New post from Hannah (caring with the more-than-human)

Taking Good Care

I stopped to watch a flying insect walking on the ground. One of the children noticed and watched with me. I wondered aloud what the bug was doing. Why wasn’t it flying? Bugs usually fly away when we get close to them. The child replied, “I think his wings are wet.” I agreed and said that a lot of insects can’t fly if their wings are wet. We watched the bug walk across the ground and attempt to climb some blades of grass. I asked the child what kind of bug he thought it was. He told me it was a wasp. I responded that I wasn’t sure because wasps have a lot of yellow stripes, and this one doesn’t. He thought for a moment and said, “maybe it’s a bee.” We didn’t want him to get stepped on, so the child decided we should move the bee. I told him that I didn’t want to pick the bee up with my hand because I didn’t know if it was a stinging bee, so he suggested using a stick. We turned to look for a stick or a longer wood chip, but when we turned back, the bee was gone. We looked around the area, but we couldn’t find him. I said that his wings must have dried so he could fly away because he should be easy to find if he had walked away. After searching a minute more, the child agreed with me and went to play.

I believe that in learning how to care for our more-than-human relations we learn to care for each other. If we believe that the bee is worthy of care and attention, wouldn’t it make sense that the same would apply to a peer? If we are required to care for each other, why are we not required to care as deeply for our more-than-human relations?

Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013) reminds us how young children often use personal pronouns (he/she/they) for everything. They offer “intention and compassion – until we teach them not to” (p. 57). As we get older, living things are reduced to being an “it” which allows us to reframe them as being somehow less than, and not worthy of the same care. “Saying it makes a living land into ‘natural resources.’ If a maple is an it, we can take up the chain saw. If a maple is a her, we think twice” (Kimmerer, 2013, p. 57).

Many Indigenous languages are verb-based, which means that things are described by their relationship to other things, or by their use (Styres, 2011). With noun-based languages (such as English) we are able to create an objectification of things that we should be in relationship with. When we do not have the context of how we are in relationship with the things around us, we are able to deny the interconnectedness of the land, our more-than-human relations, and ourselves (Styres, 2011).

As a part of our living inquiries in the BC Early Learning Framework (2019) we are invited to explore pathways involving social responsibility and how we are connected to everything around us. It states that “learning is not an individual act, but happens in relationship with people, materials, and place” (p. 67). To be in relationship with a place, we should consider the Indigenous definition of land and place as put forth by Anja Kanngieser and Zoe Todd (2020). They tell us that in Indigenous philosophy land is not just a physical place, but also an abstract space as it is “conceptual, experiential, relational, and embodied” (p. 386).

When we consider our more-than-human relations (both plants and animals) living on and with the land, how can we be separate from them? We can’t. Whether you look at it from a settler or Indigenous viewpoint, we rely on the land for everything. The land and our more-than-human relations feed and clothe us. If we do not have ground cover like “weeds,” the soil will eventually erode or become infertile (Frick & Johnson, 2002). We will be unable to grow food. If we do not have the pollinators, like our friend the bee, both edible plants and “weeds” will be unable to grow. This is why it is so important to teach the children in our care to live with the land and our more-than-human relations in a good way. To take good care.

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education, Ministry of Children and Family Development, and Ministry of Health. (2019). British Columbia Early Learning Framework. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/early-learning/teach/earlylearning/early_learning_framework.pdf

Frick, B. & Johnson, E. (2002). Weeds – When are they a good thing? Organic agriculture centre of Canada, faculty of agriculture. https://www.dal.ca/faculty/agriculture/oacc/en-home/resources/pest-management/weed-management/organic-weed-mgmt-resources/weeds-good.html

Kanngieser, A. & Todd, Z. (2020). From environmental case study to environmental kin study. History and Theory, 59(3), 385-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/hith.12166

Kimmerer, R. W. (2013) Braiding sweetgrass: Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. Milkweed Editions.

Styres, S. D. (2011). Land as first teacher: A philosophical journeying. Reflective Practice, 12(6), 717-731. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2011.601083

Caterpillars and land-based learning – Hannah Wilkinson

Lately I’ve noticed, as I’m sure many of you have, that the children are very interested in caterpillars. I’ve also been told we had a few tents in Arbutus that needed to be dealt with. Or did they? I didn’t know much about tent caterpillars, so I decided to do a little research. I was curious to see how much damage they could do, and what their tents look like. I learned that they can either do a lot of damage, or no damage, and that they are an important part of our ecosystem.

