Ilminster Avenue Nursery 6 - what is far away?

Written by artist Cat Boot

Morning session - Today I went back to Star Class as Mo the Explorer.
None of the children who had met me before, including the ones who came on the walk, mentioned recognising me or seeing me before. A small group of children were interested in helping me explore my rucksack. We had a great time exploring the more sensory items like a foil blanket and magnifying glass.
None of them seemed very familiar with maps, so the impact of having a blank map was lost on them a bit. They were very happy to chat with me and take me off to explore the setting.


Themes which emerged during the morning session were: 
Ownership and autonomy
A, A and M and I spent a long time playing quietly in the empty classroom, because no one knew we were there and there was “peace and quiet”.
J was a keen explorer and was very interested in the key cupboard in the office. We also tried several different keys to see if we could unlock the door of the Forest Lodge. The children were keen to try this skill themselves and were able to tutor each other.
Circles of association
The children were very confident to talk about their homes and the nursery/school, but none of them said ‘Ilminster Avenue’, ‘Knowle’, ‘Bristol’, or the names of any other places during our conversations. When I asked them ‘what is far away?’ they answered ‘right up’ and ‘a rock’. None of them seemed to identify or show signs of recognition when I told them I had an Auntie who lived very far away in Australia.

Maps and navigation
This seemed very unfamiliar to these children, and they didn’t really grasp how a 2D map can be used to navigate the real 3D world. When I was just with M, A and A, we also kept getting lost in the nursery! At one point they told me there was a second hall, so we left the first hall to find it, turned the corner and went through a different door… into the first hall again!


Afternoon session - meeting with the parents.

We talked about ‘what is far away?’
None of the children really have associations with much outside of Bristol. There were a few who had relatives/family holidays in Basingstoke, Paignton, Weston.

Not many of the children receive or send anything in the post. Not many of the adults did either!

Not many seem to have dens of hiding/safe spaces. 
We also discussed M's understanding of place (M has ASD and is mostly non-verbal). He knows when he’s near his own house and also which keys fit in which lock. He shares a large room with a sibling, but will only use his side of it. He’s comfortable in all the rooms in the house and isn’t boundaried in using other’s belongings in his house.

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