So Much More Than A Cute Kid Story
This post originally appeared in Dr. 瑞秋一. Larimore’s weekly Samara newsletter on January 23, 2024. 如果你’re interested in receiving these emails, scroll to the bottom of this page to subscribe.
Let me set the scene for you…
Two sisters ages 6 and 8 wake up to a fresh blanket of snow; one looks out the window while the other is still in bed
Ava: It snowed last night!
Lilly: What kind of snow is it?
Ava: It’s 不 glittery snow. Looks like snowman snow.
My friend recently shared this interaction between her children. At first glance it just seems like a cute kid story. We have lots of cute kid stories in our work, don’t we? But like 与 almost every cute story…there’s real depth to 不ice.
For me, this story demonstrates three big ideas…
Learning over time
These two children clearly have prior experience 与 snow as they were able to describe two very different types of snow. That level of knowledge comes from hands-on experience–literally getting their hands in the snow to feel the difference between light fluffy flakes and heavy, 湿雪.
This is one of the many powerful aspects of nature-based learning. Children make meaning from their experiences learning 与 nature. Nature taught them about the different types of snow. All the adults had to do was provide them 与 safe opportunities over time to play in the snow.
❓How are you supporting children to connect 与 nature over time?
Children’s explanations
The second thing that came to mind when I heard this story was what a wonderful explanation of the characteristics of snow! This was an age-appropriate, meaningful explanation. All too often children provide explanations and we dismiss them as superficial, but often those seemingly insignificant comments are packed 与 deep understanding and knowledge.
If someone had followed up 与 Ava by asking “Oh, why would it be good for making a snowman?” I suspect she would have said something like, “It’ll pack together well” or “It’s really wet and heavy.”
❓Listen to children’s language this week, what explanations about the world do you hear them share?
深深的倾听
Finally, the other thought that came to mind about this story was the importance of deep listening. All too often as adults we hear what kids say, but we don’t really listen for the learning they are expressing. If we pause and listen to what children are saying, what they’re implying, or even what they’re 不 saying we can glean a lot about what they are learning.
I think the fun stories we like to share 与 families are great opportunities to highlight the learning that children are engaged 与 every day, 每时每刻.
❓Think of your favorite stories of children playing. What does that story tell you about their growth and development?
These are a few thoughts I had upon hearing this story which illustrates the importance of the work you are doing connecting children 与 nature. What did this story bring up for you?
Keep changing lives,
瑞秋
瑞秋一. Larimore, Ph值.D., Chief Visionary of Samara Learning
