10: Not A Box

 I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. 

-Albert Einstein

The world we know now wouldn't be what it is if it were not for the power of imagination.  The comfort of our home, 

the ease of our daily commute, 

the capacity to visit faraway lands, 

or even just the simple delight of eating scrumptious food

-- it all began from an idea in someone's mind.

Imagination changes the world, if we dare to unleash it.

To help the kindergarteners go further with their inquiry, I gave them the opportunity to make their ideas come to life based on what they have learned. 

First, of course, we had to check what we know. With the help of the pigeon, the pirate and Norman, the kindergarteners were able to discover different types of transportations. They chose their favorite one and created a cut-out artwork -- ala Henri Matisse! 

A helicopter and sports car for Koh.

A car for Emma.

A car for Chanin.

A firetruck for Yorinobu.

A car for Clara.

An airplane for Sarah.

A car for Tamaki.

A helicopter for Haruto.

A train for Kanato.

A car for Emma.

Then, the children sorted them out according to their different uses: 

for land, water, and air.

They even worked collaboratively to make a diagram of the different transportations that they sorted.

By Emma and Sarah

By Zoey and Chanin

By Kanato and Haruto

By Clara and Tamaki

By Emma and Yorinobu

By Koh and Kallea

We all agreed that these forms of transportation make our lives better:

they help us get from place to place,

they allow us to see the world,

and they bring us closer to people we love.

Many decades ago, they didn't exist. Because of the imagination of dreamers and makers, the transportations that we know now came to life and affected the way we live in many ways. 

To unleash the imagination of the children, I read a book called Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. It's about a rabbit who has a simple box that's NOT actually a box. It's a ship, a race car, a hot air balloon, and even a robot!

We collected "not-boxes" around the school and used our imagination to create new things with them. We turned them into drums, pillows, teddy bears, hats, and even into shoes. They were not simple boxes after all!

Afterwards, we read a story called Big Friends by Linda Sarah and Benji Davies that focuses on three friends and several cardboard boxes that brought them closer together. We discovered that we can put the not-boxes together and turn them into something bigger and maybe even better if we work together.

 Just like the children in the story, the kindergarteners worked as a team to create spectacular things: a dinosaur, a house, and stairs.

What's gonna work? TEAM WORK, indeed!

I asked the children:

If you were to re-imagine your not-a-box into any form of transportation, what would it be?

The children unleashed their imagination and brought their re-imagined transportation to life using their own not-a-box. Have a look at their masterpieces:

Koh made a fast sports car. 

Kallea made a colorful submarine.

Clara made a house airplane.

Emma made a car with a house.

Emma made a helicopter with colorful paint.

Zoey made a car that has a shop.

Haruto made a very fast car.

Kanato made a big train.

Yorinobu made a car airplane.

Tamaki made a fish car.

Sarah made a doctor helicopter.

I think we have future scientists and inventors amongst us. 

If we can dream it, we can do it and we can BE it, right? 

We ended the week by reimagining ourselves and who we could be -- even just for a day.

(We got wonderful treats, too!)

It was the perfect early Halloween celebration for the kindergarteners. 

The thing is, we don't have to wait for a special occasion to imagine who we want to be. Everyday is a celebration in itself, and each morning we wake up is an opportunity to imagine who we can become and what we can contribute to the world. 

Let's think out of the box -- or rather, not-a-box.

Have a wonderful Autumn break, everyone. 

Your Kindergarten teacher, 

Pam