For the last 12 months Flinders has been participating in the Re-Imagining Childhood Project, which focuses on children as citizens with rights from birth. The project brought together teams of educators from 13 early childhood sites across South Australia, who engaged in action research projects alongside children aged birth to three years.
Flinders focused on children’s non-verbal communication, and how children engage with one another to build community. The final question was; Talking without Words: How do children embody community through non-verbal communication?
Recently the project came to a close, and we shared our findings with the project group at a final presentation day. This was a wonderful opportunity to share the journey of learning at Flinders, and to hear about the amazing work other teams had undertaken. Educators left feeling inspired and excited about what comes next.
As a part of the presentation, Flinders produced a banner displaying significant documentation, and a book that shares key moments of the journey in the form of a fairy tale. The banner is currently displayed at the main entrance to Flinders, and the book is on display in the office. We invite you to have a look!
When I think about talking without words, I think about listening. I think about the skilled educator who watches, who listens closely, who takes time to pause. I then remembered reading ‘Making Learning Visible’ by the Reggio Children – The pedagogy of listening ‘ Listening, then as a metaphor for having the openness and sensitivity to listen and be listened to – listening not just with our ears, but with all our senses (sight, touch, smell, taste, orientation). (Pg.80). Is there another question or research project in there?
Hi Lisa, thank you for your comment. Listening is such a complex and multisensory activity in our work with young children. There is a lifetime of work in understanding how to listen to children, and then a lifetime more. One of the things we learnt through this project was that good research generates more questions than answers…there is always sometime more to explore! Stay tuned…