I learned an important lesson this year. At Christmas time I wanted to gift the class a fun present that they would be able to enjoy over and over again. I knew my students love to build and create, particularly creations that they can physically interact with. I did my research and chose a “magic” fort building kit. It was perfect! Sticks, connectors, a blanket or two and … hours of imaginative play! I envisioned rocket ships, castles, forts, caves, etc. Perfect! Right? Not quite. Turns out those age recommendations on play equipment actually have substance behind them. There really is a difference in development between 4 and 5 year olds. Though my students loved the concept and were very grateful for the gift, having not quite mastered squares and rectangles, cubes and other 3D shapes were quite a bit harder for them to picture and manipulate. After a few frustrating attempts to create those “magic” forts, the kit was sadly boxed away for a while and a much wiser teacher returned to studying her students, their desires, and their abilities. Then came Our Show.
It all started with a closing circle question. “What did you do during recess today?” As usual most answers were to the extent of “played with my friends,” “ate the snow,” or “made snow angels,” until one boy said, “I made a show at recess.” He then began describing in elaborate detail the contents of his show. As the others listened their eyes shown and they began to ask questions, offer suggestions, and state what they would put into a show of their own. Suddenly, a student raised their hand and asked, “Mrs. Harmston, can we make a show?” And, that’s how Our Show was born. I couldn’t be more delighted. In our last professional development training we learned how to incorporate project based learning into an early kindergarten classroom. I had been looking for an opportunity to try it out in my class and here it was. I quickly grabbed a marker and started recording the students’ ideas on the board. Since this was their show and their brainstorming, I left nothing off.
Our show would go on to restructure my plans for the entire next month. All year I had planned on focusing on family and relationships for the month of February but, with Our Show in the works I realized that it would be more beneficial to learn the art of storytelling. So February became storytelling and fairy tales month. Through Little Red Riding Hood we learned about characters, setting, problems, and solutions. We took this and story boarded our own story. Once we had recounted and plotted out our story as a class I quickly recorded it so we could use it for reference as we went forward.
As our story took shape we began to practice performing it. It became quite evident that we needed props for the full effect. Enter cardboard boxes. Earlier that month, to introduce the fairy tale theme, I had gone to Lowes and picked up some of their cast-off appliance boxes and (with much support from my husband) fashioned them into a castle, complete with drawbridge, tunnel and shuttered windows. This castle was a hit from the very start. The students absolutely LOVED climbing in and shutting the door. Shut off from the world, they could pretend anything in this dream fort. It became much more than a castle. It was a firehouse, reading nook, rocket ship, bear cave, in essence, everything I had hoped to give my students back in December!
Seeing how well my students took to playing with a cardboard box inspired
me to bring more into the classroom. Not only did those boxes turn into a boat and Rapunzel’s tower to be props for Our Show but they also became so much more. Give a child a box and some tape and there is no end to their imaginative creativity. Flattened boxes, tall boxes, boxes from my home, it didn’t matter. Before long I had all kinds of creations taking place in my room.
As we advanced into our month of fairy tales our boxes became walls for the pigs to protect themselves from the big bad wolf, a tower for Rapunzel to throw down her hair, a robot, and, just by adding tape, a used up piece of cardboard was recycled into a super cool hot wheel car maze. Later, that same box was recycled again into the backdrop for a stunning piece of Valentine’s Day art. I realized that my students didn’t have just Our Show they were developing. With their imaginations and simple cardboard boxes, they were creating many stories, with characters, settings, problems, and solutions. All of this played into the development and eventual delivery of Our Show. Even as we performed and filmed the show the students were still refining the plot, choosing kindness and friendship as the ultimate solution to the problem in their own story that they wrote.
Through this rather event filled, ever-changing, project based learning experience, I don’t know who learned more, the students or their teacher. Children don’t need expensive toys and kits in order to grow and develop. They only need versatile materials that they can easily manipulate, a bit of free room to stretch their imaginations, and real validation of their growing interests and intellect. In the end, I was able to provide them with a gift that could be enjoyed again and again but it didn’t come from stores or online catalogues. Instead, this gift came from the mouth of a child and I listened.