Play, Work, Creativity, Art -- Swimming Head!

Yesterday was one of the culminating events for the Play Seminar, the Saturday Play Event in which children from K-6th grade were invited to come and engage with recycled materials -- bits and scraps -- to do whatever they wanted. It was FASCINATING. I had a blast. Altogether there were 8 children, ranging in age from 6 to 11, only 2 were boys. They were marvelous players and the range of the work they produced was stunning.

I fell in love with a doll created by a 9 year old girl named Leah. She was extremely focused, I'm told from the very beginning. I didn't join the group until late because I was at the sign in table. The decorated can in the photo next to the doll contains a beautifully intricate puppet she made and a tea party set! All from bits and scraps.

Leah sat at a table hardly speaking, but not reticent and not an 'isolate' by any means. She did engage and asked questions and sought help finding 'just the right' materials at times, and interviewed openly. Leah sat with 11 year old Jasmin, however, who was a bit of an isolate.
Jasmin, while deeply engaged and serious in what she was doing, seemed almost painfully shy. As I said, she was at the same table with Leah, whom she knew (parents seem to be good friends, both German speaking families), but unless spoken directly to, she never spoke herself. She was industrious and created something that I believe she called a birdhouse. When another little girl (Ellie) I believe, came over and told her how much she liked what she had done, Jasmin made visual contact and a little acknowledgement, but barely. Ellie seemed to know her, perhaps from school. I signed Jasmin and her father in when they arrived and from that moment, wondered how she might do in the group. I wondered if this was her choice or his for her to put herself in this social situation? That being said, she seemed to take full use of her time, by herself. I was glad to see Barbara go and talk with her a bit toward the end. I think of all of us, Barbara might have been able to make a connection with Jasmine.

The twins were a hoot! Quinn and Carney are 6 year old, boy-girl twins who are self-confident and very sweet with one another. This may be off the topic of play, but I witnessed one interaction that I loved. Carney was painting quietly at the table. Quinn came up behind her, put his arm around her and whispered in her ear rather loudly, "That brown looks like number 2 brown." (like poop) Johanna (from our class) was sitting nearby and burst out laughing. Carney turned to Quinn and said quietly, "She heard you!" Johanna said, "that's okay, I thought it was funny." I later related this story to their mother, Ginger. She laughed and then thought for a couple of moments and said, "You know, I'm pleased to see that they felt they needed to be discreet in a social situation. They wouldn't have been that way at home." Young children learn early what is 'acceptable' in social situations and what is not, but it is always interesting to see it in action. And, it is often a surprise to their own parents who cannot imagine that the kid who is so open with rude noises and maybe crude jokes at home is more careful in 'polite society' especially adults. It was a wonderful example too of 'children's private culture' that we or Johanna and I were able to glimpse.

I wondered a bit about Joey, who recently turned 7. I wasn't there to see how things began for him, but when I did first start observing him, he was receiving some pretty extensive scaffolding from Ming. I'll need to ask her how much she had to help him to get him to create that wonderful scale that he produced. The seemed to work together well, and I don't know if they spoke Chinese together or only English. I wonder if he gravitated toward her because of her Asian face, that he thought he might be more comfortable with her somehow (or visa versa -- did Ming single him out?), or if this was pure happenstance. Later, he ended up doing another project, his rainstick, with Lina, who is Malasian, and he also seemed very comfortable with her. I didn't hear him speak and don't know about his language skills.

Lilly, age 10, truly amazed me with her industry and ability to envision materials in different ways. She was the first to make a rain stick, which then caught on with some of the other children. But she also made a large scale race track, complete with ramps, another musical instrument -- some kind of wooden block shaker with a handle -- and then a delicious looking chocolate cream pie complete with a little dab of whip cream on top! Wow, no theme, just, 'what can I do with these materials'?

One thing very interesting to me was that this kind of environment allowed for each of the children who all approached the world very differently, to have freedom and support for their 'ways of being, exploring and creating'. I saw each one engage in problem-solving, deep thinking, reflection on their work, and yet not one (I don't think) considered what they did as 'work.' Learning definitely occured. Consider Carney, having to learn to balance the sides of her building as she held the cardboard in place to create her house structure. Joey, creating a pattern on his rain stick and determining what to do to put a weight on the end of his balance/scale. All of them determining what materials could be used to create the 'effect' or to portray the vision they had in their minds. Their brows were often furrowed in deep thought. There wasn't lots of joyful laughter, just a buzz of busy engaged workers -- who would not call themselves workers. I think they were playing, but some were architects, others engineers, and still others visual artists, and others seeking to create instruments of music (oh, and perhaps one baker!).

My head is still swimming as I process all I saw yesterday.