let’s take a little walk

We have been using our ears a lot recently.  On ‘listening’ walks.  Our first such took us to the Central Space, where we heard all kinds of ‘busy school’ sounds.  Children chanting, a piano playing, teachers talking and even someone with a tickly cough.

We wondered; what sorts of sounds might we hear somewhere else in our school?  Would there be the same sounds everywhere?

Next trip – outside.  Where we were so quiet (well, most of us were) that we even heard a leaf drop!

We also heard the swish of cars on the road outside, the clanging of something made of metal which we thought had been dropped by a builder across the street and the chink, chink of the school flag fluttering on its pole.

Unfortunately we did not hear the chug chug chug of Momo’s tractor…..

nor yet  the insistent drone of his leaf-blower.  And as it wasn’t break time, we didn’t hear these clanging noisily; but we could have done!

Clearly though, those sounds we did hear were very different from the ones we had heard indoors.

So how about somewhere else indoors?  How about near the kitchen?

Well, again quiet as mice (some, unfortunately, with hobnailed boots on) we stood and listened.  Here we heard the flushing of a toilet, the running of a tap, the squelch of soap on hands rubbed together; the scritch-scratch of sweeping…..

and the rolling of food-trolley wheels.  Empty food trolleys.

Poor Nicholas; lunchtime well and truly over!

Our most recent ‘listening’ walk was to just inside the entrance of our school.  We really DID need to be quiet here, oh my goodness!  We tip-toed in and sat with our legs tucked tight underneath us.  Sshhhh.

Here we heard grown-ups talking in s e r i o u s voices.  We heard the clip-clop of Sandie’s high-heeled shoes and if we pressed our ear to the wall, we heard the gentle hum of the printer.  Oh and the buzz of the door’s security code.

All those different sounds in all those different places.  I wonder what that tells you about the people who work in those places and the kinds of things that happen there.