It was a most beautiful day to head to the farm- sunny, crisp air and no agenda. The only task we had was to harvest our rutabaga. While on the bus, I overheard one of the children say that we needed to look at 'our' apple tree. I was pleased that they remembered our investigations and initiated this interest on their own. The children could not get out of the bus fast enough to see the tree. One child thought that perhaps it had 're-grown' its apples. However, after close observation, they announced that in fact there were no apples, nor leaves.
Instead of going to our own garden plot right away I invited them to explore the front gardens where we helped weed and turn soil with our big buddies. The pathways were frosty and loud crunching sounds echoed loudly. The children ran up and down, enjoying their 'power' over the ice.
They peered in through the window of the "Living Seat"that resides in the front gardens at Terra Nova. They convinced themselves there was a rabbit in there and then someone exclaimed that the bunny had run away. They named the bunny Shelley and proceeded to call for it like one would a dog or cat. I believe this to be directly related to their experience at our grandpals, where a rabbit lives in an outdoor courtyard. They are fascinated with that elusive rabbit named Oatmeal and were ecstatic to see it on our last visit. At the seniors' home, we all walked around calling its name until we finally saw him. I enjoyed watching them link these experiences, even in their own imaginations. The power of belief is so strong that soon many children were looking for this imaginary rabbit. Aren't children absolutely marvellous?
In their travels, they found beans, ice, a rotted carrot (which Miele was very fond of and insisted on washing it of its dirt), and a frozen potato.
They found sticks of all shapes and sizes; the aftermath of a wind storm.
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| Sebastian collected these sticks to "make a house for my bean." |
Sebastian was intrigued by this piece of a hose.
They dug up lots and lots of rutabagas, which we will cook and eat on Friday!
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| Our kale is still growing strong and the children pleaded and begged for it! |
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| Koltyn insisted on closing up the bag with our rutabagas so ' they wouldn't fall out!" |
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| Balancing on our friend's deck piping. |
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| Navigating through the 'forest' and bushwhacking; quite a skill not to get ones eyes or face scratched. |
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| Matias worked hard at emptying his own boot and putting it back on all by himself! |
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Crushing ice with big stomping feet.
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What a glorious day, watching the children be free to explore and invent games that make sense in a child's mind but not necessarily in an adults mind. I admire their ability to engage in this free spirited play. Can we adults learn how to let go and play without judgement? Let's try!
Emily
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