Snail park... true to its name!

 Constant morning drizzle meant the Snail Park was busy with snails... it also gave us the opportunity to think about the other...
To try and think of the snail's perspective in life...
Did all the snails want to be so close together?
Were the snails fighting or hugging?
Did the snails want to get off the bench?
How can the snails communicate what they want?
What right do the children have over deciding over the snails? (Hmmm, they have questioned me about decision making so much, it was interesting to see them with this question... and they were quite unprepared this time to answer it)
Where do the snails want to be?
Is leaving the snails on the path a good idea? Why not?
Do snails like to swim in the birdbath?
Do snails like to lie on their backs? Why?
Do snails like to be dropped? Why?

Through adult supported decision making (asking LOTS of questions) the decision was made to return the snails back to the greenery and to observe them there...

This gave the children time to play other games... and for a while they played a line game...
Sometimes when we are walking to and from play-spaces in the area I play a game with the line... snaking my way back, looping round and greeting the children at the end of the line before circling back on track again, looping around trees and splashing in puddles...
The children organised themselves into a line and played this game, doing several laps of the snail park - runnning. stopping to re-group and then running again...