On April 15th (whew, time can slip by if you don't watch where it runs!) the friends from the 4-5 yr. old room drew with Sharpie markers on some pieces of scrap wood I cut to emulate the blocks that they have in the Block Area of the classroom. In the past few weeks, the these friends have been preparing work and ideas for the May 8th art show they are putting on at my school's final show. We are going to transform the space with their work to make my studio space reflect the activities, perspectives, and models that their school proposes and moves with the the children through. So, I have been bringing them into the art studio to experiment with materials and make basically whatever they wanted to put in the show! That set up worked really well for some of the friends who tend to work in the Art Area more often or have more exploratory impulses when art making; I can always count a handful ofn friends to get deeply invested in materials and experimentation. I noticed however that some other friends that weren't coming to the studio were still expressing themselves in other areas with blocks, magnatiles, figures, costume and general play. So, in an attempt to make sure the work in the show included as many friends as possible and to represent the range of activities and sensibilities that make the 4-5 yr. old room experience so rich, I thought about letting them work with blocks. The blocks, after being decorated, can be played with during the show. The friends signed the wood they worked on which I think will help make the distinct, individual responses more evident. Enough talking, here's some pictures!
Above, two children used the surfaces as picture planes. Another, above this text, decided to complete his piece by coloring one side completely green. It is interesting the different ways in which the friends approached and engaged the same materials. Below, a friend is making her own block shapes by combining blocks with tape. Another pushed blocks together and considered them together when depicting a house that is apparent in the form which is stacked with a triangle roof and the surface which includes a window. I think this activity really highlighted the differences in individual perspectives that make creativity such a robust aspect of life.
The block in his left hand is two triangle blocks connected by tape.
Like she spelled it
Above is a candid photo catching one friend investigating another friend's work in progress. I like this photo because it captures an example of a way in which we learn from each other: looking.
Like I noted before, difference continually informs and reinforms creative production or expression. At the school, I think this would be considered a form of "co-constructing knowledge". This idea is an expression of collaborative investigation; it is dialectical knowledge. The children use their observations in active dialogue with their peers' views to create a more holistic vision of reality. I think co-constructions go beyond childhood learning; perhaps that is why it is so important to encourage the growth, appreciation, and trust of collaboration, different perspectives, and active investigation of whatever is around. I personally view the world, our reality included (culture, language, etc.) as a field of entangled relations. When anything moves, it naturally informs something else's movement. But that influence is hardly ever as discrete as a one to one reaction. Everything is included. Have you ever, been at work or school or at home and someone involved in that environment is in a sort down mood? Can you notice how it affects other relationships that seem at first to be separate from that individual's presence? New Age ideas aside, I find it useful to consider that everything is connected even if by extension. I say it useful because if you consider something to be somehow entangled in our life by default, then it helps to feel motivated towards positive, productive affection.
What if everyone learned to care for themselves by caring about everything around them? What if sharing, trusting, and caring were the tenets of awareness? I think that is a question that Berkley proposing and children and teachers and families get to explore together.
Below are some friends from another room that decided to join in!
At the bottom, one friend used the building potential of the blocks to make a more suitable drawing surface!
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