Transferring One Encounter To Another.

One of the joys of living close to the CBD of Sydney was the impromptu visits to galleries, exhibitions and urban nature where people take time to slow down and transport their presence in environments of beauty, creativity, imagination, proposals and provocations which l embrace whole heartedly.

Often these visits to the city are done alone, but when a friend accompanies me, this brings another type of joy as their encounter within these environments brings a sense of utopia as they see my world through a pair of rosy glasses. I love it when they say things like, "I get it" or "I've never noticed that before, but now it's been pointed out." It's the same feeling of connection when a child has travelled down a line of enquiry and discovers answers to their questions.

Visits to the CBD often involves taking many photos of what I have seen and discovered. Upon my return to home I consider how the data I've collected can be transferred into another context, particularly in an early childhood setting. What materials and resources do I have on hand to create encounters which capture similar experience I had.

Whilst visiting the Art Gallery of NSW, I was greeted by a panel of perspex windows which was filled with boldness, light and simplicity. This reminded me of the small tiles' children use in the block corner. Each presents a different colour standing alone, but magic can be found when stacked upon or resting parallel to each other.

With the visit fresh in my mind, I decided to set up a provocation of coloured transparent blocks and torches for the children in the infant room. White backgrounds were sourced for the children to have a canvas to capture their discoveries.

What transpired was an encounter of transparency in both the material and child. Together they worked with each other in order to produce the magic of light on a blank canvas. Blocks were moved and rearranged to ensure the light generated from a torch was capable with each block.

As an educator I feel that my job doesn't stop when I clock off. The planning of a weekly program sits on my mind, how to sustain the interest of children, incorporating STEM through provocations, my thoughts seem to never end.

How to produce a program which covers all bases in areas of development, along with impromptu conversations and artistic creations really isn't far off my mind. These visits to the CBD always ignite fresh ideas and thoughts, but I always come back to the reason I became an educator.