Sway Side to Side

As the trees lay themselves bare, all sorts of magic can be found. There is special magic found in those big clumps of leaves that we see oh-so-high in the treetops.  Do you know the ones I mean?  I have found these magical clumps of leaves to be such a beautiful entry point to deep questioning and wondering. 

Every time they are revealed, I find children are so excited, pointing and calling out, “Look!  A nest!”  I usually wonder aloud who might live there.  In response, I often hear a smattering of very excited ideas, such as: “A bird!”  “It’s a bird’s nest!”  “It’s a squirrel’s nest!”  “An eagle lives there!” “A blue jay made that!”

As children share their ideas, I like to sit back and listen.  I also like to gently nudge them towards asking more questions and towards wondering about what more there is to explore in this magical discovery.  I model for them some questions I have – I wonder how we can find out who lives there?  I wonder what that nest is made of?  I wonder how many animals live there?  I wonder if they will live in that nest all winter long?

Slowly, children move away from having all the answers to joining me in wondering and questioning about this magical new discovery.  The most memorable question came a few years back when a child wondered, “How do they make sure their babies don’t fall out?”

This one particular question, among many others, inspired  “Sway Side to Side”.  This song is all about the wonderings that one nest can inspire, and is intended to support children in delving deep into questioning.  It also has a good dose of silly in it, which makes this song equally an opportunity to explore your voice, and for the children in your care to explore their voices, too.  For when the song asks, “Did you leave enough space, if a friend comes to visit and say hello?”- it is pretty hard to resist exploring your voice to try and be any number of characters who might stop by and say hello.  Trust me, there is good fun waiting here for you!

When I encourage children to move away from having quick answers and instead support them in questioning and wondering, a door to learning opens.  I have written about this approach in an early blog post, including the individuals and resources that have supported me in working with this approach HERE.

I hope you are able to get in the land and witness some of this magic this fall. I hope this tune brings a lot of joy and delight as you do so, too! Thank you little friends building homes way up high, and thank you tree for uncovering them!