When we returned to school this term, we were all very devastated to find that the trees in our garden had been pruned over the holidays, and that during this process our favourite branch and hand made swing had been removed.
We decided that rather than telling the girls about what had happened, we would wait for them to discover the branch was missing for themselves. Sure enough, the first thing that several of the girls noticed when we opened the door to our garden, was the missing swing and branches.
Zoe, Isobella and Sophia were the first to discover the missing swing and seemed to be deeply effected by what they saw. Zoe took on the role of bringing the information to the girls who were still inside the classroom.
The word quickly spread to all of the girls and it became very evident from listening to their conversations, that they were carrying a real sense of loss. What was also very prevalent was the sense of empathy the girls seemed to feel for the tree.
A few days after the girls discovery of the missing swing, a small group of children entered into a very special conversation:
“You know it made me so sad about the branch being cut off.” - Isobella
“I couldn’t believe it!” - Sophia
“What did you like so much about the tree/swing?” - Mrs Smith
“It gave us lots of fun.” - Sophia
“It was SO special.” - Isobella
“I know...we will make a gift for the tree.” - Isobella
“I think maybe we could make painted stones. I saw those in Rarotonga once. We can put them all around the bottom of the tree. Just here.” (pointing to the base of the tree) - Isobella
“...and the tree will be beautiful again.” - Isobella
“Do you not think the tree is beautiful anymore, now that the branch has been cut Isobella?”
- Mrs Smith
We decided that rather than telling the girls about what had happened, we would wait for them to discover the branch was missing for themselves. Sure enough, the first thing that several of the girls noticed when we opened the door to our garden, was the missing swing and branches.
Zoe, Isobella and Sophia were the first to discover the missing swing and seemed to be deeply effected by what they saw. Zoe took on the role of bringing the information to the girls who were still inside the classroom.
The word quickly spread to all of the girls and it became very evident from listening to their conversations, that they were carrying a real sense of loss. What was also very prevalent was the sense of empathy the girls seemed to feel for the tree.
A few days after the girls discovery of the missing swing, a small group of children entered into a very special conversation:
“You know it made me so sad about the branch being cut off.” - Isobella
“I couldn’t believe it!” - Sophia
“What did you like so much about the tree/swing?” - Mrs Smith
“It gave us lots of fun.” - Sophia
“It was SO special.” - Isobella
“I know...we will make a gift for the tree.” - Isobella
“I think maybe we could make painted stones. I saw those in Rarotonga once. We can put them all around the bottom of the tree. Just here.” (pointing to the base of the tree) - Isobella
“...and the tree will be beautiful again.” - Isobella
“Do you not think the tree is beautiful anymore, now that the branch has been cut Isobella?”
- Mrs Smith
“It’s a little ugly now. You know, if you cut all of a trees branches off then its not even a tree anymore.” (Looks sad) - Isobella
“Well what does it become?” - Mrs Smith
“...it’s just a stump.” - Isobella
And so, Isobella, Sophia, Anika, Ria and Zoe have begun the very special journey of creating a gift for our tree.
What a well-written blog! I hadn't noticed that the tree had been pruned and looks like the girls have really taken it to heart.
ReplyDeleteWe are waiting to see what this special gift is for the tree. No doubt it will be beautiful...
Do you all know why the branch was cut off? That's so sad but I am sure there is a reason. Was the tree sick? Was the branch growing too long? Was it too weak to put a swing on?
ReplyDeleteI noticed there was another swing on a tree nearby. Is that the same swing?
I hope you girls get another swing real soon! If you do get another one, can Elliot and I both get on it and have a swing? ��
Hi Corrine,
DeleteWe had a special ceremony for the tree today and gave it our gift. We also based our morning meeting around your questions! We have some answers for you.
"The branch was really strong. We don't think that's why they cut it down." - Sophia
"But, maybe it was too long?" - Isobella
"We don't think they knew that it was our most favourite swing, or otherwise they wouldn't have cut it!"
- Isobella
"The other swing is different." - Emma
"Yes. It has a stick. Annnnnd, the other one didn't. The one that you saw is straight and the other one was curved. The rope, the rope was curved around." - Isobella
"It's sad because we liked the other swing better."
- Anika
"You just can't go as high on the one with the stick. The fence gets in the way!" - Anika
"We want a new swing that can go all the way to space." - Emma
"Yeah, one hundred million metres high!" - Jenesis