Week 3-1: Jeffery's Superhero: Strength in movement

Lysander's Superhero Pose

Pippa's Superhero pose

Tai's Superhero pose

In the last grouptime, the children were moving their arms and bodies to show me how strong they are. Their facial expressions were also equally telling: eyes squinted, lips pursed, with gutteral loud sound effects.  The children believe that their voices must change, bodies must tighten in order to be strong, as if to protect themselves or to  create a barrier.

After choosing their capes and scarves we began to explore:

This is what it means to be weak.

Our next exploration

Children moving with strength and confidence to the Amelie Soundtrack

The children gravitated towards "play fighting" moving their scarves towards each other without making physical contact.  I signaled the children for a "T.O." or timeout, with my hands in the "T" position.  I asked them, "Why are you moving the scarves towards each other?"  Jeffery said, "I am like Optimus Prime, I can fight.  Orin said, "It's okay because we are not hurting each other."  And he was right.  The children were exploring their own personal space and respecting the space of others.  They were laughing, making sound effects, and maneuvering up, and down.  This is what we call consensual coordination: without plan, the children had a sense of how to be with each other.

I then posed the question: "Children do you feel strong if you move while lying down on your back?"  Only two children tried this. I wonder ...do the children prefer to connect with one another making eye contact, exchanging smiles and laughs.  A community that laughs together, learns together!

Lysander exploring movement on his back.

I then wondered what would happen if we changed the position of the scarf from the hands to the ankles.  Only one child was willing to try this, when I asked why, Orin said "because it is too scary."  I think the prospect of kicking one another was unappealing so they continued the exploration with arms and hands.

Next, we made "strong and soft music" with a drum. The children decided that strong meant loud like a lions roar and soft meant being like a little mouse:

Orin helps Pippa play like a lion with the mallet

The boys gently strum, with each finger, like a mouse.