Shadow Play: Bats

The light studio is an extension of our classroom. It is the spark that keeps our Forest Room alive and once the children began to notice their shadows, their play took on new fervor. Our group is very kinesthetic and stories evolve best when the children are moving from one area to another. At first it felt like they needed to be reigned in. Their play appeared to be disorganized but what I noticed was  this group of children are masters at co-creating stories. They are able to use each other's ideas to craft and extend their narratives while moving to act out the story.

Solace watched her shadow one day and said,

                                               
                                          "I wanted to be a bat. I was not a scary bat."

                                       
                                             

                                                       

                                               Guiseppe: "I was fighting with bad guys."
                                                         

                                                   "We had to eat some cheese."

                                 "The bats went to the playground and the bat cave."

Another day Solace, Giuseppe and Isaac stood flapping their bat wings when Solace began,

                                         "I am Little Flower Bat." Guiseppe: "I'm Brother 
                                     bat." Isaac: "I'm Big Brother Bat."

As they began to weave their story, their bodies sailed off the stools, running over to the light table in the corner and then back to the middle where the floor drops down in a slant to the doorway. 

"They went in their rocket ships to Grandpa's house on the beach. They sailed on the boat and got to Grandma's house. They caught some gold fish and ate them at home. Brother Bat rolled down the hill into the dark, dark, water cave. Big Brother Bat helped Brother Bat back up the hill."

                                 

Loris Malaguzzi was a founding member of Reggio schools, beloved studio teacher and social activist who worked to change the image of the child to that of being powerful thinkers and meaningful contributors to society. He once said, "Parents have to have an idea of a school in motion, because the children move around all the time and not only physically; for their minds and social exchanges are in continuous motion, just as their language is." When I read this quote I said "Yes! It is true. This is their important work!