Children always teach us something new in how they might start their connections. So we formulated some open ended questions to guide us in our research of building relationships with the children. As teachers, we wondered: How does our energy flow in our outdoor spaces? With this research question in mind, we heard the wind making the wind chimes chime soothing music. When it did, it captured Ana’s attention.
Ana, turning to Dana and pointing: Look!
Ana stretches up and up, but her arm is not long enough to reach. She jumps and jumps again.
Ana looks around and sees the ledge along the plants. She starts to climb but stops after she wobbles. She sits and looks down at the ground.
Arya: Look! She can’t reach it.
Dana: I wonder if we can support in some way?
Dana moves one of our sturdy outdoor chairs closer.
Ana, with a smile on her face, pushed the chair closer underneath the windchime. Then she climbed up and struck the windchimes. After she hopped down, Arya climbed up and took a turn at making a noise. Then Ana took her turn again. They continued to alternate: one making a chime, then the other making a chime. This playful musical back-and-forth caught the attention of more children playing around them. Next thing we knew, they started asking for turn taking or waiting to be next when the child stepped off the wooden chair.
The children continue to discover new ways to make music together with the windchimes — and find different ways to reach them. As the children continued to practice jumping higher and higher, they began to see that they didn’t need such a tall chair. Leon pushed over a low stool under the windchime. He jumped, making the windchime sound. Then Cary came over to try. Eddie, hearing the music, brought over a second stool. At first, he stood with one foot planted on each stool. But noticing Leon wanting a turn, he shifted over so that one stool was available for a peer. The children started climbing up in pairs, allowing them to discover that one Dandelion could make music by hitting the wind chime while the other Dandelion could add a different noise when their feet landed on the ground after jumping.
The wind and the wind chimes are adding meaning to the front yard space by calling the children to have this interactive energy exchange listening together to its sound every time one of them steps up, jumps off the stepping stool, and strikes it. Spencer said once during lunch time that the wind was making them do the sound. This sound brings a soothing and comforting feeling to the children during these transitional times. This sound offers them to share their energy around feelings of accomplishment and joy. This sound connects their energy into a collaborative action where the outcome has been smiles and encouragement from each other. That said, this is just one example of how our energy is flowing within our outdoor spaces.