From the moment your child entered the world they became "readers" of the world around. Your child began to "read" images and connect those images with words spoken. From the moment he/she was born, your child began decoding facial expressions. This decoding process allowed your child to interpret your body language and its meaning in relationship to self and others.

We find this process of decoding soon transferred to their play, as children make a shift into the symbolic representations of objects such as a stick becomes a cane or a fishing pole. Or when children use images in their drawings in making their thinking visible to us. As children develop we find them shifting from drawing to using the inventive spelling of words, writing words and short sentences.

Within this whole cycle or process, children pass through multiple layers of languages -- writing, drawings, symbolic objects, mediums (e.g.,clay, wire, paper) gestures, movement, etc. Each layer strengthens the child's pathway to literacy and his/her understanding of the "written" word.

Too often adults want to hurry children ahead, moving them quickly to the written word by pouring words into the children without allowing them to process meaning through a symbolic hierarchy of thought. In this rush to push children to the written word, an important layer in the thought process known as "encoding" isn't allowed to percolate within the child long enough. One of the most known uses of encoding comes when children learn to write words. They are given a verbal word and then "taught" using prescribed lessons or methods on how to internalize or encode the sounds or knowing how to write the word.

What happens to the process if we slow it down and provide the child with a tool for ownership and the time to work in the encoding process? 

Research suggests that all learning methods that proceed by discovery and active construction must necessarily undergo error. Simply put, children must and need to make mistakes. Within a learning community, errors are points for dialogue and exchange of ideas. Errors set the stage for debate and disequilibrium that causes the child to think and often rethink their theories and ideas, even around words and symbols. This in turn pushes them into the realms of meta-cognition or critical thinking.

One of the purest and most important levels is through the use of symbols. For the child, the world is full of symbols.

Symbols and the children's use of them provide a level of communication that transcends cultural and language barriers. It allows for children to "mess" about with their use and to undergo a transformation of thinking as the child makes the symbol readable to others. Symbols provide rich contexts for the children to toss about and edit graphic metaphors for which they are the authors and owners.

This freedom to invent symbols provides a rich context for us to see the child's thinking as it unfolds. It can provide us a graphic record of his/her cognitive growth.

Working within the context and freedom in the invention of symbols, the child thinks about his thinking and how it is readable or understandable to the viewer. He learns how to make a symbol which makes sense to the child and to the viewer. Our Daily Plans is a tool in the process that brings all of this together for the child.

Let us look at some of the children's  work with symbols. Let look as they become authors in the invention of  "graphic metaphors" through the Plan.                                           

Click here to view their work.

---

Posted by Ms. Gleim at 8:19 PM | Permalink

During the school year we have the affordance of time in allowing the children's interest to unfold over an extended period. Due to the short timing of the summer program I began to ponder on a hypothesis formulated or framed for a possible inquiry project -- an investigation into city/neighborhoods. This possible direction was formed around observations of children's work in this age.  

In the early stages of inquiry work, the teacher will frame planned "provocations." A provocation or experience is often tossed out that would provoke the children's thinking and learning. Once the provocation is tossed, the teacher observes and listens to the children's work as to where to move next in the inquiry.

In inquiry projects there are questions that are formulated and unpacked that the teacher would like to probe around the children's thoughts and knowledge. To begin our summer inquiry, the following questions came to the surface:

 What is a city?

 What are the elements that make a city a city? Such as houses, stores etc.

 How is a neighborhood different from a city?

 How can maps help us know how to get around in a city?

We will be adding to and rethinking this list as our inquiry begins to move forward.

Amazingly, a provocation from one of the children on our first day together formed the first steps in our inquiry project. 

That morning T., V. and I were talking about Hawaii. T. mentioned something about Aiea. He wondered where it was on the globe. We pulled the globe down and began to look. On the globe, O`ahu was too small for the boys to find Aiea.  I asked T. if he could draw the directions on how to get to Aiea. He paused for a moment, and I continued, "I wish I had directions on how to get to Aiea." He beamed and said, "I'll draw you directions." He then began. 

