Silver - reflective practice in action

In Halifax we have such beautiful tree-lined streets and unfortunately from time to time there’s reasons to cut these trees down. So the infants were out for a walk and they were really interested in what this company was doing cutting down these huge trees. And the teacher said, can we have a piece of that tree? It’s really important to us because we’ve seen it, you know, and we really want to have this tree in our centre. 

And of course the response from the chainsaw operator was…okay. And very hesitant and he said, well how are you going to take this back. And they said, oh we have an empty seat in the stroller so we can certainly – you know, we can figure that out. Of course all the babies had come out of the stroller and then he put this stump in. So it’s lived in that infant room for a very long time. So one of the Romper teachers when the children were really interested in hammering and, you know, using tools and that, she came to the babies and she said, you have a really beautiful clean stump. The ones in the playground are wet and dirty. Can we have your clean stump? Because we want to, you know, experience what it’s like to hammer into that stump. And the teacher said, of course, what a great opportunity to, you know, to share that experience and tell the story of where the stump has come from, and now it’s moved on to be in that classroom. So again those connections between classrooms, between teachers, and you know, sharing materials and ideas.  

So I think that the teachers obviously are trying to support the interests of the children to see things that are being torn down and things that are being rebuilt, and really offer them real materials. And parents are certainly supportive of that because they know that in the environment the teachers are there with them, you know, with their safety goggles and all of the gear that allows it to be, well I guess safer, but also more exciting to the children. Because the more construction gear you can put on the better it is.  

And I think that, that the parents get excited when there’s something that, you know, the majority of the children are really interested in. And who could not be interested in hammering, you know, a hundred nails into a stump. It’s pretty exciting. And also the teachers come to me for support to figure out, you know, they really love using a wrench, but we don’t know how to do that. Like, how do we figure that out? So fortunately I’ve been able to – I made them, you know, the board that’s in there. It’s like a wrench screw board because I thought, oh, you know, guys, I really wanted to make one of these. Let’s figure out how to do it. You know, so we sort of problem solved around that so that really they’re meeting my needs too by, you know, being creative in a different way and supporting classrooms by offering materials that you can’t just go and buy off of the shelves.  

So I think that those are the most important and enriching experiences. To really slow down and pay attention to what’s around you as an educator and to pick up on those pieces, and to know, where can I collect the things to make this happen, and make this an authentic real learning experience for the children.