Witnessing this cameo of play, on my last day in the Paua Room, was a real highlight of my time there. One of my interests is to explore the role of play in a child’s learning journey, and investigate what role the teacher and the environment play in that process. A leading educationalist, Vygotksy, said,” In play, a child is always above his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play, it is as though he were a head taller than himself.”
Having never seen Brody participating in sociodramatic pretend play before, I was delighted to observe such linguistic, social, emotional and dispositional competence.
Brody, Max, Callum, Savanna and Sarah were playing underneath the climbing frames when I gently enquired as to ‘who’ they were and Brody went into a volley of explanations about who was whose brother and who was Spiderman and so forth. (It was very clear to him but, alas! I missed the fine details!) An ‘injury’ had occurred and I ran to get the play stethoscope for Brody, who gently used it as a plaster.
The game was complex and unspoken for the most part and involved many journeys to and from ‘home’, much high speed running from Brody and Max, a few ‘injuries’ (healed with ‘plasters’/ leaves off the tree) and frequent urgent injunctions from Brody about the need to get home as fast as possible!
I noticed how Max (usually a powerful game initiator himself!) and Callum accepted Brody’s leadership. Sometimes they got confused as to whether they were being Brody’s henchmen or his opponents!- tempted by more predictable themes of conflict but Brody’s quiet consistency of purpose and his confident belief in his own unexpectedly collaborative play ideas won them back each time. The two, younger and quieter, girls clearly felt very comfortable in Brody’s ‘care’. With the language, gesture and actions of a tribal leader, a warrior, a doctor, a father, a provider and a protector, he was the inspiration and social glue of the game’s fabric.
I saw a heart-warming display of kindness, energy, imagination, social aptitude and language: “Ok, we all have to go home. Come on! Let’s go!” “She needs a doctor. Here’s a plaster.” “Afternoon tea with my big brothers. Mmm!! Spicy tea!”
When the game moved indoors, the whole whanau came too, with Brody still guiding the tone, the mood and the quality of social interactions around the table. He was full of warmth and enthusiasm, sharing the family corner and its props with imaginative and gentle collaboration. Brody, I was thrilled to observe how you wove your life knowledge and your ability to imagine into your play, exploring and practising such powerful life skills and dispositions. What a treat to observe. Thank you! (Recorded by Evelyn. October 20th 2013)