As he worked, the teacher began to scaffold his thinking. To help anchor his thoughts in drawing the map, we used MPI as a starting point. He drew the security gate where he said, "You have to pay $5 to get out." We talked about left and right turns, the highway names, how fast you need to travel, whether there were any red lights along the way, etc. He began to think and draw as he visualized the drive to Aiea.  Suddenly an awesome map began to form on paper.

M., seeing what was going on, came over and asked what was happening. I shared with him that T. was drawing us a map to Aiea. M. offered to join as he said, "I'll draw you a map to my house." He began drawing a map of how to get from MPI to his house. When the boys were finished, we talked about their maps and the different "marks" that they included on their maps.

Later during our reflection meeting M. and T.'s shared their maps. I heard several "WOW'S" and "I want to do that." I asked the children if they had ever seen the map of MPI, and they said no. I asked if they would like to look at the MPI map, and everyone said, "Yes!"  The ball had been tossed setting the stage for an inquiry project!

During the week we began to use the MPI campus map as a foundation for our map studies.

As a group we began to unpack the map using the key that identifies thirty-three places on campus! The legend and number codes were used as opportunities for learning. Using the legend, the children were asked to generate a list of places on campus that sounded interesting that they might want to go visit or find. Once they created their list, they began to locate those places on the map.

This small experience provided many learning possibilities. In learning about directions, they will be color-coding the various parts of campus using the legend as a guide. They will have to think about directionality. This experience will incorporate functional numerical work as they learn about our MPI community. This early work with maps provided the children with an entry into an investigation and inquiry work when they broaden their work around what is a city. 

As the week unfolded, children brought in maps from home. On Friday V. brought a couple of maps to share with us. One map was of directions from MPI to his house. While reading V's map, K. ran to his backpack to retrieve his map, which had directions to his house. We laid the two maps side-by-side to read. Suddenly one of the children said, "V.ʼs house is farther than Kescherʼs." I asked how did they know that V.ʼs was farther? One child said that there were lots of red lights thatʼs how they knew. However V. refuted this theory saying, "No thereʼs not many red lights to my house." Everyone continued looking intently. The children knew and they were right, but at the moment they werenʼt able to clearly articulate their thoughts. Wanting to see if this was the case, I took my fingers and measured K.ʼs route, then with my fingers I measured V.ʼs. I didnʼt say a word, but  this small gesture helped to put their thinking into words as suddenly several said, V.ʼs is longer (the route) than Kescherʼs.  See 

the line. 

Thinking about their new knowledge, I decided to use this later in our morning for when they were planning their walk on campus. For this planning phase, we would use a variety of colors of yarn (one for each place we were going)  in plotting our plan.  When the fist piece of yarn was placed to the first location we would be going, the children began making the connection about distances, saying, "Wow that's a long way away!" 

With each addition the wheels began to click. 

Once all the places were mapped out, the children began to study the map. I asked, "What is your plan?  Where are we going to go visit today?" There was a great discussion! "Go to the short places first." "No, go to the long places last." "No the pool last." Suddenly K. suggested,"Let's go to some short, some long and then the longest." This idea was quickly embraced by the group. 

D. was our secretary recording the numbers of the places that we would go first, second, third and fourth. 

The group looked over our plan and all agreed that this would work. 

During their work time, T. and I looked at the other big map. I suggested that he draw out the plan for the way we should walk. With great thought and intentionality, he developed the plan for our route. 

                                    

Our route mapped, we were now ready to go! 

    

With maps in hand, we were off to explore the MPI campus!  Our first stop was #15 the Administration Building. Next it was off to #8. We shared with them that # 8 was the presidentʼs office. V. beamed, "Barry OʼBamaʼs!" 

Off to one of their long places- --the tennis courts. They rechecked their maps before 

heading to our final long destination of the day.  After our final destination, we marked the historic event of our first journey in discovering our MPI campus! 

On Monday we will finish the last leg of our explorations. We have an appointment at 10:00am to visit and tour the Technology Center. The children peeked in its windows today and are excited at this possibility! We had to smile at the end of the day when the children were talking. Someone mentioned they couldnʼt wait to go out tomorrow and see the rest of the short and long places. Another child corrected them saying tomorrow was a no-school day. I could heard the groans and someone said, "No fair.  I want to go again." Another child, "Donʼt forget we need our maps!" 

