A poem on giving time to allow the unfolding of a child’s growth. Inspired by moments during a forest school session.
Written by Coach Jo. (Coach of Sunbear Saturday)
Give It Time
For little hands
To start a spark
IRL (not Minecraft)
Give It Time
For little feet
To walk through
the ups and downs
Give It Time
For little eyes
To notice the beauty
of a fallen seed, a holey leaf
Give It Time
For little hearts
To encourage and care
for another heart
Give It Time
But blink
and you might miss it
For One Day
Not-So-Little hands
Not-So-Little feet
Not-So-Little eyes
Not-So-Little hearts
Will lead the way
Up, Up and Away!
Moments:
- Children throw sparks with the flint to start a fire and the rest look on, exclaiming in frustration and amusement, “So easy in Minecraft! So hard in real life!” They encounter real world challenges.
- In the ups and downs of feeling their emotions through the ups and downs of the terrain, the Littles* move at their own pace. They allow themselves to fully be in the experience.
- As Littles walk through the seemingly never-ending piles of leaves amidst cries of discomfort, wonder happens. She spots and picks up a winged seed. Another spots multiple spider webs that had no spiders. Yet another spots a big leaf with holes and attaches it to her bag. They appreciate the details.
- Little 1 assures Little 2 that they are doing this together. Little 2 lightly helps Little 3 out of the drain and is pleased with herself, saying, “I helped him!” with the biggest grin on her face. They see that they are part of a community.
Coach Darren shared on how proud he was to see how the Oldies* have grown in confidence and ease in leading the way. They were once at the Littles’ age when they started FS and made their way up Mountain Kitchen.
7 years have passed since those early years. The Oldies now move with speed, the terrain feels like a walk in the park and they are focused on reaching the destination. It’s not that every stage is better than the other. But there is an inevitable moving on to the next stage with the passing of time.
As a new coach, I used to be anxious about not being able to make it for 12pm dismissal time. Now, I’m not surprised that we rarely end a FS session on time. When walking back to the pick up point, it always seems like the children never have enough time. They still want to pause and look, catch, touch the things in their path. It’s fascinating that FS parents understand and don’t seem to be in a hurry.
I can see how much time and space is needed to let a child grow and lead. Perhaps they were already leading in the beginning, just not at the pace that we are used to. Give it time.
*Littles: 3-5 years old
Library 