Building Happiness

Linus Pauling said "The best way to have an idea is to have lots of ideas." All it often takes is one good idea and then lots of people come together. "I've had an idea!" and "That's a great idea!" are two phrases I often hear children and practitioners saying at Rachel Keeling.
Recently children worked collaboratively on their ideas when building imaginatively in the garden. There were castles, houses, dens, airplanes, cars and trains created. Children were observed sharing their ideas and listening to each other, negotiating their points of view: finding props, problem solving and exploring ideas (sometimes unsuccessfully). Groups of children returned to this play each day over the course of the week and new friendships were discovered on "the underground". Children created their own props, Oyster cards and readers - many children sharing experiences from home and family outings.
​Children tidied away their creations each day and were happy to rebuild the following day, often bigger and more successfully than the day before.
Children truly engage in play in the moment. If we as practitioners do the same, we can witness this beautiful play and recognise the skills involved which relate to life.