Maps are clearly coming to life in the childrenʼs world! 

---

Posted by Ms. Gleim at 3:31 PM | Permalink

When the line project began nine months ago, little did we know how far this journey was going to take us. We find ourselves pausing now, only because the school year has come to an end. It truly seems as if our "line" project reaches to infinity, or as Jak once said, "Lines can go all the way to the moon!"

This project may never have come into existence if we hadn't stopped to reflect on two key observations of what would appear as ordinary moments in the classroom. One of those moments centered on the work from a small group of children with pipe cleaners coupled by another moment of Nicki's maze game.

 The two seemed to be unconnected, but in thinking about both moments, we realized the children were working with lines. Lines seemed like a natural beginning to our year together. Looking at and exploring lines felt manageable to "do" with a new group of three's, something uncomplicated for both the child and the teachers. What a perfect probe to begin group work and perhaps a small "mini project." If we were lucky, this probe would extend into a month-long "project."

To begin our (teacher) thinking about why we should look at lines, we quickly saw how lines were connected to writing, math, science and drawing, all the key domains and disciplines for learning. These domains or disciplines did indeed seem immersed in the concept of lines.

To begin our work with lines, a hypothesis was formulated to help guide the teachers' observations, as well as in framing the environment both in the classroom and atelier. We wondered if by intentionally framing the introduction of lines to the children, this would influence or strengthen their early literacy "skills" with writing, math, and drawing. Would slowing down the children's pace and providing some key provocations for a "brief" concentrated "time" impact future learning in some way?

We asked ourselves:
How would pausing and looking at lines strengthen the children's work now and in the future?
How will our mini-project in lines impact learning?
What is the connection between lines explorations and children's writing and drawing abilities?
How would the children respond to the various invitations of provocations that we were about to toss?

In retrospect, our questions were too simple. Little did we realize that these thoughts merely scratched the surface!

As the children's work progressed, we found that we were on the threshold of learning through the children's work not only about the concept of lines as a foundation for any given discipline,  but moreover, we were about to enter into the complex thought processes of children's language as embedded and developed through multi-media.

As the line project began to unfold, it began to epitomize the co-construction of knowledge between the teachers (classroom and the studio teacher) and children. We began to see a shared reference for learning and collaboration that transpired between the classroom and the Atelier.


The Processes of Language through the Media

Throughout the project, the children experienced multiple layers of languages- writing, drawing, symbolic objects, mediums (clay, wire, paper etc) gestures, movement, etc. Each experience in the broadest sense was strengthening the child's pathway to literacy. Each experience in the immediate sense was giving a new meaning to "lines" as a tool for thinking and representing their ideas.

We observed each child cycling through each language as they began to construct their own knowledge and understanding of lines, their graphic representations using lines became building blocks for understanding.  Using a variety of media caused the children to construct and deconstruct  how the line representations had meaning not only for themselves out also for others. This desire to communicate their ideas made them more aware of how to make representations "readable" to others.

Throughout the project we found the children moving between the decoding (analyzing, interpreting) and encoding (converting information into a visual form) of the various media -- drawing, movement, wire, music, etc. One of the processes or stages that supported or scaffold decoding and encoding was what we had called "to sensitizing the minds eye."
We encouraged the children to observe lines in their world at home, in school, and all points along the way children noticed lines everywhere. As the children progressed through the project, their sensitization to lines was becoming more acute and vivid to them.

Their "visual" and "mental" sensitization of lines became obvious at various phases of our project. For instance, it became apparent during the line game where the children had to draw the subtle placement of a reed/straw in creating and recreating various line composition. This simple game required the child to be visually sensitive to the nuances of change. As the project progressed, this moved into the drawing of their bodies using the essence of lines again. Their eyes began to see the various nuances of their body pose and the poses of their friends.   

We scaffolded their sensitization to lines, moving from seeing lines with their eyes to expressing lines with their hands (drawing)to seeing the various nuances of line in their own body lines and poses. Each layer added to the complexity of knowledge and  the "language" held in each of the media.


