Physical Media: October 2012

Painting and drawing has moved for some from sensing the markers and the paper and the thick color and the water color and different colors, to coordinating their brushes with their intent.  Further, some have been making very specific lines, letters, circles, dotted lines, etc. with paint and brush.   They fill space with color and define it with lines: some lines go the edge of the page, some cross over themselves, and some end right back where they began.  The space on the paper is attractive to all.  Some go at it delicately, by dotting, some use a brush in each hand, some dispense with brushes and wipe the entire surface with their hands.

The clay that I put on the outside table started out as ash from a volcano which mixed with the soil of stream beds: this is the story of clay I tell them.  From pounded balls, stacked on beds and fitted into masks, or formed into cookies, the children are now rolling more and more: they make families of worms.    Worms have daddy worms and mommy worms, worms have one tooth, worms have many teeth.  Worms get thirsty when they crack in the sun.

Moving and Connecting, October 2012

(How I interpret the observations:)

I see the children continuing to play with ideas about moving, on buses and boats, flying and running.  I see their play develop from working alongside each other on separate and similar endeavors, to the pursuit of play with each other.  As the children continue their play from one day to the next, it’s more involved and detailed.  The roles of Mommy and Baby and Pirate and Dinosaur are mastered (and personalized) daily in the choices they make during their changing interactions with each other: what they eat in their play, where they sleep or nest, what they find and what they are looking for or chasing, why they are scared, what makes them powerful, how they hold onto power, how they exchange it.  In this way, they make connections in their play to their experiences.  (“The treasure goes in the treasure box.”)   Connections become new knowledge which they take away with them, it is actualized and sturdy, and easy to pull out if the suggestion of more play is made another day.

The developing symbols/roles within the children’s play, show us what is important to their families and also what I, as their guide, see as priorities: showing care for each other (“don’t cry, Zo Zo” “it’s slippery here”), safety (“buckle your seat belts”), having expertise (“I always drive the bus. I’m a good driver.” “I drum.” “I raaar.”).  I’m describing ephemeral things, not artifacts like the drawings, paintings and clay which come home to you.