A Campfire in the City at Gowrie Docklands Kindergarten

In July, a child in the Room 1 at our Gowrie Docklands Kindergarten site asked the educators why they can’t have real fire at the service. Rather than shutting the idea down, educators used it as a starting point for a longer project.

The children found a cardboard box and decided to use it as a tent, and children pulled outdoor camp chairs over to sit near it. Educators sourced logs from stumps left behind by nearby construction and used them to build a fire pit and additional seating. Children worked out how to make paper flames that would stand upright, then brought them outside to complete the fire. From here, the children’s play extended further, role playing warming their hands by the fire, telling each other stories, and toasting imaginary marshmallows on sticks made from recycled cardboard. Some children began bringing cardboard from home to keep the project going.

Because of the children’s interest, educators responded by reshaping group times with the group sitting in a yarning circle by “the fire.” Educators used a piece of blue material to cover the flames before the group time concludes, signaling that the fire has been made safe and group time has ended.

For ECT Jacque, the most exciting thing about this project wasn’t the experience itself—it was the children’s confidence in leading their own learning. The team work hard to respond to children’s curiosities and ideas with open arms and enthusiasm. When children raise an idea or observation, the response is a question, not an explanation.

The fire pit has also brought together children who hadn’t previously spent much time playing together. Educators have chosen to step back and let those friendships develop on their own terms, rather than directing who plays with whom.

The team is proud of their deliberate approach which gives children real ownership over their ideas. “Over a child’s time here, we really get to see their confidence in their own learning and ideas grow,” Jacque says. For GDK, the growing confidence is the clearest sign the approach is working.