As I write this, the first snowflakes of the season are coming down on Brussels, and I am preparing to leave for Italy in 24 hours. Many of the children have already left on holiday, leaving my assistant teacher and I with eight students today and tomorrow; everything seems to be going just right.
Last night, my husband and I went to a Christmas party at the house of one of my students from last year. I see him often - he's up in the Kindergarten - but he is always proud to show me his things at home. He was showing me his books and dinosaur toys, and then he saw his portfolio from Preschool. His older sister joined us with her preschool portfolio, and we spent the next 20 minutes looking at their artwork, with them asking me to read the quotes the teachers had written.
There was a moment when the girl uncovered a collage that was made of a piece of corrugated cardboard, with different soft and rough items glued onto the top. When she saw it, she said, "Oh!! A texture collage!" Her happiness in finding that was genuine.
So for all of those parents who are wondering "what to do" about portfolios or 20 paintings a week, or reams of paper that have the same dinosaur drawn on every single sheet, here is a lesson in the importance of those things. Just as we make work available in the classroom for children to reflect on, make their work available at home, too. All it takes is a box. And every once in a while, the child will be looking for something to do, and they'll empty out that box, look at everything, and put it back. Or maybe an old painting can be repurposed as a collage or part of a new sculpture. Who knows? But children's work doesn't just come home for you - it comes home for them, too.
Great post, thanks. I have done some internet searches on this topic, looking for guidance: on what to keep (parent's perspective), and what to send home (teacher's perspective). Almost all advice out there is in the "toss it, keep only a very few representative pieces" camp. I have errored on the side of keeping way too much--more than anyone can go through and enjoy at a later date, so some culling is in order. But I'm grateful for your reminder that keeping "reams of paper with a dinosaur on every sheet" has its own logic, too. I don't have to cull TOO much.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I'm thinking about how to send home work that represents larger investments of the child's time and effort. But it doesn't always work that way--some children tend to work in 30 second spurts.
Thanks, Launa.
ReplyDeleteI think that at least 50% of the work that is done in the classroom is done in less than 2 minutes. I've been thinking, does that make it less valuable? These children were showing me the work that was in their "portfolio" - but is there any reason it couldn't be everything in a box?
In Reggio, they were referring to the portfolio as a "process-folio"...I think that includes the idea of reflection, rather than the idea of something to look at.
Hmm. I've tended to fall into the "when in doubt, throw it out camp," but this post has made me rethink that. I do send home everything that gets a name on it, but we often have "do it yourself" projects going on in parts of the room where there is no adult to make sure "ownership" gets noted. I try to instill the ethic of kids taking their own stuff to their cubbies if they want to keep it, but that doesn't always happen.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post. I'm going to be thinking about doing things better the entire break.
At Sabot we keep anything that might turn into a longer inquiry, or anything that might become 'contagious' to other children, causing someone else to think about the same ideas or use the same media. It is a lot of work for the teachers (keeping track of everything), and sometimes it makes for sad children (who want to take something home right away). But the portfolio that comes home at the end of school is a true reflection of the child's time at school, and hopefully has meaning for the child and family for a long time, like the portfolio Allie saw at the party.
ReplyDeletep.s. It sure is nice to see that there are others who think about all this as much as I do! Happy Holidays