the Playground
these are the learning grounds
There is a palpable power when folks get together to share stories and experiences, we become inspired by one another and we see things we could not have believed to be possible are real. I am driven by the desire to connect, to establish communication between contexts and events, places and environments, spaces and people. I see all of these as active subjects that shape and create the world of learning and education. Relationships are formed and shared, learning becomes an active process, one that is constantly changing and evolving, shifting and expanding and we build on what we have learned, what we question and what we are encountering in the moment. The one thing that remains constant and center is the self, for it is the self that is having the experiences, it is the individual that is learning. I am interested in nurturing that strong sense of self, supporting learners to reconnect to their innate capabilities and capacities. We do this together by engaging in learning opportunities that foster curiosity, wonder, awe and inquiry, while rediscovering our earliest steps as a learner, with what came to us naturally- play. For these are the learning grounds and we are our own first teacher, designed to learn, to grow, to shift, to share and inspire others.
“Learning is not confined to spaces and places, neat compartments and controlled environments. Learning opportunities are ever present; they are always here in every moment. The’ structure’ arrives in the space through the dynamic interactions of the participants- it is an ensemble of all processes, situations, contexts and relations- which translate into individual and group experiences.””
There are multiple entry points to learning and these access points become stable and reoccurring, dependent on the responses of the group. Children naturally share and lend knowledge so that others may learn. Curiosity naturally draws them together to see what is happening, unfolding, evolving. Questions are asked, responses are shared, suggestions are offered and responsibility is taken. Children work alone, in pairs, trios and in larger groups. Collaboration is present, even when one is working as an individual. Being in a communal space and sharing materials presents opportunities to exchange ideas and new forms of expressions arise. Perspective taking is essential to gaining greater understanding, looking at something with a different view helps us gain new information, which opens up our fields of awareness. Through sharing ideas, visions and thoughts that were once internal, children are making their processes visable and this provides contexts for shared understandings. Tweaking, adapting, responding, shifting and being resourceful are values of learning. We take the first step and then another, learning as we go. We make changes to our original thoughts, ideas and visions, making room for new ways to present themselves to us.
*How do we put together contexts of learning together with children?
*What are the processes that activate participation?
*What is my role in this learning space? How am I seen? How am I received?
*Where are we taking our knowledge from?
*How can we follow the lead of the child?
*How can we create environments that lend to exploration and discovery?
*How can we offer materials in ways that open doors to possibilities, doors we cannot imagine and do not see? Those potential moments that lie just beyond our capacity and reach. The ones that are out there waiting to be discovered?
*How do we invite newness and spontaneity into our day?
*How do we cultivate this curiosity and wonder into our interactions with children and our colleagues?
*How do we provide opportunities for children:
- to engage with materials?
-to explore and discover how they work?
-to build relationships with them that they can carry across contexts?
*Are our children capable of thinking to make a plan to achieve an objective?
*Are they capable of self expression- to convey to others the things that they have in their minds?
*What can they do? What do they do? What are they doing?
Here are some titles of the sessions I have held with educators:
Following the Leads of Children
Building Communities and Relationships within Learning Communities
Seeing Everyday Items with a New Lens- Found Materials and Loose Parts
Using Technology to Deepen Our Understanding and Meaning Making with Children
Found Materials from a New Perspective
Becoming an Observer, Watching and Witnessing Children
Wood: An exploration of Possibilities through Multiple Perspectives
Nature as Atelier
Seeing Ourselves as Nature, Not Separate From It
A Collaborative Partnership
I am driven by inquiry and the quest of discovery.
I seek to create learning spaces where individuals trust their own inner wisdom and knowledge, inviting us to replace certainty with curiosity and fear with confidence. Growth is connected to meaningful experiences. I have found that my reflections as well as listening and asking questions are foundational to this learning process. I strive to create environments that values the voice and contribution of each individual, their unique perspective and various ways of sharing while seeing each moment as an opportunity to expand our autonomy and simultaneously maintaining a space that honors each individual as the one who builds their own knowledge. Through this work, I have found that establishing routines and cultivating an inner awareness of our thoughts, actions and words is essential to making lasting shifts and changes in our ways of being as well as our practice of being with others. Holding these as intentions, each session is co-created and crafted to meet the individual needs of your learning communities. One we begin our collaborative journey together, we will engage in conversations and through both questioning and sharing we will access a deeper sense of what intentions are at the foundation of our work and how I am able to support, bolster and create the appropriate learning environments. Here are some questions that I have explored and share with others through in person sessions both within four walls and outside as well as within the space of online platforms.
