Small Spaces

November 3, 2021

On Tuesday, November 2, 2021 a group of children walked down to the Denne Woodlot. Each time the group goes to the forest, they first meet at the “fire pit” area to gather and discuss their immediate observations about the space. After that, the children and educators discover their surroundings following the children’s lead in their play and exploration. Today, the children spent some time lying in the leaves and watching them fall from the trees above them. They also spent time climbing and investigating small spaces in the root systems of the several trees.

In one root system, a child noticed a small object nestled near the trunk of the tree. An educator said “What do you see inside?” the child responded, “A frog!”. The educator said, “I wonder what the frog is doing?”. The child responded, “frogs eat avocados.” The child invited the others to see what they saw. Each child approached the tree to see what was hidden in the small area. Another child used a stick to pull the leaves back away from the hole.

Another child found an additional tree that had more crevices in the root system. She sat for a long time looking into the holes and an educator went to the other side of the tree. The child was able to observe the educator through the roots. Another child was lying on their belly looking into one of the nooks. An educator asked “I wonder what’s in there?” The children responded “A mouse”. The other children observed what was in the nook and indicated they saw a snail.

So What?

Identified creatures they had previous knowledge about
Discerned that only small sized objects could fit into the root systems and crevices
Theorized what animals were inside the nooks
Classified what foods frogs eat
Connected to others, demonstrating that “every child has a sense of belonging when he or she is connected to others and contributes to their world.” (HDLH, 2014, pg. 26)