Karen Winderlich -  'Nothing Less Than Extraordinary'

Sometimes very ordinary objects are transformed in the hands of young children to become something nothing less than extraordinary. 

The introduction of cups into our construction area as a material for building has highlighted the children’s enormous capacities for experimentation and creativity with everyday objects, as well as their ability to understand the necessity for careful, precise and considered interactions with them.  They are a brilliant building material because of the uniform shape and size, but at the same time are actually rather fickle. The slightest movement can bring a whole construction crashing down in a spectacular fashion. Perhaps the risk factor of collapse is part of the appeal!   

In our third week of playing with these materials, we have seen the children already beginning to see greater potential in them to construct towers that are more than the initial pyramid shape, and branching out into shapes both open and closed that stretch not only up but out. 

With the addition of more loose parts as well as light into this area, the children have shown beautifully how they are able to not only see the potential within resources but combine many different elements into their work. 

And what is the value within encounters with materials like these? 

There are many skills, strategies and learning dispositions woven seamlessly into the detail of the children’s work. Persistence, care and resilience are necessary when working with such unstable elements, especially when collapsing towers are a natural and frequent part of the construction process. There are explorations of concepts around patterning, counting, comparing, sequencing, balancing, stabilizing, repeating, measuring, sorting and grouping to name a few.

Learning is life, and the children show in their wholehearted embrace of the potential to bring simple cups to life just how powerful the relationship between children and materials can be.    

We know this project is far from complete, and look forward with anticipation to see just where the children might take it.