There is currently a tent caterpillar “outbreak” on the island, so I wanted to find out what that means, and what we can do about it. According to zoologist Judy Myers we usually don’t have to do anything (Dickson, 2023). Fruit trees might not grow much fruit after tent caterpillar activity, so if you’re on a fruit farm you probably want to remove them, but otherwise, they typically don’t do much long-term damage at all (Dickson, 2023). Although in large enough groups they can take the leaves off an entire tree, healthy trees that lose half their leaves will typically survive and grow new leaves by the end of the summer (Sadof, 2018). Tent caterpillars only have one generation per year, so a few weeks after making themselves known, they go into their cocoons, and the tents fall off the trees (Lofgren, 2021).

When we find a tent, we should assess the health of the tree and the developmental stages of the nearby children before we decide if we need to remove the tent. We need to be aware of the environment around us, and how everything is connected. Leaving the caterpillars where they are encourages greater biodiversity in our yard, as the caterpillars will attract small birds, lizards, and other small natural predators. Their excrement is also a good fertilizer for our plants, some of which grow food. That being said, if children eat the caterpillars the hairs could injure their intestinal tract (Lofgren, 2021).

BC’s Early Learning Framework (ELF) (2019) outlines nine principles of learning, one of which includes building a (re)connection to the land (p. 21). The First Peoples Principles of Learning outlined in the ELF also states that learning should support “the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors” (p. 14). We, as humans, are interdependent on our more-that-human relations with whom we share this land (Styres, 2011), so it is important to consider what will happen if we remove something unnecessarily.

The ELF also discusses the early learning philosophy of the environment as the third teacher, referring to the classroom and yard (p. 22). In Indigenous philosophy, we often refer to land as the first teacher (Styres, 2011). Sandra Styres uses Bowlby’s attachment theory as an analogy to explain how the land is thought of as the first teacher. The land can be thought of as the primary caregiver, which the learner enters “to explore and gain knowledge and understanding of how to be in relation to land” (p. 722). As the learner strengthens their connection to land through lived experiences, the land becomes the primary teacher/relationship (Styres, 2011).

While the tents made by tent caterpillars can become unsightly, and caterpillar activity can be concerning, they aren’t as destructive as I though they would be. Next year, the tent caterpillar activity should be much lower, so perhaps if we find a tent in a healthy tree, we should consider leaving it up.

References

Dickson, C, (2023, May 24). There’s a tent caterpillar outbreak on Vancouver Island – but no need to panic, zoologist says. CBC news. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tent-caterpillar-outbreak-vancouver-island-1.6852018

Lofgren, K. (2021, June 30). How to eradicate tent caterpillars (and whether you should). Garderner’s path. https://gardenerspath.com/how-to/disease-and-pests/tent-caterpillars/

Sadof, C. (2018, July 17). Will my trees recover after losing their leaves? Purdue University landscape report. https://www.purduelandscapereport.org/article/will-my-trees-recover-after-losing-their-leaves/

Styres, S. D. (2011). Land as first teacher: A philosophical journeying. Reflective Practice, 12(6), 717-731. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2011.601083

Sound – Arbutus Place

In Arbutus, Narda, the educators, and the children have been exploring the sights and sounds of our more-than-human relations within, and surrounding, Yard. A group of the children had previously gone on a nature walk where they listened to the sounds around them, and created art based on those sounds. After the art had been displayed in the atrium, Narda, Sadaf, and I took a group of children to go look at it and discuss it. Some of the children had been on the walk and created art, others had not.

As we discussed the art with the children, we were thinking about what the best way would be to communicate what the children were painting for this project to people viewing the art. We thought, and the children agreed, that it would be helpful to have the audio recording of the sounds the children heard available to people who were looking at the art. Narda asked the children how they thought we could tell people about our art, and one child said, “you have to show them.”

After the children returned to Yard, Narda, Sadaf, and I discussed how we could follow this child’s recommendation of showing the art process to others. Yes, we can find a way to provide the audio recording to the viewer, but the recording would not accurately represent what each person heard, and it cannot fully convey the atmosphere of the space the children were in, and the energy they felt.

