Chaos

As part of our work with Anne Van Dam, we've been looking at documentation of children's play and considering what working theories the children might be developing. 

Rachel writes:

X is very skilled at small world and construction play. Whatever small world toys we put out, he often creates the same sort of scenario. One that involves some sort of disaster or chaos! If he is playing with cars, there has been an accident or a big traffic jam. If he is playing with the doll house, somebody has fallen off the roof. If he is playing with the train track, a tree might have fallen on the track. Each time he is playing he will shout, ‘Quick! Come and look’ then explain the dilemma. I often ask him ‘How will he fix it?’ or ‘Who can help?’ Then X will either come up with a solution to help or the disaster will develop into something much worse!  

In contrast, something that is interesting about this idea of chaos is that X actually likes things to be very ordered. While lining up his cars, blocks or Kapla, he gets frustrated with any children who might move something slightly out of place. Additionally, he is very cautious with trying anything new. Even wearing an apron to play in the water or paint is too much of a risk for him. He does not normally choose to go outside and always prefers to stay inside playing with small world or construction toys.

I am interested in what X’s working theory might be. I find it interesting the contrast between his play and his personality. It seems that risk and chaos in his play, controlled by him, is possibly as much risk as he is ready to deal with.

Speaking with Estelle, she also said he is playing out a storyline which also involves some disaster and drama. She suggested asking X to tell me a ‘Helicopter Story.’ I thought this was a good idea, but was concerned that he would not do that, as he normally says ‘no’. Again, it is something out of his comfort zone as he does not speak English as his first language. 

However, amazingly, one day I managed to pick the right moment. After hearing some of his friend’s telling me their ‘Helicopter Stories’, I thought I would ask X. He initially said ‘Yes ok, but not now, when I have finished in the sand.’ So I waited and reminded him when he had finished. It was great as he was so keen to tell me a story and unsurprisingly, it involved a lot of chaos!

When we performed the Helicopter story, it really did seem like chaos. There were so many characters that nearly everybody in the class had a part. X was proud to have his story performed.

Simon writes:

Talking of Helicopter stories, the boy at the centre of Vivian Gussin Paley's The Boy Who Would Be A Helicopter is very different to X. But Paley, writing about children in her nursery school class, shows brilliantly how their play and story making is a powerful way they come to terms with the world.

The boy in question always plays with a broken helicopter. At first it's a kind of refuge from everything in the world, in the classroom that's too much. Later on, it changes, and becomes his way of reaching out of his own space, to make friends with other children. The story telling and play is the safe space in which the changes can happen, and a new model of the world built up.

Rachel and I were chatting about this the other day. We're still quite tentative in imagining what theories X is working on in his play - these are interpretations after all. Click below for part of our conversation (sound only):

It impresses me how young children tame the world through their playful reconstruction and remixing of it.

It reminds me of Martin Waddell's picture book, Squeak-a-lot, 

In an old, old house lived a small small mouse
who had no one to play with.
So the small small mouse went out of the house
to find a friend to play with.
And he found a bee.
“Can I play with you?” the mouse asked the bee.
“Of course,” said the bee.
“What will we play?” asked the mouse.
“We’ll play Buzz-a-lot,’ said the bee.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ!
But the mouse didn’t like it a lot.
So he went to find a better friend to play with.

…The same kind of thing happens with the dog, chicken and, worst of all, the cat (“Wham! Bam! Scram!”). The mouse runs away, until he finds some other mice. With them he plays Buzz-a-lot, Woof-a-lot, and Cluck-a-lot, with a Wham! Bam! Scram! chase that takes them back to the old house where they… sleep-a-lot. They play the games the big animals wanted to play, but in a safe re-enactment by  themselves.

In this way, young children approach some of the big things that life throws at them. In their play, in their storytelling they build up a practical understanding of how these things are approachable, intelligible... livable.