Upwards and Outwards

We are on the move over here in the front room at the Infant House.  Everyone is pulling up, freestanding, crawling and moving quickly! When parents arrive, they are approached with smiles and excited scooting, ending with a hug.  It feels so great to be under their own motivation and their growing strength and skill is constantly evolving.

As they are moving more, the children are starting to interact with each other in new ways too.  One child might pull up on the table to reach an object.  Reaching up with a hand, eyes focused on an object, then grasping the edge of the shelf and tucking knees under.  He works hard, pulling with arms then placing a foot flat on the floor and finally finding his balance and aligning his muscles to be up in a standing position, both hands on the shelf.  The position often relaxes into a belly lean or forearms down on the shelf, so that the child's hands can be available to manipulate an object they were trying to get to.  The thing I am noticing about my group of children, is that often they move into different positions to watch or interact with a friend.  It warms my heart to see this being the motivating factor for their movement.  It shows how close they are, that they are interested in the responses of their peers and that they feel comfortable interacting with these other people in their lives. 

The other day, soon after everyone began having confidence in pulling up to standing, I looked over and all three were standing at the same shelf.   E was looking out the window while Z and H watched each other.  Toys were handled and banged on the shelf.  At one point E lost his balance and plopped on to his bum.  He looked over at me with a touch of concern.  I smiled and nodded.  "You fell.  Would you like to try again?"  We held the eye contact until he smiled and reached for the shelf again.
I'm fascinated by how movement is bringing us even closer together as a group.  As we move, we are more aware of each other, more interested in what is happening, and more motivated and finding ways to be self-intitated learners.