Making meaning out of all we do...

Learning can take time...

Oftentimes in education material that I read they will say that as children learn, they are making meaning out of life.  This sentence sometimes gives me pause.  Making meaning out of life? What do they mean exactly? I am 57 and still finding meaning in my life.... is this the same?

As I sat with a few children this week they were in our school garden looking at something.  I sat down next to them.  I watched, I listened and then I joined in a little bit with questions and thoughts.  I quietly monitored myself so as to not take over the direction of the conversation, yet to be gently alongside them in their investigation.  They discovered caterpillars on some plants.  More importantly they were so excited to have discovered baby caterpillars! They squealed with delight as they said, "This one is the tiniest!" I didn't have to say, "Be careful," because they knew to be so gentle with the plants and the caterpillars.  Honestly, they did release one leaf a little stronger than I hoped and as they did this I saw even the tiniest of caterpillars did not fly off the leaf.  They continued their investigation with each other, wondering aloud and looking intently at the leaves.  As I listened, I asked myself in this experience, “What does it mean to make meaning out of life?”

Some thoughts I considered in meaning-making that could be happening:  All creatures begin as babies.  Nature is beautiful.  Caterpillars come in all sizes. My friend and I can share an interest and a learning space to explore this interest.  In moments of learning I can feel joyful and excited to share with others passing by.  In nature I am at peace. Nature affords us great investigation.  I exist amongst all creatures great and small.  I can find a friend that appreciates my pace of looking.  Leaves have different colors, shapes, and things sitting on them! Looking at something slowly opens my eyes and other senses to what is in front of me and around me. 

What else might we add to this small moment in a child's day as they make meaning out of life?  When I sit in an experience with children the explanation of this becomes so clear. 

I continued pondering the concept of children making meaning out of life as I entered the infant room. A 10 month old crawled over to a walker and pulled themselves up and began to push it.  Another classmate crawled over as well.  They tried to do the same.  They negotiated space and movement together.  There was not one act of aggression as they made space for each other to explore and test out the movement of the walker. In this case I said very little as they pushed the walker around negotiating and figuring out what to do when they got stuck in the corner!  In this instance, again, what does it mean for children to make meaning out of life in their daily experiences?

Meaning found in this experience: The power of collaboration as well as the power of being a leader as one took charge of the walker at times.  Sharing space, figuring out a solution, investigating something that interests you and discovering how that feels. Figuring out how my body moves and controls this walker. Investigating, resilience, curiosity, and other amazing learning characteristics were happening in these moments.  Great meaning-making was happening from the infants I observed to the Pre-K students! 

As I read articles I can get caught up in words and research and theories.  I am affording myself a gift as I continue reading educational material.  When I read, if I find one sentence that I want to think about, I stop reading.  I sit on that sentence.  I highlight it in my book.  I keep the book open.  I wonder through my days thinking about that sentence before I move on.  I am continuing to explore this concept and its relation to the pace of education. If as we learn we are making meaning out of life, we need to slow down, process, and reflect on our learning.  Children do an amazing job of this.  

We are all on this journey of making meaning out of our lives.  I continue to strive to find my inner child in which I experiment and explore when I am interested in something.   Children have no fear of failure because failure leads to growth.  They work together and independently, they don't give up easily, they pause and dance or sing whenever and wherever they want! They look at the sky and their surroundings taking it all in without disruption of cell phones or time pressures.  What a gift!  Today we will all continue to make meaning out of life.  What seemed so complicated of a sentence became so meaningful to me as I gave myself time to think. Just a little more meaning-making I suppose! Thinking can take time!

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