The kindergarten group had some unexpected guesses for the sounds we presented them. A loud air conditioner fan we recorded was listened to, and the children heard ants crawling. A recording of birds chirping and birdseed being thrown on the ground was heard as eggs cracking.

Their unique perspective on what they were hearing demonstrated the depth of their inner worlds— their interpretation of the air conditioner fan as a “crowd of ants walking” was completely unexpected, and brought about discussion on how many ants would be needed to make that sound, where they were going, etc. They interpreted the sounds of birdseed hitting the ground as baby birds emerging from their eggshells, unknowingly linking the food those birds ate to the creation of new life. Their understanding of the world around them was shown to us through these discussions, and led to a greater comprehension between us artist educators and the children.

Witnessing the way they could take a mundane, everyday sound, and turn it into a story about ants, or roaring dinosaurs, or trees falling in a storm, was intriguing and inspiring. It proved to us that children’s voices contain more than one might expect.