Final year students on the Early Childhood in Society degree recently enjoyed an afternoon at Lakeside campus. They participated in bushcraft activities and kayaking as part of the “Exploring Perspectives of Play” module, focussing particularly on adventurous play and risk taking.
The students all supported one another, particularly Elisha who was very anxious about going kayaking due to a previous experience where she had capsized. The other students reminded her that she couldn’t ask children to step outside their comfort zone if she wasn’t prepared to do so herself. They encouraged her to focus on small steps; put on a wetsuit, put her foot in the water, sit in the kayak and then row around the edge of the lake. We were all very proud of Elisha when she confronted her fear and was soon handling her kayak with an ever-growing confidence. At the end of the afternoon Elisha said she felt “amazing”, which made all of us feel pretty amazing too.
