Quickening
06-09-2008, 11:25 AM
Hmm. I couldn't think of a better name for this thread :shrug
So last night we headed down to the Esplanade to check out the drumming session held on the first Friday of every month. It was our first time there, and we went with Ajysyt's family and two of our friends who will consider home learning once they have kids.
When we got there, DD was very excited to see her friend and ran off to play with him. Then DP noticed there was another woman present at the drumming circle from the home learning group we attend. I headed over to see and it was! She has 3 children, two of which were having a go at drumming. She came over to chat with us. Then her kids finished and came over and were excited to see my kids who they recognised. All of the kids ended up in one big flock, exploring and playing games!
Ajysyt had been to the drumming in another town by other people and enjoyed it. She was disappointed with how contrived and structured this one was. I wasn't that impressed either. They were telling people how to drum and keeping them all drumming as one class. We were hoping for something more fluid and organic where we could all just jump in and go for it. I asked the children if they wanted to sit down and have a go at the drumming. They glanced over, shook their heads and ran off! Well there you go! :lol
They looked at green ants in a tree with DP's mobile phone light. They played chasing games. They examined stuff on the Esplanade foreshore. They played in sand. They played in grass. They sat around one of the lights that was installed in the ground. They peered under the boardwalk for crocodiles! They climbed trees and were having so much fun.
I was interested to see how the adults chatting in a group ended up somewhat in the centre of the area the flock of kids were roaming in. The kids didn't go too far, they roamed around in a big flock that would split in twos and threes but all would stay within the range of the area we were in.
I also noticed how the other kids were setting the boundaries of safety for my young DS and showing him how to have independence from adult presence and still be safe. It was working out very well as he was interested and in what the kids were doing and giving them his full attention.
Ajysyt's youngest who is even younger than DS wasn't as interested (maybe because he couldn't keep up with the speed of the other kids) and was wandering off at a slow but steady pace towards bright lights and shops over the road so her partner spent most of his time staying with him.
We ended up going home without drumming and no one had any regrets. It is lovely to see the learning and play that goes on when you've got a group of kids and space to run around and explore.
So last night we headed down to the Esplanade to check out the drumming session held on the first Friday of every month. It was our first time there, and we went with Ajysyt's family and two of our friends who will consider home learning once they have kids.
When we got there, DD was very excited to see her friend and ran off to play with him. Then DP noticed there was another woman present at the drumming circle from the home learning group we attend. I headed over to see and it was! She has 3 children, two of which were having a go at drumming. She came over to chat with us. Then her kids finished and came over and were excited to see my kids who they recognised. All of the kids ended up in one big flock, exploring and playing games!
Ajysyt had been to the drumming in another town by other people and enjoyed it. She was disappointed with how contrived and structured this one was. I wasn't that impressed either. They were telling people how to drum and keeping them all drumming as one class. We were hoping for something more fluid and organic where we could all just jump in and go for it. I asked the children if they wanted to sit down and have a go at the drumming. They glanced over, shook their heads and ran off! Well there you go! :lol
They looked at green ants in a tree with DP's mobile phone light. They played chasing games. They examined stuff on the Esplanade foreshore. They played in sand. They played in grass. They sat around one of the lights that was installed in the ground. They peered under the boardwalk for crocodiles! They climbed trees and were having so much fun.
I was interested to see how the adults chatting in a group ended up somewhat in the centre of the area the flock of kids were roaming in. The kids didn't go too far, they roamed around in a big flock that would split in twos and threes but all would stay within the range of the area we were in.
I also noticed how the other kids were setting the boundaries of safety for my young DS and showing him how to have independence from adult presence and still be safe. It was working out very well as he was interested and in what the kids were doing and giving them his full attention.
Ajysyt's youngest who is even younger than DS wasn't as interested (maybe because he couldn't keep up with the speed of the other kids) and was wandering off at a slow but steady pace towards bright lights and shops over the road so her partner spent most of his time staying with him.
We ended up going home without drumming and no one had any regrets. It is lovely to see the learning and play that goes on when you've got a group of kids and space to run around and explore.