It was a very unusual day at Natural Start, only 5 children came to school. We were talking about where our missing friends could be when the door opened and Sienna appeared. “Sienna’s here!!” everybody exclaimed. Lucy was especially happy, she was just after asking for Sienna and said “Sienna is my best friend”.
Sienna was carrying a very interesting toy with her. She came straight over to the group and put a very curious ball in the middle to show her friends. It was a “Hoberman Sphere” with a small light bulb that made colorful lights when it banged on the floor.
Sienna was banging the sphere on the ground to show her friends how it worked. Everybody
was laughing and Sienna’s smile was huge. She was enjoying sharing her toy with her friends. It was a moment of pure joy for her. I could see that she wanted them to get involved too, as she paused and looked around before throwing it again. I decided to extend the play, I suggested closing the curtains to see the lights in the dark and straightaway, the game began. Sienna threw the sphere and the lights turned on with the bang. Everyone ran to the sphere and sat around to gaze at the lights until they turned off.
Sienna was throwing the sphere over and over and the children were running after it and
watching the lights every time. Their laugh was very loud every time the lights turned on, they were having great fun! They were all respecting what Sienna wanted to do with her toy, they knew that it belonged to her and she was in control of the game.
After a while, Maya asked, “Can I have a go?” and Bethany said “I want to have a go”.
“You have to wait until the light went off” replied Maya.
Maya approached Sienna and said “I want to have a go”. Sienna replied “Ok, you have a go”. It was just then that Maya realised that Nathan had the sphere, so she went over to him and said “I want to have a go, Sienna said I can have a go”. Nathan handed it to her straight away. Lucy also wanted to have a go, so she asked Sienna “Can I have a go, Sienna?”, “Yes” Sienna replied.
For these few moments, Sienna was the most important person in the room. Everybody took
note of her actions and obeyed her wishes. They knew she owned the toy and they were
respecting her choices and how she decided to share. They also were developing their social
skills as they were interacting with each other by listening, discussing and taking turns of playing.
Sienna was feeling valued and respected and was practicing using and taking note of non-verbal communication skills. She was developing warm and supportive relationships as she was learning to play and share with her friends.
After a while, Lucy and Bethany changed the game, they seemed to be tired of that exciting
game. They recognised when they had enough of the excitement and stimulation and so took another game from the shelf to play together on the table. They know what their own needs are and they also know how to respond to them.
Louis was lying on cushions by the piano. Sienna noticed that Louis wasn’t in the game, so she approached and sat beside him. She didn’t say anything, but she stayed with him for a short while. Sienna is starting to notice the feelings of others and she has the ability to interpret and respond to non-verbal communication.
Afterwards Sienna went back to play with Maya and Nathan, they were still playing with the
sphere. “I’m gonna catch you!” exclaimed Maya, running towards Sienna and she hugged her.
Maya was very happy, she was appreciating a feature that made Sienna feel so special that day: to share and be generous.
“I’m a crocodile!” said Maya, “I’m a crocodile too!” shouted Nathan”. “We are crocodiles
Sienna!” they said and Sienna ran away and started playing with the animals. They also noticed that Louis was very quietly lying on the cushions, so they reached out to him and said “Louis… you can’t eat me, I’m a crocodile too!” Louis knows exactly what games he likes to play, he loves animals so Maya, Nathan and Louis started a new game. By then, the “Hoberman Sphere” fun was over but the connections remained.
Oihane Quintana Lopez
