When you take a look at this photo, you may be thinking, “Aww, that’s cute. The kids are playing hockey together.” And you are absolutely right, they are!

However, there’s a whole lot of meaning behind this one snapshot of them playing a sport together. The key word here is “together.” It may look like an ordinary scene of kids playing together but this took several months of guidance, as well as building friendships and trust with one another to get to this stage.

During the beginning months at Nest, all the children who like to play hockey played it on their own with their own ball. They would hit their own ball with their hockey stick, but if one child hit that particular ball with their stick, the child who initially hit the ball would get very upset that somebody touched their toy.

Now, playing alone is not a bad thing, as children get the opportunity to discover their individuality and explore their own potential. However, learning to play together is just as important because it teaches children about friendship, trust, emotions and working in a team. So, when I saw that Hayden, Max and Ella decided on their own to play with only one ball today, I had to capture this special moment of ongoing progress.

- Michelle Kang (Early Childhood Educator)