Welcome to our Little Barn Owls Nursery and Farm School blog!
We are excited to have this new and dynamic platform to compliment our Facebook and Twitter pages where we can celebrate the wonderful work of the children and practitioners at Little Barn Owls.
Our staff interviews have proved really popular on Facebook and Twitter so we have decided that our first blog should be the interview of Charlotte Middleton, Pedagogical Co-ordinator and 2014 Employee of the Year!
CONGRATULATIONS CHARLOTTE! HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RECEIVING THE AWARD?
I am over the moon! And very grateful.
YOU MUST HAVE HAD A GREAT YEAR HERE AT LITTLE BARN OWLS?
It’s been incredible. I've been pursuing my dream career of working with children as well as researching them. They are fascinating!
SO WHERE DID IT ALL START FOR YOU?
I have enjoyed being around children from an early age. My sister has 10 children! I started working towards my childcare qualifications as soon as I could. I knew I didn't want to spend all my time in the classroom so took up a full time placement in Warrington where I lived at the time.
We then moved down to the South and I took a job at a nursery that followed the Reggio approach. I was immediately taken by the philosophy. Unfortunately my commute to the nursery was incredibly long, so I moved to a nursery closer by that was very much focused on outdoor learning. While at the nursery I asked if I could research the way in which children behave differently depending on their surroundings.
I took a small group of children first to a rocky beach, then a forest and finally an open field. There was a child who was particularly timid and quiet. He remained so when at the rocky beach and in the forest environment but when he got to the open field he ran, jumped and screamed with delight. It was incredible. A complete contrast to the previous two settings. I knew this meant something and I wanted to find out more. It sparked my wish to research children as well as care for them.
I remained intrigued by the Reggio approach and its focus on research and after 3 years identified Little Barn Owls as a nursery truly interested in developing theories for working with children. I interviewed and got the job!
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT LBO?
Only 18 months but I have loved every minute of it!
I BELIEVE YOU WENT ON THE STUDY TOUR TO REGGIO EMILIA LAST YEAR?
Yes, I was lucky enough to be selected along with Becca and Sonia. I know this is going to sound a cliché but for me, it was a life changing experience. I was in awe of the beautiful settings the children learnt in, the level of independence they were given at a young age and the huge value put upon their work.
WAS THERE A PARTICULAR MOMENT THAT REALLY STICKS OUT FROM YOUR TIME IN REGGIO?
Yes, absolutely. We were observing some 3 to 4 year olds playing. I noticed one little girl watching another little girl building a structure with blocks. Once the structure was complete, the little girl watching went up to her educator and asked to use the camera. She then went over to the other little girl and asked her if she could take a picture. She took one and then returned the camera.
It just struck me that the little girl with the camera thought that what the other little girl had created was something special and valuable and therefore wanted to celebrate it and share it with others. This tiny moment to me, just summed up the values and respect that the Reggio approach instils.
SO HOW DID YOU GO FROM BEING LEADER OF TAWNIES TO PEDAGOGICAL CO-ORDINATOR?
Well when we returned form the study tour, Hayley realised that in order to really develop all that we had learnt, we really needed the time and space to do so. Hayley created the role of Pedagogical Co-ordinator. We have time out with the educators, we pull the work streams together and we plan future projects.
I BELIEVE ONE PROJECT, THE LANDSCAPES PROJECT, IS FINALLY AT ITS CONCLUSION AFTER 8 MONTHS?
Yes, it has been the most amazing time and I cannot wait for the book to be published recording the children’s journey.
HOW DID THIS PROJECT COME ABOUT?
Well there are some Monet books we look at with the children showing his beautiful landscapes. The books posed the question, ‘What is a landscape?’ We had some incredibly creative answers. Dylan said that a landscape is, “something you sneeze” and Finn said it’s, “when a fish walks”!
To continue researching, we projected images of different landscapes on the Atelier walls. The children created little houses to place on top of the image. They placed the houses at the near and far of the image regardless of size.
It made us wonder if they could understand the concept of depth and whether they had perception of size. We took the children outside and let them look through a camera on a tripod. The group of three year olds investigated standing closer and then further away from the camera. They soon realised that the further away they stood the smaller they looked in the lens.
A few hours later, I asked the question, “How can you make yourself bigger than Josie?” They immediately responded, “Josie goes far away!” They’d got it! Through just a few hours of research and posing simple questions, the children had worked out the answer themselves.
We followed the same method on the 2 year olds and we were amazed to see within one session they also understood the concept. I said to them, “I wonder why those trees look so small?” They all replied, “Because they are far away!”
WHAT HAPPENED BACK IN THE ATELIER WITH THE LANDSCAPE PROJECTIONS?
We looked at the way they had previously positioned the houses and they all laughed saying, “That’s not how you do it, you do it like this!” It really opened my eyes to the effectiveness of project based learning.
SO HOW HAS THE PROJECT CONCLUDED?
We asked the children how we could communicate what we’d learnt to the other children and they decided on a poster format which we have just completed. We hope to display it in the new lodge!
AND WHAT NOW?
I plan to start a degree in Early Years Education and keep researching the theory that with time, space and great educators young children can understand concepts we as adults believe are beyond them.
THANK YOU CHARLOTTE FOR TALKING TO US. WE HOPE 2015 IS AS MEMORABLE FOR YOU!