Module 3 – Idea Box (Wondering)

We are about to discover a whole new box in Literacies at Play.

This is Not a Box! for seeing.

Nor is it a Treasure Box for seeing and thinking.

Rather this is an Idea Box, filled with theory-making and possibilities!

The idea box is extraordinarily special because it holds wonderment; its lid is never closed, and its capacity is never full.

For many of us, this wonder stage of See-Think- Wonder is the most fun. This is where we get to be curious along side the children. This is where we become co-theorists with early learning theorists who have gone before us, with children who are in our midst, with colleagues and family members.

Wonder requires us to remain open to possibilities for which we don’t know the answer.

• What are the deeper meanings of this child’s experience?
• What are the connections they are making?
• How might these connections be understood uniquely if experienced in a different time, context, or culture?

Let’s go back to one of the images we saw earlier.

Imagine with me that we are have brought this object into the classroom – safely, in a container, in formaldehyde.

We have also brought in the picture of how it was found on the ground for the children to see.

We share our true-life story with them about finding it on our front lawn at home when raking away leaves and twigs after the snow had melted from the winter. I found it on the edge of the lawn that borders our woods. I’d never seen this on my lawn before! I am so curious about this that I wanted to show it to you too.

Though my ‘show and tell’ could be for children from varied ages, imagine this is a group of  three-year-olds.  A colleague video-records their engagement and conversation.

Preschool and school-age children