Socially Interactive

This article is a continuation of the ideas from an earlier post. In "Active Engagement," I shared about children choosing their work and how work invites engagement. I also shared how children want to be the leaders of their learning. 

The inspiration for this article came from a video I viewed online from The Lego Foundation. The video title is "Characteristics of Playful Experiences that Lead to Deeper Learning." and correlates to a list of five attributes of play. In the video, the Lego foundation shared what "Play looks like in practice." The video struck a chord with me since I observe these attributes working with school-age children every day. I am inspired to share what our practice and the children's work are like in relation to the characteristics in the video.

When choosing work, children engage with other children. The process of children exploring their questions often happens in collaboration. The method of discovery and creation then becomes a place for social interaction. During partnerships in learning, children share ideas that fuel a process of iteration that accompanies much of the children's work.

When children work in collaboration, the search for answers is more fruitful. The partnership helps school-age children learn more than when working alone. The search for solutions to challenges or questions accelerates when children collaborate.

Collaboration helps form social connections as the children work together. Social interactions invite children to practice new skills we all need to be successful contributors to our community. Play and work in a school-age program directly connect to the children's social interactions. Practicing and assisting the children in negotiating social skills are essential in our work as educators.

The learning community is about people. Inviting the members in the learning community to learn more about each other is the core of what makes a program thrive. Children make connections during work and play. Some friendships last a lifetime and represent the glue that ties the learning community to the larger community.

Knowing and accepting those who have different ideas begins at a young age. Social interaction is where children learn about the differences in people. During collaboration, children learn how we are all different and the same. This blend of people and differences makes up the learning community's extraordinary learning and discovery space.