How might cardboard foster connections?
In the start of the school year, it is my practice to offer experiences that might build relationships between children and materials in order to build relationship between children. Knowing that, I need to both be open to the inevitable surprises and the unexpected, while being intentional about what materials I offer. This year, I thought about materials that might demonstrate two different things coming together and connecting, yet remaining unique when joined. I wanted a material that might take more than two hands to create. A material that through playing with, the children might find themselves in collaboration with one another. A material that would support children to uncover and make meaning of their world of relationships.
I’m wondering:
What is the role materials play in building relationship in your classrooms and environments?
How does having intentionality with the use of materials support you to listen to children in new ways?
What do you look for when using materials with children? How do you stay open to the surprises and the unexpected?