Talking about how to show work including sound reminded me that you can see and feel sound. Sounds are created by tiny vibrations in the air. Our eardrum vibrates in response to these vibrations in the air, or soundwaves, and that’s what allows us to hear (Butcher, 2022). When you look at a large speaker, you can see the cone of the speaker vibrate as sound passes across it. You can also see these waves by looking at a magnification of a record, or by uploading a recording into a computer program that converts it into an image, or waveform. As a musician, when I sing, I often know if I’m close to the right pitch based on where in my body I feel the vibrations of the note. I feel lower pitches in my chest and as I sing increasingly higher notes, I can feel that vibration starting from a higher physical location in my body.

These physical and visual experiences of sound can help us learn about sound and the world around us with our whole bodies as opposed to just our ears. One of the First Peoples Principles of Learning in the BC Early Learning Framework (ELF) is that learning is holistic (p. 14). The ELF elaborates by explaining that “a holistic approach recognizes that all areas of learning: physical, social, linguistic, visual, auditory, and intellectual are closely interrelated and occur simultaneously” (p. 26). The children who created the art were developing their fine motor skills, visual acuity, coordination, and were learning to be attentive to the sounds in their environment. They were learning to interpret those sounds and consider other ways of representing them. By discussing the art, sights, and sounds around them, they were developing their linguistic skills. If we bring in an image or video of a waveform, the children can connect the sounds they hear with the visual representation of them. Bringing in speakers or instruments and playing low notes on them can help the children connect the sound to the physical sensation of the sound. Low notes will work best because they have low frequency waves which tend to be easier to see and feel (West Music Company, 2017).

Using activities involving the physical sensation and visual representation of sound can also help to foster an environment of inclusion. If we have a child in our program who is hard of hearing or deaf, how can we include them when we’re engaging in a sound-based inquiry? Deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie explains in her TED Talk on listening (2003) that sound/music is an experience. She experiences sound with her whole body through touch, sight, and hearing. We all do, but she is just much more aware of it. We don’t simply hear a thunderstorm, we experience it. We don’t just hear music, we experience it (Glennie, 2003). In Arbutus, we don’t just hear the sounds of Yard and the surrounding area, we live within Yard. For hours every day, we experience life together with our more-than-human relations in, and around, Yard. There are so many ways we can experience and interpret the sounds around us if we just take a minute to listen. By expanding our grasp on the holistic nature of sound, we, along with the children in our care, can learn to experience another aspect of Yard, and the world around us.

References

Butcher, M. (2022, February 8). How does vinyl work? London sound academy. https://www.londonsoundacademy.com/blog/how-does-vinyl-work

Glennie, E. (2003). How to truly listen [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie_how_to_truly_listen

West Music Company. (2017, October 2). It’s science! Basic acoustics: Frequency, wavelength & pitch. West Music. https://content.westmusic.com/its-science-basic-acoustics-frequency-wavelength-pitch/

Hannah Wilkinson’s Introduction

Hi everyone!

For those that don’t know me, I’m Hannah Wilkinson. I’ve been subbing since October, 2022 with UVic Child Care Services, so I’ve met many of you over the last few months. This summer I will be doing my third year practicum for my Child and Youth Care degree.

I obtained my Early Childhood Care and Education diploma at Mount Royal College (now university) in Calgary in 2008. Since then, I have been working as an ECE in Saskatoon. I decided to make a career change and pursue a master’s degree in either Early Learning or Child and Youth Care, but first need to finish my undergrad. Those master’s programs aren’t offered in Saskatchewan, so here I am! I really enjoy learning about different ways of doing things, so I’m excited to get to do a practicum with you all here at UVic CCS.

In my life outside school, I have an active 8-year-old daughter who keeps me busy. In Saskatoon before the pandemic, I was involved in roller derby and sang in a community choir. Those both didn’t start back up until right before I moved, so I’m hoping that eventually I’ll find time to get back into them here in Victoria.

As part of my practicum, I’m planning to write some blog posts, primarily relating to various aspects of the Early Learning Framework. I will also often be shadowing Narda to learn more about the pedagogist aspect of early learning in BC as they don’t have a position like that in Saskatchewan. I look forward to continuing to learn more about UVic CCS, and childcare methodologies in BC.