Learning how to Learn

Every child experienced all the various media.. This provided us a view in seeing more of each child's thinking and in finding each child's strength. We began to observe a universal process in each child's use of the media.

What we observed was as each media was tossed to the children: straw/reeds, movement, music, drawing, wire, etc.  The children would begin with a goal. They were thinking about their ideas. They began to express their ideas either verbally or through their work within the medium or from a plan or drawing. We observed as they moved towards their goal or idea using various strategies on how to make their ideas or goals visible and re-visitable. Revisiting caused the child to rethink. They began editing their ideas by either refining, abandoning, or building from their thinking. Over and over we observed this cycle unfold through the various mediums. The children were learning how to cycle through this process-- an underlying process for present and future learning!
 
The process deserves our careful attention and understanding.

In January the children shared a "line" by drawing it. For example, they may have created a squiggle line or mountain line. Each child shared a line and some even more!
 
When they began to use the medium of movement, the children were shown the lines they had drawn in January. How would they make that line with their body?  Their goal, for example, was  to make the mountain line. Their strategy became, "I need to move myself into this mental image (translating the drawing into what it looks like "drawn" through their body) in order to look like a mountain line." They then interpreted this by moving their bodies into position (strategies to reach goal), then the line was captured by the camera. After they made the line using their body, the children revisited the line/pose by looking into the camera's LCD screen. They were asked if this is how a mountain line looks.  The children considered the image in the camera and what they they had drawn, then decided to accept it or not. If the child expressed it wasn't right, the child would rethink the mountain line and how he needed to move differently in order to become a mountain line (reflection, revisit & edit), abandon or continue or start the process/cycle again.
 
Every child was at a different place in this cycle using each medium. The child's work in movement may be at different place in wire. In movement, the child may have been in a messing-about-with-ideas stage.  However, in wire, the child may already have an idea and is work and move and edit her thoughts and strategies. All of this is part of the learning process.

As every child experienced all the languages of each medium, each found her own "voice," his own language that spoke to him.




 

Continue reading "Our journey..." »

---

Posted by Ms. Gleim at 1:48 PM | Permalink

Lines...when we began this journey around our dialogue and encounters with the work of Chihuly, and particularly his glass sculpture called "Reeds," we were unsure where this journey would travel. Beginning with the concept of line seemed simple. Yet as we began our research, both teachers and children, we found the complexity of lines. Within this exploration, we have embraced a new idea or concept that we call line-ness (a new word that has evolved through this journey).

We soon realized that different disciplines provided different views of what a line is. For instance, the art perspective tells us a line can be where a drawing starts, or lines can tie everything together in a work of art. From the discipline of mathematics, a line is a long thin mark made by a pen, pencil, etc. In geometry a line is straight (no curves), has no thickness, and  extends in both directions without end (infinitely).  Each discipline -- music, dance, architecture, etc. -- offers a new perspective to our thinking about lines.

Over the course of the past four months, we have been framing our own meaning of line through our many dialogues with lines -- from drawing to painting to wire and all points in between. We have been in dialogue with lines through music and movement/dance. Each dialogue adds to the complexity of our theories, meaning, and conversations about the nature of lines and how they cross our lives and world. These perspectives from different disciplines present infinite possibilities like lines that stretch as far as our imagination can carry us.
 
I would like to share a personal reflection or perspective around the concept of line, which has evolved as I have listened to and observed your children interacting or "in dialogue" with lines. I find that lines often speak to us subtly. They may remain hidden and aloof, until suddenly they are called to our attention, as if our mind's eyes suddenly become sensitized to their presence and they come alive - vibrant and full of energy. They begin to jump out at us as if to say, "Here I am! look at me," when suddenly another line joins in the melody saying, "Pay attention and look at me!" Suddenly we find our mind's eye vying for where to look first, are where we ought to give attention!

It is as if each line has its own character, its own personality. Some are bold and strong; others are soft and gentle. Some lines trick or joke with us as they peek out and around. Other lines disappear before our eyes. At times lines run before us; other times they slip away behind us. Our eyes are often glued to the horizon where the lines might converge. Lines are everywhere!

