Our neighborhood walks are filled with moments of discovery and learning. The streets may be the same, however, the experience is never the same for each group of children. This time, believe it or not, rain in LA had given us a break. Having being indoors the previous day, the children were eager to step onto the streets to enjoy the fresh air. In his book Last Child In the Woods/ Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv highlights Robin Moore’s statement about how “Multisensory experiences in nature help to build the cognitive constructs necessary for our sustained intellectual development and stimulate imagination by supplying the child with the free space and materials for what he calls children’s architecture and artifacts.” Well, here is a clear example of Mr. Moore’s words in these children’s approach when spotting struggling worms on the sidewalk after the rain.
Laz: The worm is suffering. It needs a prayer.
Mazzy: [Picks up a leaf and places it on the worm]
Archie: [Worries] Take it off. Take it off!
Mazzy: I’m trying to make a shed.
Laz: [ Showing concern for the covered worms]If somebody steps on it, it will die.
Isla: So, leave a little door for them to see.
Jacob: Make sure they can breathe!
Mazzy: Cover him.
Isla: No, don’t, don’t, don’t.
Palmer: Then, they can’t breathe.
Jacob: Yeah, and they can’t see!
Isla: Leave them in the wild. They live in the wild, so leave them in the wild.
This morning the multisensory environment wrapped itself around the children’s sense of concern and safety. Safety and caring for others is what we practice every day as a school community. Watching the children’s’ immediate reaction as a group shows evidence of their abilities to exercise empathetic actions towards the community beyond our school doors. And we did leave the worms in the “wild” not without making sure they were “safe” on the grass first. This is the magic that neighborhood walks create. – Teacher Flora