An insanely windy day brought delight to children and adults alike. Before heading out into the wind, fearful comments were made from various children. "I am scared of the wind." "What if the wind blows me away?" "The wind is too cold." "The wind hurts my ears." "The wind is too too windy!" These comments were a provocation for me as an educator. I felt that if we could just get the children out there they would learn to see, hear, and feel the wind in new ways. They could discover it's power without being harmed. They could find the music in the wind, the soft caresses of the wind.
So, coats on, hoods up, and nervous energy exploding, we ventured out to brave the element of wind. We marched along the cemented path, holding onto our jackets and fingers gripping our hoods, trying to keep every hair strand inside, until..... we came across a huge pile of beautiful pink, delicate cherry blossoms. The blossoms were waiting for us, like a friend who knows you need her. There they were ready and eager for the children to pick them up and toss them freely into the wind. They were magnificent! They blew wildly all around us, encircling us, landing on our shoulders, our heads. We all laughed and cried out with excitement. This was marvellous and we all forgot our fears and any feelings of trepidation. And, so began our friendship with wind.
We brought out various sizes, textures and colours of silk scarves. How would they move in the wind? Would children release them or want to hold onto them? Would children team up and play catch? Would the wind blow them far away? Children ran, danced, twirled, twisted, rolled, tripped, leaped, and tied them around themselves.
Having just been to a workshop on shadows and light, I was thrilled to bring attention to the shadows and watch the children play with their shadows. I stood back and refrained from jumping in and starting to 'teach' about shadows. I relaxed and let myself enjoy their delight in their own discovery, the most meaningful of all.
And, supporting the notion that as teachers we can let the children guide us into new places, I walked over to the fence only to see the children discovered that the wind would whisk their scarf away and throw it against the fence. A new art form emerged- Scarf Fence Art. One child spearheaded this initiative and began designing the scarves and she solicited help in trying to control them along the fence to make her own design. I was overjoyed by this moment!
Later, free journal time included several drawings of their experiences.
I think we all left this windy Monday feeling like we had made a new kind of peace with an element. And, now we have a new friend named, Wind.
Emily
So, coats on, hoods up, and nervous energy exploding, we ventured out to brave the element of wind. We marched along the cemented path, holding onto our jackets and fingers gripping our hoods, trying to keep every hair strand inside, until..... we came across a huge pile of beautiful pink, delicate cherry blossoms. The blossoms were waiting for us, like a friend who knows you need her. There they were ready and eager for the children to pick them up and toss them freely into the wind. They were magnificent! They blew wildly all around us, encircling us, landing on our shoulders, our heads. We all laughed and cried out with excitement. This was marvellous and we all forgot our fears and any feelings of trepidation. And, so began our friendship with wind.
We brought out various sizes, textures and colours of silk scarves. How would they move in the wind? Would children release them or want to hold onto them? Would children team up and play catch? Would the wind blow them far away? Children ran, danced, twirled, twisted, rolled, tripped, leaped, and tied them around themselves.
Having just been to a workshop on shadows and light, I was thrilled to bring attention to the shadows and watch the children play with their shadows. I stood back and refrained from jumping in and starting to 'teach' about shadows. I relaxed and let myself enjoy their delight in their own discovery, the most meaningful of all.
And, supporting the notion that as teachers we can let the children guide us into new places, I walked over to the fence only to see the children discovered that the wind would whisk their scarf away and throw it against the fence. A new art form emerged- Scarf Fence Art. One child spearheaded this initiative and began designing the scarves and she solicited help in trying to control them along the fence to make her own design. I was overjoyed by this moment!
Later, free journal time included several drawings of their experiences.
I think we all left this windy Monday feeling like we had made a new kind of peace with an element. And, now we have a new friend named, Wind.
Emily
Comments