See you soon!

Post from Mariko

What can we learn from forest walk?

We go forest walk at least once a week at our center. This is an important part of Cedar Place practice, something we treasure and have highlighted in our ethos statement as well. What can we learn from forest walk? On the way to the forest, children held hands to each other. This leads us to learn how to keep each other safe. While we are walking, we sing a song and look at the cars, buses, and bicycles that are passing by. We also often look at the plants, trees, and flowers on the sidewalk. Sometimes we say hi to another center’s friends.

When we go to the forest near by our center, the children sit and wait at the log that we call, ‘Waiting Log’. This leads us to children to learn to wait until all the other friends to join safely and together we say, “Hello, Forest!” to greet the forest before we entered in to start exploring. Once we enter the forest, the children let go of each other’s hands and walk individually.

The children pick up sticks, rocks, and leaves on their way to the place called the ‘Round About’, a spot where the children can freely run, walk, and explore.

When they get to the ‘Round About’ the children freely explore the forest area. Some children climb on the tree and jump off. Other children use sticks to write a line on the ground, and some children look up and wonder where the tree sap was coming from.

What ways of being do we promote during our visits to Haro Woods? What about the children and families who were removed from these lands? They had/have their own ways of knowing and being that pre-date our arrival on Chekonein family lands. This is something Cedar Place has been thinking with and trying to presence in our own way through documentation on walls for families to see: Mariko (witness blanket image)

There is so much wonder in exploring and things that we can learn while we are in the forest. Sometimes we just lay down on the ground, look at the tall trees, and listen to the birds singing. It is so peaceful and calm in the forest. We are fortunate and blessed to have access to the beautiful forest right beside our complex.

Narration by Mariko on April 7, 2023

Angie’s Post: “Being and worlding depend on the activity of reaching toward” Erin Manning

Feb. 15, 2023

I was given the gift of time to think with our ethos and Inquirey today! Thank you everyone.

I am sharing with you some of the trouble I got into 🙂

While diving into thinking with, How to Language Dance within our Sitka Place Ethos?, I fell into a rabbit hole of reading Erin Mannings book, “Always More Than One * Individuation’s Dance”. In her book Erin Manning speaks about this video “In My Language” by Amanda Baggs (2007). This is a two part video at minute 3:12 there is a written “translation”. This video gives a movement languaging perspective within neuordivergence.

https://youtu.be/JnylM1hI2jc

“In this two part video Baggs first creates a sound-sensing environment by moving through space while activating and being-activated by the welling enviro-mentality of the milieu. She moves slowly and carefully, touching, smelling, sounding the environment. Then in part two she challenges the notion that by “translating” this experience into spoken language she will make it more “complex” or “more real”.

”In my Language” does not reject language out right. What it does is use first movement and sensation and then language to inquire our tendency to place language as the determinant of experience. Why would we assume that language can touch every aspect of experience” – Manning

During our last staff meeting we continued to think about our Inquiry and how to start our collective letter to request time with an Elder/Knowledge Keeper at The First Peoples House. I noticed myself feeling tensions and impatience with the feeling of not doing enough or being fast enough in my role as an educator working with the Early Learning Framework which asks “What can I do to ensure that the diversity of Indigenous cultures are recognized and reflected in my program?”. I also felt tension with wanting to recognize the importance of the labour and time it takes to maintain situated, careful, respectful, relationships of unlearning and stumbling together. How do I move away from deficit thinking to working with the idea of holding each other up? (Denis Hodgins) Can it be by moving together within action? I feel activated by the word ACTION. What will this co-labouring letter writing process activate?

“Being and worlding depend on the acitivity of reaching toward” Erin Manning

During our meeting, I was reminded of the Colloquium in London Ontario that I attended in 2020. One Key note speaker was Alexis Shotwell “Education without Extractivism”. Alexis Shotwell asks political, ethical questions about “intellectual extractivisms” and “How do we craft modes of being that do not extract Indigenous ways of thinking?”

Here is the link….. https://www.youtube.com/embed/KxbUjXS2E7M

These were my reflective notes back in 2020….feels like a lifetime ago!!