Over the past few months the children have had a constant dialogue with the lines.  We wanted to know what the children were wondering about lines. What were they seeing or feeling? We decided to pose to the children three questions -- What is a line? How long is a line? When does a line end? Although the questions seemed simple, they challenged the children's thinking.

We also posed the same questions to parents whose thoughtful, often poetic responses added significantly to the community dialogue:

B & O O.:

   A line could be anything from a simple stroke of a pencil, to the cars stuck in traffic   
   on the H-1 freeway.  Lines can be straight, or "bendy", or even circular.  When B.
   plays with his cars he sometimes lines them up side by side as if parked, front to
   back as if stuck in traffic, with or without bends.  After watching him do these things
   I realized that he would always position the cars in a certain order or sequence to
   form the lines.  In his car play, lines have a certain order to them.
 
   Another time when we were painting watercolors outside, B.'s brush became too
   soaked with the water paint that a big glob of paint dropped onto his paper.  He then
   started gently lifting the corners of the paper to make the glob move around.  He
   had made the lines come "alive."  He now saw the glob moving where it wanted to
   move, creating these lines that were not perfect and in order.  In the watercolor play,      
   he found the lines to come alive (with a mind of its own), and didn't necessarily need  
   to be in a certain order.

   A line can be infinitely long, or at least longer than I can ever imagine.  When I
   started thinking about this question I first thought of how we look at the rings around
   Saturn and the other planets.  These lines are made up of gases, dust, and debris,
   that stretch around these planets!  What comes to mind also is how big or wide lines
   can be.  I've never thought so much about lines before.
 
   When does a line end/stop? --------  I am stumped by this question.  On one hand I
   want to say that a line ends when the paintbrush comes off of the canvas, but I just
   don't know.  Lines almost never have and ending, even though the paintbrush
   comes off of the canvas.  When I've asked B. where do the grout lines on the floor
   tiles end, he says they keep on going on and on and on....  The more and more I
   think of these questions on B's terms the more and more I think that children have a
   lot to actually teach us.  Maybe the grout lines do go on and on and on......?

Z. & L. I.

What is a line? Something that defines the shape of the world.

How long is a line? As long as you can use or imagine. It can be really long when waiting in   
  line for Santa.

When does a line end or stop? When you're really in trouble :) When you reach your
  destination or finish your thought. Tricky though, you can pick it up again.


A. & M. K.

What is a line?  A line is a mark, either physical or not (such as a shadow) that creates a 
    continual strip.  It can be any shape, straight or curved or anything in between.  A line can
    also be your speaking part in a play, or something to use with your fishing pole to catch fish!
How long is a line? The length of a line is as long as it is continual.
When does a line end? The line ends if you see it stop, or see a "break" in the line.   
   Some lines go on farther than you can see.

M. & R.
      
What is a line? A line is a path from here to there.
How long is a line? A line is as long as you need it to be.
When does a line end? A line ends or stops when you need it to stop.

C. & L.O.

What is a line? A straight or curved length
How long is a line?  As long as it needs to be ^-^
When does a line end/stop?  When it is no longer needed, when the "line material" (fabric, paint, ink, crack in a building, and the like) runs out, or when it circles back to its beginning

C & P. O.

What is a line?  A line is a formation that is connected from a beginning point to an end point.
How long is a line?  The distance between the beginning of the line to the end of the line.
When does a line end/stop?  When the end touches the beginning of the line (becomes a circle).

I. & M.

What is a line? a one-dimensional, straight, collection of points
How long is a line? a line can be endless
When does a line end/stop? when the person drawing the line, building the line, creating the  
 line ceases drawing, building, creating....

M & T

What is a line?  anything that connects one point to another
How long is a line?  as short as a dot, as long as forever
When does a line end/stop? when its interrupted by a different medium
 
L & Y/J

What is a line? The connection between two points.
How long is a line? The distance between the two end points of the line.
When does a line end/stop? Line ends when it reaches the point opposite of the beginning point.

E & L.F.

To me, a line is about connections -- e.g., the connection between 2
points. How long is a line? It is as long as the distance between the 2 points, and it ends at the 2 points. A line could refer to other things, such as a musical line, which is a series of sounds that, connected together, may express a thought or idea.

