s ‘cause something came to kill it, it was a tree wobbling and, and, the pheasant got killed!” They were keen to take a closer look, and a discussion ensued between the 2-to 4-year-old children as to the cause of death: Case study at Auchlone Nature Kindergarten: “Pheasant death”Ĭhildren arrived at the centre one morning and found a dead pheasant outside on the road. Exploring issues such as death, decay, disappearance and miracles of birth and survival is important and can be further discussed with adults as the imponderables of life. Nature can be harsh and unyielding as well as calm and beautiful. In our experience however, the natural world provides moments to explore the cycle of life of other living things. Many children are removed from the experience of death, in an adult attempt to protect them from it while they are “so young”. The onset of commercialism and a changing lifestyle, where humans have become indoor dwellers, has created a distance from nature and the rhythms within it. For some, nature is central to their lives and also to their spirituality, for others it is viewed as something to be used simply as a resource.Īncient connections to the land brought great understanding of relationships and the interconnectedness of humans and their impact on the planet. In many cultures around the world there are behavioural codes that weave respect for the land through all their work. One interpretation of this art of being is the internal dialogue: the unobservable aspects of the relationship that connects us all with the natural world. In my work, Nature Pedagogy is defined as the art of being with the natural world inside, outside and beyond (Warden 2018). It is these aspects of connection to the natural world that are often the least well-defined, but they can be the ones that fascinate children. One challenge we face is that some of the questions children ask are linked to unobservable phenomena such as death, decay and disappearance. One of the perennial discussions for the adults, is around how far the inquiry guided by their questions can go, and how tangible the experience can be (Warden 2010). From an early age, children are explorers and they have enquiring minds that lead them to ask the most fundamental and yet thought-provoking questions. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”Ĭhildren have a natural understanding of the world around them and therefore have a fascination with all aspects of it. It is always sunrise somewhere, the dew is never dried all at once, a shower is forever falling.
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