The children in the West Wing are taking their first group walks in the neighborhood. A chance to explore our surroundings revealed a shared knowledge when they encountered a brick wall.
Miles: Look at this brick house. Let’s blow it down!
Rufus: Blow, blow, blow!
Miles: We’re the wolf.
The West Wing teachers were surprised at this reference to The Three Little Pigs folktale and connection to the Big Bad Wolf and played video of the walk during reflection meeting to see what the rest of the children would say. The group shared their discovery of the brick wall without mentioning the folktale. The wall created a buzz in the classroom and all of the children wanted to experience it themselves. The next day a different group of children ventured out.
Christoph: Hey look! The same bricks, the same bricks!
Elliot: The same one like yesterday.
Teacher Amy: You remembered seeing it at Reflection Meeting.
Colin: The bricks, the brick wall. Humpty Dumpty, Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.
Elliot: Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Yet again, the encounter with the brick wall elicits another tale. As evinced in these two experiences, stories possess the power to bring people into a shared community of knowing. Connections are made by recognizing one’s own story in another. As teachers we wonder: What connections are the children making to the archetypes of the Big Bad Wolf and Humpty Dumpty? How do we use this telling curiosity to engage the children and support them in recognizing the story we are creating together? How will these stories shift and shape how they see themselves and the role they play in this community?