Abig plastic crow was one of the first things to enter Reflections Nursery’s new atelier. Four-year-old James brought it with him from the old building and flew it around while speaking in bird language. His actions led other children to become attracted to the crow and the blank canvas of the new building, based in Worthing, West Sussex, gradually became filled with bird-related explorations, and the garden became home to chickens.
‘We realised the children were very interested in the bird and bird sounds. They were drawn to it and began to respond to its calls,’ says senior atelierista Teresa Grimaldi. ‘The investigation started in a very quiet way with us introducing binoculars for the children to look at birds and sound recorders for them to try and capture bird sounds in the nursery garden and forest. They remained fascinated by the plastic crow, which some children started to make things for. Gradually the children’s interests evolved and the project, rather than being linear, developed many layers, almost as in the way a nest is built.’
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