Last week our centre flooded and we needed to relocate. This week the children have returned and are spending some time orienting to their new space. Most of the materials and furniture are familiar, though the space and the set up are new. The flow of this new space and the interplay of materials has its own set of limitations and possibilities.
Our loft is now in a more open space than it was before and today the children explored it in a new way. Ahvi took a large piece of fabric and wove it between the slats. She then hung onto the ends of the fabric and swung from side to side, waving them in the air and swinging herself from them. Mack and Rylee joined her, weaving swinging, hanging and jumping. While Ahvi wove the fabric through the slats from below, Rylee climbed into the loft to push the ends of her fabric through from above. Rylee then climbed back down and, hanging onto her fabric, hung her head back, laughed and smiled at us.
This was a lovely, joyful moment, for sure. Further though, I began to think again about space and flow and the way that we set up our environments for children and the impact that these decisions have on play, social interactions and conversation. The children were certainly able to interact with the loft in an entirely new way today, a way in which they wouldn’t have been able to before due to constraints in the space. It was also a very social moment… they were able to move freely and weave around and between each other without frustration. They had the space to watch and be inspired by one another, try out new moves and make new discoveries. I began also to think about when we return to our previous space and how I might set things up a little differently with all of this in mind. Maybe it’s time to rethink and reinvent our space and how it works for us. I love thinking about and being inspired by all of these new possibilities! I guess there can always be an upside to a crisis like a flood!
