Exploring Magnetic Tile Forms

For a series of days, the children created with Magna-tiles. Instead of designing buildings and rooms for dramatic play, the children made multi-dimensional representations of trees, bushes, and flowers.

Creating program conditions that invite children to stretch the boundaries of their work is an essential part of our practice. Exploration and discovery are encouraged by creating a classroom with plentiful materials and time to experiment with ideas. Freedom in the classroom environment supported children in developing new methods for constructing Magna-tiles.

The work differed from how the children usually created with Magna tiles, and I was curious about how this project evolved. I decided to sit nearby and observe to learn more. As I watched, the construction transformed again. One child created a moveable structure. As I listened, the child told friends nearby that the moveable structure was a "Fly Trap." I continued to listen and learned the flytrap was for catching humans.

Once the children discovered that Magna-tiles offered new possibilities for construction, they expanded their exploration. The children experimented with ways to make their creations move without settling for only stationary flowers and bugs. The movement was essential to how the children viewed this work. The children wanted to create creatures that lived in a make-believe land that was dangerous to the Lego humans who inhabited it.

After creating many Magna-tile forms, the children created characters from other materials to support their dramatic play.

The children captured the spirit of play and started creating new figures and structures to complement the Magna-tile creatures. The children used most of their work's materials to create a large land for the Magna-tile creatures to rule.

The dramatic play in the land of Magna-tiles creatures lasted for many days. Each day the children evaluated the current state of their land and the continuing saga of the Lego humans. Then they created new props and creatures to advance their dramatic play. It was terrific to witness simple materials used in creative ways.

I always feel good about our work with school-age children. All children need freedom from school responsibilities to explore, expand, and discover new ideas and techniques for play. We are creating a school beyond traditional school, a school of applied knowledge.