Cardboard Farm

It was Spring in our learning community, and the school year was winding down. Having experienced the program for many months, the children enjoyed the self-directed play, exploring materials, and creating projects they found interesting.

There is a transformation that takes place each year with the children. Some children are uncomfortable choosing play without directions from an adult at the beginning of the school year. As the school year moves ahead, the children experience a transformation. With encouragement from educators and peers' children begin to choose their play, seek out materials, and collaborate with others.

One child, who enjoyed playing and creating with recycled materials, became interested in some extra-large pieces of cardboard from a construction project at the school. The child asked if they could use the extra-large cardboard to create. At first, I was reluctant to answer the question. I wanted to use the cardboard for another project where all the children could work together. I realized my interference, pulled a large piece of cardboard from the stockpile, and handed it to the child. They smiled with anticipation as they walked away to begin their project.

Our work with children is in the moment. As educators, our plans for the children and the learning community do not always align with what the children want or need. Our role is to support children's play. My adult thinking was getting in the way of what the child envisioned as their work.

The child walked away with the cardboard, grabbed a marker, and wrote their name on one side. Next, they flipped the cardboard over and sat down. As I observed with curiosity, the child continued sitting next to the cardboard. Time passed, and nothing happened. Then my attention moved elsewhere in the classroom and stopped my observation.

The perception of time is different for children and adults since children live in the moment. Some children move with urgency, while others sit and think about a project as they work. Our role as educators is to slow down our adult sense of time, experience the moment, and consider the child's work.

Later in the day, I returned to check how the cardboard work was progressing. To my surprise, the cardboard featured a series of pencil lines and shapes drawn on the surface. I thought the child was creating some type of game. When I asked what they were working on, the child replied, "I am building a farm."

I was unsure if the child was drawing a farm, painting a farm, or using another method to construct the farm. Not wanting to influence, but clarify, the child's thinking, I asked, "how are you going to create your farm?" The child shared a pencil drawing that featured a series of structures. The child wanted to use recycled materials to create farm buildings where stuffed animals could live and play.

Our conversations with children are essential. Sharing ideas is a way to connect and understand the learning process. Through our discussion, I understood how I could support this work.

Over the next few weeks, the child used most of their time after school to work on the farm. The child finished the initial building stage and started using the cardboard farm as a prop for active play. Other children became interested in the farm and wanted to build their own. We cut up the remaining extra-large cardboard and gave it to the children. Many children were now creating cardboard farms for their stuffed animals.

Children who start a project often motivate their peers to create similar work. Some school-age children feel this is copying and express displeasure when this occurs. The child who created the original farm shared negative feelings toward the other children who created a new farm.

I noticed a groundswell of questioning over what the other children created. I decided to talk with the child who started the project. I wanted to hear the reasoning why copying an idea was not acceptable. The child shared that their farm would no longer be unique if other children made a farm. Our conversation continued. I shared that each child would decorate their farm differently. I also shared that some aspects would look the same, but the projects would differ.

School-age children are defining who they are. Much of their identity comes from the type of play they choose and who they play with. As children establish their place in the school's social structure, ideas become very personal. Some children are very protective of the identity they are building as they grow toward independence.

A few days later, I noticed that some children had attached their farm to the original farm. The children decided to collaborate and create more structures for the established farmland. As the week moved forward, the collaboration continued. The cardboard farms became united to create a large collective family farm.

The children decided to play together and share one large farm. If we give the children time, space, and a little guidance, they will develop a solution to conflicts in the community. The children always show great compassion for each other. It takes time for them to process the balance between their wants and desires with the community's needs.

A sense of community forged by working and being together for many months and years brought the children together. The children created a project that was not about my vision but a project that celebrates the community we built together with the children. Watching from the sidelines, I could not have been more excited to see this connection happen.