Introducing Whittling into the Nature Programme

At Mairtown Kindergarten we offer our children the opportunity to be involved with, to experience, to discover and to notice and reflect on nature through our Nature Programme.

Our nature programme is on ongoing programme where every Friday, for the whole Kindergarten session, we meet our 10 oldest children in our local bush at Mair Park.

A couple of weeks ago on the nature programme Kim introduced the children to whittling. Last week when it was my turn to be the teacher on the programme, the children introduced me to whittling!

Whittling is the art of carving shapes, typically out of raw wood or bone, with a knife. We used small hand knives and collected some straight wood for the children to whittle with.

As I observed the children in their work with the wood and knives, it was clear they found this not only stimulating and at times challenging, but also very relaxing, almost meditative. They were fully involved in the process. At the time this reminded me of the phrase “to whittle away the hours” it’s clear to see how you could do just this with a simple stick and a small knife.

Of course before the children began their whittling we did talk about the correct and proper handling of the knives. The children were required to sit down, with the stick firmly on the ground or held out in front of them. The knife always went from the top of the stick to the bottom, this is known as a ‘push stroke’.

At this point in our early involvement and learning of whittling, the children are mainly shaving the outer bark off their sticks creating some beautifully smooth and soft wood. There have also been a few really determined children (along with me, I was also desperate to have ago) that worked hard to create points to their sticks, “Ready to spear a pig” as Hori told me.

After talking to the children about their whittling experiences when back at Kindergarten, they choose to reflect through their drawings:

"I cut some wood with a knife, I just cut the wood" (Kito).

"It's like a sharp one, you put the stick down and put the knife down" (Tane).

"Whittling is just on a stick and sometimes I whittle with a knife. You get the outside off the wood to see what's inside" (Kate).

  “Whittling is an activity that allows children freedom, flexibility and a chance for a lot of personal space to connect with their sense of self and their natural environment” (Clare Warden)

 

 There are many benefits that children gain from whittling. They are able to explore the properties of wood as they gently scrape back the layers of bark to discover the softness of the wood underneath. Equally as important is the practical aspect of children assessing the risk of whittling and learning how to do this skill correctly in order to keep themselves and others safe.

As Kate said "You keep safe by whittling down" and Kito agreed, "You go up with your hand but down with the knife". Tane also added, "You move out so no one is near".

It will be interesting to see where the children's interests in whittling takes us to next...

Christine

Close Encounters with a Puriri Moth

Recently Ryan made a wonderful discovery when early in the morning he noticed this puriri moth on our Kindergarten deck.

Puriri moths are one of nature’s taonga; in their adult form (the moth) these beautiful creatures live for only two days! Therefore as you can image, the opportunity to observe one up close was snapped up by the staff and the children.

The puriri moth is one of our most magnificent moths. It is the largest moth in New Zealand, with a wingspan of 15cms.The puriri moth is the adult of their species. Most of the moth's lifecycle is spent as a caterpillar. After caterpillars hatch they spend a few months feeding on fungi, then the young caterpillar (or mokoroa) will climb a tree, and burrow inside. Their preferred native trees are puriri, putaputaweta, makomako or lacebark.

They live on the sap of the tree, eventually causing its death and decay – hence the saying ‘he iti mokoroa e hinga pūriri’ (the little mokoroa grub fells a pūriri tree). After about 7 years living inside the tree’s trunk, the caterpillar pupates into a moth, and then it emerges – briefly – to find a mate, and then dies (Department of Conservation). 

Observational drawings by Kito and Emma

 One of the first things we observed after picking up the moth is that it kept making a vibrating motion with its wings. This strange movement and drumming hum caused the adults and children to voice many theories.

Was it in its death throes?

Perhaps it was calling a mate?

Maybe it was hungry?

However the reason for the vibrating was soon revealed when beyond any of our imaginings the moth started laying eggs in my hand!

Female puriri moth can lay up to 2000 eggs! The eggs are round and pale yellow when first laid, turning black a few days later. They hatch in 12-14 days.

Composed observation soon turned to a flurry of action as we responded to this call of nature by taking the moth to the garden where she could safely ‘scatter’ her eggs (other eggs were also kept safe in a box).

So now the puriri moth had completed her life cycle. It’s hard to imagine that something so magnificent has such a fleeting life. However puriri moth emerge with no mouth parts;  so like all of their species, this one too soon died.

As teachers and advocates for offering children authentic experiences we chose to ‘pin-out’ the dead moth and engage the children in further inquiry.

Nature provides an inexhaustible supply of interesting topics. Young children want, need and deserve authentic experiences with real objects. Because they are concrete thinkers, real experiences help them to learn about their immediate world and things that are relevant to their lives (Natural Wonders- Marie Oltman – 2002).

Real, authentic experiences provide the foundation to countless learning opportunities. They provide the context upon which other experiences are hung. Learning can be extended farther and faster if it is based on the real thing (Natural Wonders – Marie Oltman – 2002).

One week after our first encounter with the moth we prepared to transport the last of her eggs into Mairpark. One of our children’s favourite destinations on our Nature Programme is to a tree ardently referred to as the ‘Magic tree’. This ancient Puriri seemed a perfect place to scatter the last of the (now black) eggs.

 

Research had informed us that puriri caterpillars eat rotten leaves and fungi after hatching. The children chose a spot among boulders that they felt would be perfect for the newly hatched ‘babies’. So after clearing leaf litter, the last of the eggs were returned to the bush. “Goodnight babies, all tucked into bed” said Hori. And we are all left to wonder; if a new moth emerges, will it come back to Kindergarten?

Kim