Learning is everywehre

On our recent walk to coffee and cookie, which is a date with my son, I was in awe of the learning that he explored on a simple walk.  We take this path on a very regular basis, either for our date or for just a walk in the neighbourhood.  Joshua loves to walk, and we use walks as apart of of his sensory diet to help stay regulated, but what happened on this particular walk is extremely worth sharing.

Before we left Joshua wanted to wear his little backpack, which is a little unusual for this short excursion.  I was a little hesitant to encourage it as I thought I would be carrying it 2 min in to the walk, but I also knew that he likes to wear his backpack in over stimulating places to help him regulate.  The weight in his backpack provides a calming effect in his sensory systems.  So even though he didn't appear to be over stimulated, it is always important to follow his lead when he states his needs, as he can't say to me " I want to wear the backpack for the weight because it feels good." 

He simply states, "I want to wear my backpack."  And I can't help but wonder if that weight on his back opened up the learn opportunities that I am about to tell you about.

On our walk to the coffee and cookie store, the name according to Joshua, he discovered a very large tree branch on the ground.  He was very intrigued by it and you could tell he was curious as to how it got there.  I said, "I wonder how it got there?"  He recalled a storm from just a night ago and said amongst his gibberish, his own little language, I could hear, storm, wind and fall down.  

Connecting previous events to his current observations is a new development in his cognitive skills.  He also noted how the trees were green just like his name, Joshua Green!  He observed how green the trees were and brushed his hand against the bushes as we continued on our walk.

We enjoyed our time together at the coffee and cookie store, where he ordered his own food, cleaned up after us including knowing what to recycle....he amazes me all the time. On our walk back he had to stop at the fallen tree branch.  He then began to analyze the tree and took little branches, turned them into tools and began to fix the tree.  He had to use his physical skills to balance his body, climb over the many different branches attached, use his spatial awareness to walk in-between two branches that could have poked him in the face.  All while ensuring he was safe on the boulevard.  

He walked all around the tree using his tools to fix the tree, and the neighbours that passed by he eagerly shared what had happened to the tree.  One neighbour said, "You are a tree doctor!"  Joshua loved this and was very excited to be a doctor, as this is new in his play as well.  He said to the neighbours as they left, "Bye, have a good day!"  These social interactions provide him with confidence and the opportunity to use the language he does have in a more controlled environment, as adults interactions are more predictable than children for him.  Adults tend to take the time to listen more closely when they hear the gibberish that he uses, and the words inserted amongst those sentences to share his story.  

Then he crawled onto of the branch and it turned into a race car, and Momma had to climb in as well.  We drove to Nana and Papa's house in our race car!  He used his imagination and creativity to change the play and inviting me into it.  More cognitive and social development!  Language development by sharing his ideas and communicating with me.  

Joshua continued to play at this tree branch for 30 min!  This tree branch brought inquiry, questioning, observational skills, physical development, social interactions, language development, emotional skills, and sensory regulation.  This experience you cannot plan for, it happened naturally.  What we can do is recognize when there is great interest, follow it, nurture it, and take time to document what happens.  I also believe this depth of learning occurred because we explore this environment on a regular basis.  So this tree branch on the ground was not typical and so he knew it was something different and unique.  

We as adults like to explore many new environments, but for children repetition is key to making new discoveries from the knowledge they already have.  ​

As we continued on our way home, Joshua made another observation of a little animal on the sidewalk.  He called me over, and I realized it was a tiny baby bird that had probably fallen out of its nest and died.  I explained that we can look at the bird but not touch with our hands.  Joshua was talking in a soft concerning voice to the bird telling him about the tree.  I simply explained to Joshua that the bird was not alive, I am not sure how much he understood from that, but he knew to be careful, was talking softly and new it was a baby.  

He slowed down his movements and quietly talked to the baby bird.  He also noticed an ant carrying a large piece of a leaf and thought it was very funny.  As we left Joshua stopped me and said, "Wait, we need to hug and kiss the bird!"  This is part of his ritual for saying goodbye to people that he cares about.  So I said we can blow a kiss to the bird.  Joshua showed empathy, kindness and compassion to the baby bird.  Emotional development is not typically something you can preplan an activity around, it is best to explore and nurture natural experiences in children's everyday lives.  Joshua learnt more emotional skills in this interaction than I have accomplished in trying to get him to recognize my feelings during arguments.  ​

What I hope you take from this story is that learning can happen anywhere and children learn and develop the different domains simultaneously, deeply connected and intertwined with the next.   How one single tree branch can provoke inquiry, social, language, emotional, sensory, and physical development.  Learning that happens naturally and intrinsically.  Our role is to recognize these magical opportunities  and nurture it.