N & T. N

What is a line? A line is something longer than it is wide. It could be straight or rounded, thick or thin, any color, texture, size.

How long is a line? The length of a line is measured from the start to the end.
When does  a line stop? The line stops when there is a break in the line.  The start and stop of a line are interchangeable or a matter of perspective unless you know which end was created first.

Z & C. O

What is a line?A straight object or representation on a 2d linear plane
How long is a line? As long as you want it to be
When does a line end/stop? When you run out of room

J & P & J P.

What is a line? A line is a relatively thin and narrow object that can be weaved to make
fabric or be used in knots.  A line also acts as a border or divider between two or more areas.  It can also be used to hold objects together.
How long is a line? The length of the line will depend on the required need of an individual or population.

When does a line end? A line may never be stopped.  Infinite.

L, C & C Y

What is a line? A line is the shortest distance between two points.
How long is a line? A line can be infinite.
When does a line end/stop? When it intersects another line.

We find that each of us has our own view, our own theories or hypothesis of lines and their "place" in our world. In our unpacking of lines within our "project," we have gone into many different directions, adding layer after layer in our understanding of this complex concept.

We find as we add new meaning, we are also touching child after child as if each of the layers are communicating and speaking to the child's being. This is project work at its best. It isn't about ALL children doing the same thing but it is about tailoring and framing a project that touches and meets all children wherever they are in their learning. It is about capturing every child's sense of wonder and igniting it.

Our journey continues!

  

Continue reading "In Dialogue with Lines..." »

---

Posted by Ms. Gleim at 6:56 AM | Permalink

*** NOTE: Due to an error part of this was lost in the first post.***

The "hundred languages of children" is a phrase that is often adopted from the work of the preschools of Reggio Emilia and is used as a metaphor for thinking about the work of children. It is symbolic of the the hundreds of ways children speak to us -- the many nuances and gestures, spoken words and unspoken words, as well as, their "language" that is used through the materials. It is a metaphor that asks us, adults, to step back and listen to the child fully in order to understand the child's theories or intentions. We observe and capture the child's work using documentation in order to "hear" and "see' as the children make their thinking visible to us through their multiple languages.

One place which enhances, supports and compliments the child's hundred languages is the atelier. The atelier is a beloved place in so many ways. It allows us to slow down the pace or rhythm of the day in order to encourage intentionality. It brings children and adults together in small intimate groups which allow us (teachers) to dialogue and co-construct understanding with the child or the children. It allows for the building of relationships between peers and the child-adult. It allows for those relationships to solidify and intensify. The atelier is a place that supports intimate dialogues around ideas and theories, where there are no right or wrong questions or ideas but rather where only possibilities are allowed to soar.

As our year unfolds, we will use the atelier as a source for provocation, hypothesis-building, unpacking of the child's theories across mediums and, most importantly, as a place for knowing and experiencing the languages of the various media in the atelier -- clay, blocks, wire, paper, paint. etc. Exploring and knowing about the affordances (how each media can represent and or support the child's idea) of each of these media will in turn allow the child to use the various media as a symbolic language. These explorations will support their theories and hypotheses not only this year but the next as well. 

In slowing down and learning about the languages of the media, we are invite them to think about their thinking. This shift takes the child into metacognition  or what is called critical thinking. This thinking is a step beyond the memorization of facts; it is about the thinking process itself. It moves the child into learning how to learn, which in turn is setting the stage for lifelong learning.

 

CHIHULY'S REEDS... Sensitizing the Mind's Eye

In observing the children during the early weeks of the school year, small a-ha moments about their work began to emerge. We observed their work in the message area, their drawings and their work in the mini-atelier. We began to see small moments that interconnect with many areas of the child's development. In the broad sense we would say math, writing, and even motor skills, but in looking deeper, it is more about the symbolic representations that interconnect and will move the child into deeper critical thought.

One of the interconnections that could be drawn was within the idea or concept of lines -- lines are used in writing, the written word, numeracy/math, and in drawing. Contemplating upon our observations, we found two key ordinary moments that helped with framing what would come next.

