Magic in a Junkyard

The January 9 ExchangeEveryDay quoted a story from the Deb Curtis book, Really Seeing Children, that referenced the value children derive from working on projects that at first glance might be dismissed as “a big mess.” The story was actually written by Nadia Jaboneta from San Francisco, California and was included by Curtis in her book. Curtis writes this about the story: “Nadia’s attention to the significance of the details of the children’s play has helped change her image of their competence and propelled her to share her new understandings with others. Notice how she talks about the changes she has made in her thinking and practice as a result of seeing children.”

Jaboneta describes what she learned as she closely observed the children: “They carefully determined the placement of the materials before putting each one onto the big pile. They took turns deciding what materials to collect next as the junkyard grew. Other children who showed interest were happily invited to join the effort.” She goes on to describe the value of the experience and her learning: “It is such a wonderful feeling to see the same magic that the children see in the materials. I want to share these feelings with other teachers, so I try to find moments to point out and rave about the competence I am seeing in the children’s work. During classroom team meetings, I bring photos of this type of work to closely examine and reflect on. We study the learning, creativity and theories behind the children’s work. We make plans about how we can further support this type of play. We celebrate the brilliance we see in children!”

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