Listening to Children

"It's cold!"

"I'm using my finger"

"Oh!"

"It's sticky!"

"Are we painting?"

"I gotta wash my hands!"

"Cold!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Glue?"

"Off!"

"What do I do with this?"

"Listening to children" The Hundred Languages of Children

This week, I asked the adults to write down exactly what the children said as they experienced the clay. Why??

"Listening means being fully attentive to the children. Listening means seeking to follow and enter into the active learning that is taking place."

The metaphor of "catching the ball that the children throw us", is a favorite one in Reggio Emilia. They like to use the metaphor of the children and adults participating in a game of ping-pong. What they have in mind, though, is not a fast-paced championship-level game among adults, but rather, a game where child novices are trying to play, assisted and supported by an adult expert. The adult is trying to help keep the game going. Sometimes he or she steps in to return the ball, or puts the ball back in play, or coaches children on technique, or fixes or adjusts the materials, or even calls a break and rests or feeds the children. All of these supportive adult interventions are based on keying in to the rhythm of the game and modeling an attitude of attention and care. The adult seeks to extend the children's stamina and attention span, increase their range of techniques and strategies, enhance their concentration and effort, and still allow them to fully experience pleasure and joy in the game."

The Hundred Languages of Children p.181-182