Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/wonder-helping-nature-spark-childrens-expression/5024593/
Cody Knows Crows
For toddlers, being outdoors is time for adventurous learning, and for developing and practicing new skills. Children mastering the ability to progress from toddling to walking is learning that’s easy to see. More subtle is language learning and practice.
Outdoors, children are inspired to ask questions about their many observations. They communicate their excitement in words, art and fantasy play. For Cody, aged 31 months, the Nature Explore Classroom at Dimensions Early Education Programs in Lincoln, Nebraska, provided the setting for a remarkable performance of his developing language and communication skills.
Cody and his friends had learned the song, “One Little Owl,” in which various critters are paired with both their sounds and with the hand sign used in communication with the hearing impaired.
One day, as the low-pitched whirr of a helicopter buzzed overhead, Cody excitedly approached his teacher. He raised his hand, making the sign for bird, and exclaimed, “Crow. Caw, caw!”
The teacher asked if he was describing the helicopter. Only when Cody insisted, in words and sign, that he was describing a crow, did his teacher finally hear its call. She marveled at this remarkable moment. Cody had heard this sound ...