The first moment came in the mini-atelier with the children's discovery of the plastic canvas with holes. The children began to slip pipe cleaners into the holes. Noticing this, we brought out Chihuly's art book and shared with the children how the artist worked with glass in making something that looked similar to theirs. 

The children began to use Chihuly's book/work as a reference in creating their own chandeliers. As the children continued working with the pipe cleaners. it was if their eyes were becoming sensitive to the lines and curves in the artist's work.

 

The children began creating the swirls and gentle curves in their

own work through the pipe 

cleaners. We noticed that they moved from random selections of the colored pipe cleaners to intentionally thinking more about their selections, which were based on or inspired by the images in Chihuly's book. This classroom moment caused us (adults) to pause and reflect upon the children's intentionality  revealed in this moment.

A week later another moment surfaced in the studio with an interaction between N.N. and Ms. Leslie as a game of maze evolved around the give-and-take of lines and the intersection of lines as the two created a "giant" art work out of this dialogue between the teacher and child. Throughout the "game" there were no stated rules, yet rules emerged from N.N. as the game intensified and became more and more complicated in design. The significance of the moment was the interplay between teacher-child and the line-intersecting-line, which created the "maze."

In thinking about these moments, we began to unpack their significance as it connected with the children's work. We began to think about one of Chihuly's pieces entitled Reeds.

                                                                  

Chihuly's Reeds incorporated this idea of line into his art. Its vibrance seemed to offer possibilities for wonder, for slowing down the mind's eye, and for exploring the concept of "line."

The teachers wondered what medium might we use. In searching for possible materials, Ms. J. discovered neon straws which emulated the vibrance of Chihuly's work. She brought in the neon straws, and once the children caught a peek of the straws, their interest and curiosity grew. 

Observing the wonder that the straws created, we decided to proceed in using them as a medium for provocation. In considering this medium. we realized that it had some built-in challenges that could lead to frustration from this young group. The straws were slick, didn't hold together by themselves, and some of the straws were small in diameter. All of these elements could hinder the children's work.

In thinking about these possibilities, the teachers decided to frame two stages for the children's work with the straws. The first would be time for "messing about" and knowing the "language" and or affordances of the straws as a medium. We would observe and take notes during this messing-about stage for future encounters with the medium.

In observing the messing-about stage, we would also be looking for signs of the children's frustration levels when working with the medium and be ready to slip into the second stage. The second stage would add another layer to their glue work. It was our intention that providing glue would support and extend the children's thinking with the materials.

We were ready to begin!                     

   

The children began their exploration and "messing" about with the "reeds."

 

                                  

                   

                         

Soon they were ready for the second stage -- the addition of glue as a support for extending their ideas and work. The children worked on two different occasions using the glue and reeds.

    

    

                

                

       

          

          

The glue became a support in their work with the reeds as it did secure them in place. Yet in close "listening" or observation of the children's nuances, we noted that many of them were experimenting with height in wanting to build up. The glue did not support this learning knot of theirs.

                                                       

                     

      

                 

            

Reflecting upon this, we pondered whether we should add another tool for the children to support their work such as tape. This group had been experimenting and messing about with tape since the early weeks of school. We wondered if they had enough experience with this medium that it could be used as a supportive tool for their use with the reeds. We decided to re-introduce tape as a tool.

                                

                      

  

                                                

                    

Noting that indeed the tape and glue did provide support to their ideas and thoughts, another possibility emerged from the children. While working with the tape and reeds, Z.O. looked intently at the Chihuly's Reeds in the art book and commented, "Look, mine won't stand up because it doesn't have a log or stick at the bottom."  Once again reflecting upon this provocation that the children had tossed, the teachers began to think about possible bases or foundations that could be used for supporting their work. The idea of a styrofoam foundation emerged. An email went out to the parents and soon styrofoam bowls and trays were sent in for use in the next phase of their work.

The styrofoam bases with the tape did support the reeds and allowed for the children to "stand" the reeds up. This provided new learning knots and provocations for their work.

      

                    

                         

As the children's journey continues, we will see what will emerge next!

---

Posted by Ms. Gleim at 12:54 PM | Permalink