The Monday of week 8 I was ill, and had to miss my regular day at Bird Song. I was able to make it up by attending the Wednesday gathering instead. As I spoke to in one of my earlier posts, the routine structure that Ms Aimee has built, where each day has its set activities, flow, and meal plan, establishes a structure of predictability that allows the young ones to thrive. Being able to know what is coming up next in the course of a day, and what the associated expectations are, provides a sense of security for the children, and it is this security and the assurance of routine that allows them the freedom to thrive as individuals within the structured system.
And so, hopping into the Wednesday routine, I was once again amazed by the behavior of the children. You see, Wednesday is the day that the whole group meets at the Evergreen State College F parking lot for an afternoon of frolicking in the forest. Once everyone had arrived, we began with a welcoming circle, which is something normally done as a transitional activity on Mondays, but here acted as a tuning in activity, where everyone comes to the same page and shares in song and body movement. I discussed with Aimee later in the week, that these circles serve multiple purposes; those that I just stated above, and also as a way to help the child connect to their body, and their senses. It challenges them to practice balance, impulse control, and to develop cross-body movements, also known as “crossing the mid-line.”
Once circle was finished, we headed out into the forest, following the same series of forest paths that they have for many years. For the students that have been at Bird Song for three years, they are extremely familiar with not only the route and flow of the routine that each stop provides, but also with the plants and animals along the way, and at various points in the trek. Our first stop was brief as we were running a bit behind schedule. We stopped in a small clearing with a few fallen trees and stumps, one of which was a make believe store that a student had established the week prior, and she promptly set up shop again, offering treats and forest finds for trade or free. I was gifted a particularly plush array of moss! Others, climbed large stumps, found slugs and centipedes and played games.
We departed the first stop, and crossed the main path to a small side trail, where Ms Aimee briefly reminded everyone to use their fox feet and owl ears, in other words, to step quietly and to listen for the sounds in the forest. We walked silently through along the path, listening to birds chirping, bugs whirling, and the breeze passing through the trees. When we made it to the next stop, everyone excitedly shared what they had heard and seen along the way. Then it was story time. The children found their seats in the circle of logs and listen quietly as Ms Aimee painted a picture with her words. When reflecting on storytelling with Aimee in our meeting, she shared that part of the goal of that is to have the children experience the story internally, to see and feel her words in their minds and bodies, another tool for connecting child to their sense.
The next activity was to run from this spot to the next, allowing the children to use their bodies to their fullest, after a time of quiet restfulness. They practiced listening to Ms Aimee say “On your left!” and they responded by all moving in unison to the right side of the trail, allowing her to pass. With her taking the lead, we were off, each running at our own pace, a few in the back strolled leisurely as they desired, with the other accompanying adult trailing behind in support. The rest ran down a little path a few exercising their practiced words, and passing their classmates. When we reached the next clearing, we all stopped and settled into snack time, each finding a seat below a tall tree of their choosing, as the adults passed out cheese, bread and apples.
Once snack was complete, and they were excused from their spots, they were free to play in the area for quiet some time, in a fairly large range. A few children wanted to go check on a birds nest that was discovered the week prior by a little one that is particularly in tune with animals and had observed the mama bird flying into and out of a low crack in a tree several times. When she approached the tree, she discovered 5 tiny eggs in a little nest. Impressive for a little one to have such keen observation skills and awareness of her environment to make such a discovery!
When we were running around this area, I was excited to share something I had recently learned about a plant, and asked a few of them, “do you want to learn something about this plant?” to which they replied “No.” I immediately recognized my mistake. Rather than taking the opportunity to translate my excitement into a story or game, I instead tried to just tell them a fact. Boring. I had to laugh at myself for my failed attempt, and resolved to learn from this experience. While I didn’t make another attempt, I did discuss it later with Aimee and we had a good laugh about it. She pointed out the difference in being told something is true, verses learning it to be true through personal experience, through witnessing it with your own senses.
As the day continued, they pointed out plants along the way, crying “sticky-weed!” as we came along a patch of cleavers. They pulled some out and gave me a tail! Another spot along the way, they asked for the licorice that had been plentiful the week before but was no longer available. Instead, we found salmon berries to share with the group, and pointed out plentiful Oso berries adorning Indian Plum, almost, but not quiet ripe for eating. I was impressed by their knowledge of plants, of which we can and cannot eat. This is something I have been learning in another educational experience outside of school with a local herbalist. One of the things she tells us is the value in experiencing the growing cycles of these plants throughout the year. Of seeing how they change with the seasons, and by observing this for multiple years. The more time you spend with the same plants in the same area the more you can learn about them, and the more in tune with your environment you will be.
Although there is much more to this day than I can fit into this post, the last thing I wanted to speak to was at the very end of our time on campus. When we walked into Red Square to catch the bus, we came across the bouncy houses, obstacle courses and slides that were out for the play day event. How can you deny 4-6 year old the opportunity to slide down a big inflatable slide and bounce in bounce house? We had less than ten minutes to make the bus, which the children were well aware of and understood. They each took their turn on the slide, with one exception, setting down their backpacks and taking off their boots, and then the same at the bounce house, except all at once. When we said it was time to go and put your boots and bag back on they all did so promptly and without fighting it. They respected the time restrictions and all hustled to make the bus on time. Once on the bus they all excitedly shared the story of their experience on the slide and how they were going to tell their parents! No complaints that they only got to go once, just pure joy from the experience. I must say it was a shock that we didn’t miss the bus, and that there wasn’t a single issue that arose during a highly stimulating experience.
All in all, this day opened me up to a whole new kind of outdoor, nature-based education. While I didn’t have much experience in this realm prior to this day, the ones that I did were much more educationally bound and lesson oriented. I greatly appreciate the self-directed learning style that Waldorf Education offers. The free play time in all sorts of settings, as well as the familiarity of the routine throughout the year and potentially for multiple years sets the children up for self- and environmental-exploration, and the results, in my experience, are quiet profound.