Nursery Child: “I’ve written a story”
“Tell me more” I respond
Child: “It’s about all the children saying goodbye to their mummies & daddies in the morning. I’m going to read it to everyone at Circle Time”
Me: “Can’t wait!”
Child: “It’s a big story”
She reads it to 34 children.
Me too - the crumpled trunk!
Yes!
My mind is blown by the simplicity and graphic directness of the drawing. A parting gift on the last day at school - a sad elephant. The crumpled trunk…
Genius.
A Nursery child draws an elephant with wonderful succinctness.
A simple expressive line and perfectly judged areas of tone capture the imagination:
“I’ve drawn it for you…It’s sitting down and feeling sad because it’s the last day of school…and his trunk is crumpled up”
Utter Joy!
That wonderful moment when a young child gives you a drawing and you realise they’ve handed you a window into their world of development - a synchronous exploration of motor control, marks, linear expression, writing, shape and space. Each nourishing the other.
Joy!
What do you give to life,
when life has it all?
The effort of being original,
is like a thank you.
Wayne Shorter.
Nursery child invites us into some thinking on shape and space:
“I’ve made a face do you want to see?
You turn the circle and the mouth can be happy or sad…
But I can’t decide if square eyes are happier than triangle eyes!”
We look, wonder and I see what he means.
Joy!
“I’ve drawn the Taj Mahal by a beautiful rainbow river”
‘They’re so beautiful’ I respond
“Do you know what the numbers are?” the child asks
“The doors?”
“No…they are the way I drew them,
I started with 1, I did 2, and 3 and 4 and 5 and 6
and then I glued them on the river”
He follows up by independently sorting the Montessori beads on a study table.
“I’ll put out ones, twos, threes all the way to 10”
He counts in each denomination with growing fluency as he lays them out, stopping regularly to check & count 1-1
“When I get to 10’s I know them!”
So beautifully put!
Thanks,
Sue.
And such a resounding yes!
“Those who desire to sing… find a song.”
Plato.
So much of teaching is finding your own voice:
a voice that inspires learners to discover theirs, and sing boldly themselves.
When I find my song, I’ll sing it with all my heart.
Nursery child simultaneously unpacks his thinking about number & the Montessori number bead box:
“The 5’s go 5, 10, 15
4’s go 4, 8, 12
3’s go 3, 6, 9
I haven’t done 6’s but I think they go 6, 12: I’ve been thinking about it,
and I haven’t thought about the 9’s yet”
Joy!
It sure does!
Great quote!
A question that shadows every lesson:
At what point does my hand, meant to lift, hold pupils back?
‘…starting points for intuition and rigour…’
Love that Edward!
🙌 Yes 🙌 !
She returns bringing Grimms semi circles & The 100 Star Study Box to her play. She re-explores shape & space.
She explains “I made a circle with 2 semi circles but I like semi circles on their own too!”
“The rocket’s gone but can you see the two tiny houses - in the middle they’re sharing a star!”
I love it when the Independent learners turn me into a waiter
...you know:
‘Are you enjoying your learning?’
‘Yes!’
‘Can I get you anything?’
Isn’t it just - these sets are so visually and creatively rewarding to play with!
-
A nursery child explores the Montessori Shape Boxes.
She intuitively engages with the properties of congruence, shape, colour, and magnitude, using them to create imaginative and varied designs:
“I’ve made a rocket, and there are lots of stars around — every star is going to be different!”
Joy!
Play is a spark,
if you let it out of the box
it ignites ideas.
New thoughts arrive like unexpected guests.
Play wanders about our heads in ways we can’t predict and in places we forget to look.
Imagination is refreshed.
Best of all, it discovers things we could never dream alone.
Thanks so much - your message really made my day!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the posts.
Joy.
Moments of learning are a great reminder of what really matters aren’t they!
EYFS child:
“I’m studying number 10 on the Ten Study Rug”
She wades playfully into cardinality, anatomy & multiple addition as her ideas unfold
10 plates are arranged into a picnic
“In 10’s you get to 20 & 50 & 100!”
“The Red Hands make 10 & mine make 20!”
Nursery child plays on the “Number Ten Study Rug” with Numicon
“You can make 10 with 5 and 5 and that’s fair but you can’t make ten with 6 and 6 “
“You can’t make ten with 7 and 7.”
He laughs.
“You’d have to squash a 7 down into 2 and 1 which isn’t fair … Or three!”
Joy.
Nursery child simply joins a cork with an empty tape spool and has a magnifying glass at Picasso like speed.
Joy!
🙌 yes 🙌 😃
I see Play’s
magnificent fusion of
thoughts, actions and discovery
as a form of thinking in itself.
A primal language simultaneously abstract and concrete,
relishing the unexpected,
loved by mind, heart and body,
and birthplace to innovation.
Picasso transformed a bicycle seat and handle bars into a Bulls Head.
It’s been said a child could have done it.
I wonder,
isn’t the point the other way round?
We adults DON’T do it,
anymore.
Do we wish our children trade in these transformative powers for
‘adulthood’?
🙌 They’re a ‘thing’ 🙌
In the following days lots of Pink Boxes are made in the art room from junk modelling.
“Look I’ve mixed the perfect Pink for the boxes”
“I’m going to make a box for every word in the world so when I’m 4 I will learn lots and lots…and everyone can learn too”