51吃瓜网

As teachers of 4- and 5-year-olds at a Reggio Emilia-inspired early childhood education program, we are always looking for ways to guide children in conversations about themselves, others, and the world. These are key components of one鈥檚 identity, which starts to form in a child鈥檚 earliest years (UNCRC 2005).听听

At the beginning of the 2023 school year, we decided to use self-portraiture to introduce these discussions. However, things went a little differently than听we planned.听

Entry Points: Starting with the Wide World Around Us听

Following that anxiety-filled October morning, we decided to search for entry points, or places where the children鈥檚 interests might lead us into exploring new ideas. A few weeks later, we received an unexpected gift from one of our families: a paper wasp鈥檚 nest they found during a neighborhood walk. We put it on the table and added some magnifying glasses and mark-making materials. It was immediately evident that the children were fascinated. Eventually, we extended their engagement by using a digital microscope and projector that allowed us to see the nest up close and in detail.听听

This experience prompted the children to take an even closer look at the living things outside. As the season shifted, they began to take walks with Ben, our studio teacher, whose enthusiasm and insight about creatures and 鈥渃ritters鈥� supported our emergent curriculum as it developed along unexpected and exciting paths. The children began regularly searching for new creatures, attempting to identify familiar ones, and imagining and building shelters and homes that they thought the animals might enjoy. We were eager to support the children鈥檚 intense interest and decided a trip to our school library was in order.听

One of the most influential finds from our library was a book called Incredible Animals, by Dunia Rahwan and illustrated by鈥疨aola Formica. In it, each animal has听unique superpowers鈥攆lying, swimming, and echolocation,听to name just a few. These superpowers make them special. The听book was a hit, and we revisited it day after day, week after week, building on our and the children's enthusiasm with new information.听听

The children imagined what it might be like to have these traits themselves. We soon found that these conversations (typically held during our whole-class gatherings) became entry points for discussions about perspective taking and recognizing and appreciating differences. Just like the animals in the book, we talked about how each member of our community had special and unique qualities that could be considered superpowers. When we asked the children what their superpowers were, their answers included everything from 鈥渆xtra strong鈥� to "being a good friend.鈥� Over time, these dialogues, which听focused on our听uniqueness听and the strengths that听each of us shared with听our community, became commonplace. Incredible Animals was powerful鈥攁nd so, inspired by this book, we decided to make our own text.听

The Dinosaur Guidebook, as it eventually became听known, was born of the children鈥檚 interests in creatures and animals, our class's听interactions with informational texts, and a growing appreciation for a diversity of听appearances, abilities, and lived experiences within听our class and school communities. Inspired by our Reggio Emilia-inspired approach, we supported and encouraged the children to research, design, write, and illustrate the book mostly by themselves.听听

By the time winter had begun in earnest, and the children鈥檚 knowledge of one another, themselves, and our communal norms had deepened. With the children鈥檚 insight, we identified the tasks necessary for bookmaking鈥攔esearch, illustration, writing, cover design鈥攖hen invited the children to opt into task-specific teams based on their interests. In these groups, the children brainstormed what they knew and what they needed to learn more about. They also identified strengths within themselves and their peers听that helped the team as a whole. When inevitable challenges arose, like figuring out exactly where to find answers to tough questions, the children were able to corral their resources and find solutions that led them to reach out to other teams, other teachers and children in our school, and听beyond. They even created a podcast鈥攂ut that, perhaps, is a story for another time!听

Giving Identity Another Go听

By March, we finally felt ready to dive into听investigations of identity and portraiture, which had felt听foundational to our teaching practice and had intrigued us since听early听fall. We听began anew with two anchor texts鈥�The Heart of a Boy: Celebrating the Strength and Spirit of Boyhood and Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves;听both are photography books听by Kate T. Parker. On each page, a portrait of a child is paired with the child鈥檚 words about themselves. We treated these images听as visual texts, pointing out that photos only reveal a small piece of who a person is. We wanted to emphasize to the children that there is more to a person than meets the eye and that this is true for everyone.听

When it was time for more intimate conversations, we decided to set up shop in the cozy room鈥攁 small nook in听our classroom where we could听close the听sheer, gauzy curtain and invite deep focus. These conversations, we intuited, would necessitate听vulnerability and reflexivity, best served by a degree of privacy. As we had done in October, we once again, we intentionally chose an听array of materials: the books mentioned above, individual family photo albums (collected听at the beginning of the year), and a printed picture of each child (also from听the beginning听the year). Each picture was attached to a blank canvas and听could be听flipped up to reveal听the听canvas underneath. Above the small table, where the children sat, we projected pictures of them, taken over the course of the year. While the children took in the photographs, we invited their commentary, using prompts such as听听

• 鈥淲hen people see or meet you, they can only see things like your face, eyes, and hair. However, they don鈥檛 see what鈥檚 inside your beautiful mind and heart. What would you like to share with others about yourself?鈥澨�
• 鈥淲hat is your story?鈥澨�
• 鈥淲hat do you care about?鈥澨�
• 鈥淭ell me about some of your strengths. What about some challenges you face?鈥澨�

We created听space and provided听support for the children to share听about themselves through their own drawings and words (see 鈥淔arryn鈥檚 Story鈥� below). Then, we listened听as they worked and took notes, which became our documentation.听

听

We听end this story as we began, with a note from Sadie. She would like readers to know the following: 鈥淚 have got lots and lots of love. It means I have a lot of cares in my body. Sometimes, I give the caring to people who aren鈥檛 even nice because maybe they are just shy or something.鈥澨�

Photographs courtesy of the authors
Copyright 漏 2024 by the 51吃瓜网. See Permissions and Reprints online at听51吃瓜网.org/resources/permissions.

References

UNCRC (United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child). 2005. 鈥淚mplementing Child Rights鈥痠n Early Childhood.鈥� General Comment No. 7. United National Digital Library.鈥�.听