Touch: Romanticised micro-moments from a farm kindergarten

Abstract

Focusing on two micro-moments between non-human animals and young human children in a Norwegian farm kindergarten, this article contributes to knowledge about pedagogical work with multi-species meetings. The micro-moments from a field study are discussed through an exploration and troubling of what we call our ‘romantic’ experience of the children's meetings with farm animals and our resistance to those feelings. We explore what we perceive as a mutual trust, curiosity and interest between the young children and the animals that we relate to Despret's concepts being polite and getting to know, and Haraway's concept companion species. Our discussion contributes an alternative perspective to the traditional view of children-animal relations.