Exploring Pokemon

Every year new toys and characters come into the market. Working in school-age care, I see the latest toys and trends as children bring them into the program. As new toys become popular, other toys stand the test of time. Lego is an all-time favorite, along with Hot Wheels. Magna tiles, blocks, and action figures. Toys that never go out of style. Another game that has been a part of the school-age landscape since 1998 is Pokemon.

My work in school-age care started in 1995. Pokemon arrived soon after and has been a part of children’s play for a long time. The children enjoy trading Pokemon cards and playing the game. Pokemon is also a popular TV show and video game. One year the children focused on Pokemon. Half the children in the program were actively trading and playing the game. I started thinking about how we could extend the play of Pokemon and invite children to become active game creators and players.

I asked the children if they would like to create Pokemon characters? Some children said yes, and other children did not show any interest in my idea. I brainstormed some ideas with the children. How could we create original Pokemon cards? The children worked on character creation while I worked on making a template to create the physical cards. To create the card template, I traced the shape of a Pokemon card onto paper. Then I repeated this shape on the paper filling an entire page. Next, I made copies of the template for the children.

The children used the paper template and pencil to draw new original Pokemon characters. Next, the children used colorful pencils and sharpies to fill the drawings. To finish each card, the children used fine-line black sharpies to draw over the pencil lines of each character. After drawing each card, the children cut out their original Pokemon creations and glued the paper on top of thin cardboard to complete the work.

The children added the new cards to their Pokemon collection, traded, and used them to play the game. The new cards and characters inspired other children to create more original designs. Children created stories about their Pokemon characters and shared them with friends making the game more interactive and personal. Making Pokemon cards lasted for much of the school year as children enjoyed the process of making new characters and cards. Years later, this project work resurfaced. The children, once again, created characters and cards for another more advanced card game: magic, The Gathering.

Some projects in the learning community need more support than others. As an educator, we have to decide when to step in and when to stay out of the children’s work and play. Observing Pokemon play, I wanted to create a way for the game to be more creative and interactive. I tried to transfer creative control to the children and inspire a new form of gameplay. We combined an existing game and our creativity and created a connection in our learning community.