Are you interested in collaborating? Curious to see what we can accomplish together? Please complete the form below or reach out directly to me at:
I have been immersed in the world of learning and discovery my whole life. My own sense of wonder, inquiry and contemplation have been driving forces on my journey of self-discovery. Roles as a student, teacher, facilitator, guide, consultant, listener and witness in various settings, both public and private, inside four walls and with nature as a classroom in New York, Wyoming and most recently New Jersey over the past 25 years, have influenced my perspectives on learning, schooling and education. My time at a Children’s Museum provided a great shift in the way I see and interact with children and adults, as I actually watched the process of learning rather than reading or being told about it. I enjoy sharing in conversation, while hearing stories and experiences of others around me, and hold these as the invitations for our time when we come together. I am charmed by the joy and awe in the mystery of life and cherish being immersed in the intelligence of nature, surrounded by the wisdom of trees, enveloped by earth herself, inspired the beauty of its diversity and the continuity of abundance that it provides. I look forward to meeting, learning about and being inspired by you.
I welcome an opportunity to connect.
Please reach out and share how I may support you, your children, educators and learning communities. I’m looking forward to learning more and embarking on a journey of discovery with you.
I listen, that is my superpower
How are children going to learn
on their own, internally
rather than responding to us
our needs, our wants and
desires?
What do we do?
What kind of environments do we cultivate?
How do we quiet down?
How do we listen?
Life is a teacher and the child is a student and a teacher simultaneously
Seamlessly moving back and forth
Crossing from student to teacher
Teacher to student
Without them even knowing
Without their conscious awareness that this is happening
For this is their essence
The very essence of being
Learning
Growing
Evolving
Expanding
It is here, in this space
where
Children learn to rely on themselves
The foundation on which they interact and
Encounter the world
This is how they explore throughout life
They try things out
They add this learning, incorporating it into their field
By dropping it or storing it away
And they begin to learn through these experiences
On and on it goes
Sara Lashbrook
the Playground @
The Auspicious Octopus
sara@theauspiciousoctopus.com
To read more of my musings, rouses and provocations please visit:
Why Me? Why Choose to Work with Me?
My formal training and schooling has been in the world of education, working with children as a teacher. Across the years it became apparent that in order to support their growth, I needed meet them where they are at. Rather than teaching and thinking that they were going to “learn,” I began to watch them and witness what they were doing and saying. This process gave me insight into where the meaning was breaking down or where there was confusion and or obstacles. I would get curious, asking myself questions, I wonder what they are going to do next? Or I wonder why they chose to do that? Or what questions can I ask them to get a better sense of what is happening inside their mind?
Slowly, I began to translate these observation skills to my own life. In the beginning though it was always after, after I lost my temper or said something that I wished I could take back. I see now that I was working to regulate my responses rather than react. I spent many years reacting and working tirelessly to control every outcome so that I would not be activated or caught off guard. In time, through consistent practice and patience, I have come to realize that the common denominator in all of the events and situations that were causing me discomfort, anxiety and stress, was me. I was the constant. Present each and every time. I was choosing to react or respond in a certain way. With each new experience, I began to see that once I slowed down and became aware, I always have a choice. Once this became known to me, once I realized that it had everything to do with me and not anyone outside of me, no matter how hard I attempted to control either the other people or the environment, I made it my practice to change by making conscious shifts. I made a commitment to learn more about myself and how I was showing up in life and its events, carrying myself in relationships, with my family, in my home, in my work environments and with my friends. I began to ask myself questions and reflect on what happened and why. I started to uncover the stories that I was telling myself and the stories that I was making up. I began to take responsibility for myself, choices, words, thoughts and actions rather than offloading them on someone else.
Nine years ago, I stepped outside of the classroom and began working as a consultant to teachers, going into classrooms, observing interactions and engaging in dialogues about how what we see and interpret as one thing, can actually be something else. Our work in centered around being able to see multiple perspectives at the same time and to slowly begin to notice what we as adults are carrying in to our interactions and relationships based on our own stories and viewpoints and how these lenses are impacting and influencing our interactions. I work with teachers in person and through video chats, providing opportunities for them to uncover their own tendencies, values and beliefs and encouraging them to look at moments in their lives from these lenses.
This, I have found, is the most important work. To notice what we are bringing into each moment and to take responsibility for our thoughts, words and actions.
*The processes of observation and reflection are deeply embedded in my experiences as an educator. Since the second semester of my undergraduate schooling at Syracuse University (Inclusive, Elementary and Special Education with minor in Early Childhood), I had advisors, teachers, mentors and peers watching me, providing feedback, asking questions and offering suggestions. My masters work at Teachers College at Columbia University (Sociology and Education with a concentration in Law and Public Policy), opened up opportunities to go into schools, meet with administrators and decision makers to learn more and reveal what had been a hidden world, the happenings beyond the doors of my classroom. Upon reflection, I see now that this notion of coaching, professional development, being observed and having meeting times to reflect has been a constant in my 30 years in the world of schooling and education. These formal experiences of education and experiences in various roles and settings, paired with my natural curiosity and my own innate drive to ask questions and make meaning in the world around me has provided me a unique lens of seeing the often invisible process of learning, the gaps and spaces in between and I am driven to uncover and share what unfolds in these spaces and make them visible. I look forward to exploring and discovering alongside you.