Yesterday I received an email from Katie. (Thank you!)
It really got me thinking again about how we can support boys in Waldorf Kindergartens and in our homes. Boys ARE so different to girls, aren't they! Having one of both has been so eye opening for me, even after YEARS of boy-top heavy classes in my kindergartens.
Why was that?? Something about MY energy
(taurus bull/chinese year ox/ choleric/ metabolic sense for those of you who are interested!!)
being better suited to boys??
When I taught, every little space in the room was FILLED to the brim with busy, creative, constructive children: mostly, the boys in the middle spreading out, and the girls in the corner pockets of the room.
They would WORK and WORK to build their projects.
Picture a bee hive, with workers going about their business independently of each other but knowing their tasks. That was the Kindergarten.
A few years back, I was part of a project looking into boys in education.
Boys in general (in schools of all kinds) do tend to be more full of energy - needing physical activity, more challenged to sit in a chair for long periods, needing to play rough and tumble etc, and superheroes!
So many superheroes!
Rather than try to hide that, or water it down, we need to embrace it and make education FIT the boy, rather than the Boy fit the Education.
I wrote to Katie,
"I like the idea of 'enobling' the challenging themes of play. By that, I mean to take say, 'superhero' play, and transform it somehow, to take the essence of what they are doing (eg showing courage, bravery, strength etc) and helping them to channel that into purposeful tasks (somehow) without them thinking that WE think 'superman' or 'spiderman' is wrong.
There is NO wrong.
It is what surrounds us everyday so of course they will imitate it. It calls on us to think creatively, that is for sure, as their desire to be superman or batman or spiderman or buzz lightyear is SO strong!!
For me, my biggest challenge is how I can sever the cords of consumerism (and the associated images of the superheroes) from them when it is everywhere- even on yogurt pots! "
One story I love to share is of a time when my class was filled with 18 boys and just 9 girls.
In desperation to make my inside play opportunity meaningful and constructive, (rather than just a rehash of the tv program they watched that morning), I brought in my old futon bed frame with about 20 long lengths of timber slats.
The children, especially the boys who became Fingerknitting Kings, fingerknitted and fingerweaved and knitted "with Nancy" until there was a basket overflowing with 'ropes'.
The 'builders' then set to work, making houses and highrises (our local beach is lined with hundreds of highrises) and window cleaning swing things and cubby houses and roadworks.
My only interventions into these weeks of self directed play was to remind them that the 'Health and Safety" Officer would be visiting so they must build safely and keep all 'demolitions' within their safety boundaries (notified by chair barracades and 'notices' hung by the children) so passerbys would not be hurt.
They created roles for their teams, named each other with their role for the day (eg man in charge, safety officer etc) and generally worked together as a team of builders would on site.
Later, one dad came to visit and build a teepee in the garden. These builders were delighted with the 'real work' after so much preparation!
It was fair to say that not a lot of 'playing' happened within the structures. The building was, for them, real work and they didnt have time to then 'play' inside but occasionally they would invite the girls and boys into the spaces to make their homes, or kitchen.
Now, I have my own boy, I am even more keen to ensure ways to help him feel validated and worthy through real work in the world.
I wonder, have you had any great boy moments in play too?
Why not share them here??
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