Reflection – The idea of “Intellectual Extractivism” created much curiosity within my practice. This helped me grapple with my privilege. I now wonder how, where and when do I extract knowledge? When is it my place? When is it not my place? How can I become more ethical within my relationships with others knowledges that is respectful of boundries? This allows me to be more comfortable in sitting with the uncomfort of not knowing. I now see how stealing and consumption of knowledge is just as damaging as stealing land, people and culture. How will I practice a new careful, respectful, reciprocal, responsible relationship with others knowledges as a white settler?

Group Ethos Brainstorming from all of us during our last staff meeting in no particular order, Copied from our “Thinking” wall.

Sitka Place Pedagogical Commitments – Relationship (more than human, families, community, children team, self, uvic, other centres), TRC – Calls to Action, Belonging, Questioning with Curiosity, Being present, (micro) moment (s), De-Romantasize, Arts, Re-Active, Intention, Mindful, Activate Self-Worth-Value-Love, Reflective, Equity, Not child centred but still individuality respected, Knowledge of multiple concepts, improve vocabulary, learn from other professions, Open (ess), Horizontal Encounters, Political, Ethical, Listening, Communication (listening, verbal, non verbal, touch, movement), Welcoming, Boundries (consent, rights, A Practice, De-Centering(child,teacher,environment, more than human) Attunement, Collaborative, Connection, Respectful, Unlearning, EnJOYment, Emotion, Care-full, Inclusive, Images we hold.

Adding more ideas towards beginning to compose our Ethos……

Working as a team we Question, What does it mean to live well, together within difference?

Inquiry, professional development

Materials

Most of our Program is outdoors ….speak to Weathering, Climate change, Movement, Walks to Campus, FPH, Water Fountain, Galleries in the Humanities Building, Haro Woods, Beach

How we work with art, clay, paint, sketching, dance studio, music, photography, the atrium space, thinking otherwise with children.

Dance Language – improvisational movement that is both spontaneous and intentional, embodiment, a coming to be, relational, collaborative, collective research-creation,

Working with taking care of , Stories, Thinking otherwise, in between, noticing/missing, sticky knots, slowing down, planting, cultivating plants, seeds, labouring, experimenting with time.

Maureen Hall’s work – The Chair

The Chair

The team at Juniper Place, decided to add a big blue chair to the office so that the educators could have a comfortable chair to relax in during their breaks and when they need to meet one on one.

The chair is located beside the good-bye window where the children get to say good-bye and see their loved ones (Mommy and/or Daddy) go out of the gate when they start their day inside.

So what do we see? …. A comfortable chair for the educators?

Well, it has become more than that….

It has become a chair to sit on when some children arrive with big feelings, where friends and siblings come together to share a book, look out into the yard, or to support each other.

The chair has welcomed the children into the office, making it a welcoming place just like all the other rooms at Juniper Place. The chair offers all kinds of invitations to show love, share empathy and explore the unknown. It also offers time to share stories with the educators, creating conversations that have come to develop a stronger relationship among the educators and the children at Juniper Place.

As I reflect on this, I have been wondering whether those insects, birds, squirrels, deer and other non-humans in our neighboring community would also have a certain tree, branch, rock, lamp post or a spot in the forest to sit on and what feelings it might bring them.

So go ahead, sit on the chair, enjoy the moment!

Atrium

~ Atrium Space ~

Defintion of atrium in our heart:
The atrium (Latin: ātrium, lit. 'entry hall') is one of two upper chambers in the heart that receives blood from the circulatory system. The blood in the atria is pumped into the heart ventricles through the atrioventricular valves.

Definition:
"In architecture, an atrium (plural: atria or atriums) is a large open-air or skylight-covered space surrounded by a building. Atria were a common feature in Ancient Roman dwellings, providing light and ventilation to the interior."

In our last pedagogical meeting, we discussed our atrium spaces. I have provided pictures of the atrium space in Harry Lou Poy and Complex A. I wanted to share the definition so we can think alongside it with our thoughts, ideas, theories and histories of the spaces we are in everyday.

"Seeping through the cracks of the door, questions and lived experiences pin themselves in this space of becoming.  Who is this public space for? Who benefits from this space, who is silenced in this space? how will we come together in the name of an event in this space?"