KEYWORDS

REGION: North
MUNICIPALITY: Frederikshavn
PROCEDURE: 2022
DAILY OFFER: Børnehuset Bangsbo and Skovbørnehaven

Snow story: Børnehuset Bangsbo and Skovbørnehaven (2022)

In Børnehuset Bangsbo and Skovbørnehaven we have had a different, cozy and interesting Play Art course with Lars Ditlev, who is an actor and playwright.

Unfortunately, we have had to make a lot of changes to the groups of children we had decided to include. Throughout the course, we were hit by a lot of illness, both in children and adults, which meant that children dropped out and new children joined.

Lars was very engaged in his work and eager to share his knowledge and learning.

Most of the children were captured, but due to the turnover in the groups, it was difficult to get everyone on board, as some children only had a few opportunities to be let into Lars' universe.

From the start, the staff were very curious about the process and looked forward to new inspiration and new methods, based on our snip story from the staff's previous course on the "whisper people".

How could the adults follow the children's interest and follow their lead, without focusing on the product, but instead being in the moment and the process itself.

Staff would like to get better at inspiring children to use their imagination by leading the way and letting them try things out for themselves.

Together with Lars, the staff set the framework for the project and talked about methods, tools, and about keeping the children's attention and belief that their story was exciting and that they are the ones who decide the direction of the story.

We had chosen to use nature and the body as a learning space, as it brings both the mental and physical into play.

Together with Lars, we went to the forest to meet the trees, listen to them, say sounds like them, look like them, etc.

This process was different from the way staff usually approach it, and some also found it borderline invasive to have to move and say sounds like a tree, or a thing you couldn't see.

Some children were fully engaged, others looked at the adults before they "dared" to join in, while a few just chose to watch and absorb.

Throughout the process, the children have made small statements in their games:

It was like the trees in the forest.

Remember how that man said that someone lived in the hole in the tree?

It was fun to lie down and look at the clouds.

Subsequently, the staff has agreed that they will continue to work across the rooms/groups with the experience they have gained from the Play Art project.

What the staff have experienced is that they have become more aware of being more in the moment and letting the children lead the way. That it doesn't have to be big planned projects, but that they just need to seize the moment, be curious and open to what may come.

As the staff said to Lars. You're a little strange.

Fortunately, Lars took it with a smile, but yes, he was probably a little different than we expected. There's a lesson to be learned from that too.

Pedagogical manager for Børnehuset Bangsbo and Skovbørnehaven

Mette Hesthaven

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