I Spy: Through Animal Eyes!

The final week of our Nature Play Corps adventure brought Amelea, Kaitlyn, and Terry together and allowed them to see through animal eyes.  This actually means that they decided to create a play habitat for children to observe wildlife, interact within wildlife habitats, and build their own creations with natural materials.

Learning to observe wildlife from the tree house

In "I Spy Through Animal Eyes", the children were given free range within a network of trails that connected to five different experiences.  These included:  a pine straw nest, vine-lashed tunnel, small loose parts habitat creation, large loose parts lean-to construction, and a wildlife observation tree house.  It's important to note that our series of paths/play pockets included a central island with seating for parents to congregate while their children engaged in free play from pocket to pocket. 

I spy... a blue snake!

Our play habitat generated many many many fun memories, one of which we'll share here: Jimmy came trundling down the main trail with the force of a thousand rhinoceroses and decided to turn left at the first fork, following a secret path leading to a 4 foot high tree fort, constructed of fallen timbers, rope and disguised with foliage camouflage.  He was happy to be the first one up, where he immediately grabbed a pair of binoculars and peered over the railing, anxious to spot some "wildlife". [Prior to the program, representational images of local wildlife were placed in and amongst the surrounding trees.]

Coming through the tunnel

Instantly, he exclaimed that he saw a slithering "cobra" snake on the ground.  Soon, Jimmy hopped down and rambled back down the path to discover something new.  The trail took him to a tunnel in the underbrush where he felt inspired to slither and Ssssssssssss like a snake until he reached the end.  The exit led him directly to a smaller pocket, which had appropriate loose parts for digging and building miniature habitats.  As he was vigorously digging a snake hole, he overheard some other children crowing like birds in a nearby 3x3 foot nest.  This piqued his interest, and he quickly joined the jubilant baby bird congregation.

It was awesome to see a child take a continued hold of his imagination with minimal prompting in this foreign wooded environment.  The trail system afforded children the opportunity to freely explore their environment through self-directed play.  Success through animal eyes.  

Habitat Manor (Week 3)

Cooking mac & cheese in the homestead

It was bittersweet for all of us today as our last day together in Manteo. We were challenged throughout the week and the overall product ended spectacularly!

In the Habitat Manor the children first explored an open home complete with a table set, books, and windows through makeshift wallpaper from tablecloths. Carly (later named "Mom") welcomed them in followed by Will who came upon them exclaiming, "I see you have found my home!" The kids jumped into exploration of the rest of the path just a few minutes into the half hour slot. They crossed the path to a half dome beaver dam with a seashell entrance. In front of them pointing to the right read a sign that warned, "Danger!" Some were hesitant, others dared onward. Not far down the path they came across Courtney, a worried and lost bird watcher who claimed she had been lost for 2 days after being frightened from a mysterious growl. The children immediately guided her back to their home, where spaghetti (pine needles and leaves) and water (an empty mug) were provided for her care.

Some remained to take care of the lost birder, while Carly and Will helped them search for the unknown creature, later to be determined a bear. The second group was especially creative and excited, continuously racing up and down the trail running from bears and seeking refuge in the homestead. We all made loud noises to ward off the bear (played by the 4-H caretaker ). When the bear threatened to attack again some children hid the birder under a tarp and others bravely went to fight. The play continued with massive amounts of energy and it was hard to move the children on to the next pocket.

HONEY BEARS ATTACK!

One of our final prototypes for the pilot program was a trail system of bear tracks leading up to a bear den. It was fascinating to see the different approaches each group of children took when arriving at our site. Upon their arrival, the children were asked if they wanted to become "real bears" and received paw prints on their hands to make it so.

Bear paws

The children then were given free range of the "play habitat," which allowed for 1-5 kids to occupy the den space, and afforded the other children to discover various bones, and sticks, to forage for food, or to become bears themselves.

Ferocious bears in their den

It's about ten minutes into our third play session, and a little girl is staring me down.
"Honey Bears are vicious. They are mean to all the other bears," she says. "I'm a Honey Bear, and you are the other bears." Her glare melts the log between us, giving me a hint of what is about to unfold.
"Uh-oh, what does that mean for me?" I ask.
"RAAAAAAAWWRR!"
Suddenly, I'm being clawed and hit. I collapse over the log, clearly dead. No matter, a magical bumble bee helmet brings me back to life, so that I can properly enjoy being bound. Ahead lies being a bench, a log, and a horse. It's a good day.

Captive Benji makes an excellent bench for honey bears.

Katie Johnson, Benji Palmer, and Sarah Safley

Nets, and more nets!

Hi guys,

I have been having a chat with a UK net and rope manufacturer today who would like Eden to collaborate with them on making nets and rope courses (like the one we used in the woods for Sky Island), on the basis that we'll test them, gather visual material for publicity and promote them on our website. So if you have any good ideas for net designs, or rope based play materials, let me know.

Phil x

We made the news!

Things have been so exciting for us lately with all the work we have been doing. It was exciting to discover a news article on our work here!!! Check it out!!

http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2011/06/15/features/feats200.txt

Well done, gang

Well done to you all for your playday with the children, sounds like you all had a ball. Wish I could have been there!

As promised, I am going to send attachments to emails to Robin and Nilda some of the articles I have written about play that highlight some of the things we covered.

Yours playfully

Phil x

Turtle Island Extravaganza

It’s dark. And damp. The pine needles are poking my forehead, getting caught in my hair. The hemp string is not staying attached to my arms, making it more comfortable to sit in child’s pose than any other position. Nobody seems to have noticed the massive box in the corner, distracted by the glitter and glue and mom’s instructions for how to apply both. Ah, it’s my time. I poke my head out, here come the arms… voila, I am a box turtle. Mom laughs. And keeps laughing.

Getting to know Mr. Box Turtle

The first group of children entered Turtle Island timidly and were greeted by three turtles of differing species. The girls ranged in age from about 4 to 7 and, after a brief moment of hesitation, were excited to begin their transformation from children into turtles. They each tried on a shell for size and proceeded to slather paint, glue, and glitter over the cardboard pieces in various designs. As they began to finish their shells, the girls were led into the woods by Mr. Box Turtle toward the Enchanted Forest.

A turtle parade through the woods

Britani Lolley, Benji Palmer, and Stephanie Rustem