cardboard built and demolished

I wanted to build a cardboard house that at least one person could sit comfortably in. Dan helped. Arthur pulled it apart.
Then we looked at all the different materials in the space.
Arthur and Dan built a tower.

Neat

last stand

we went after school to fill some time

and used i think for the last time all the

cardboard sheets paper boxes in a circular

design of tunnels, stepping stones, lookouts,

paper paths, and then played hide and secret.

I think with hide and seek it can work as a

ridiculous game when there are few hiding options

it becomes funnier

we hid in boxes, under sheets, behind a pillar or each other

edie wanted to make costumes so i propose next we have some

costume making materials

we finished with furry blueberry, vanilla giraffe and red icecreams

Tower Den

Energetic and focused Arthur used his time productively. He explored nearly all the materials and most of the space. He was interested in building a tall structure but his height and materials restricted him a little. He named lots of PARTS:CHIMNEY,BED,IGGLEPIGGLE,ROOF,GARDEN,PATH,WALL,FRIENDS...
He took a huge roll of printer paper and made a huge pathway all around the room.
He then jumped and danced around the room with the long strip of paper which gradually split into smaller parts and then wrapped the paper round and round a pillar and tucked it in like a bandage.

Spaces Offering Creative Potential

One of our spaces limitations is the clean walls that cant be damaged.

This limits what you can attach to them and restricts our actions.

However it also means we have to improvise through lighter structures, free-standing ones, create without needing walls. Perform, run etc.

Building a rainforest in a primary school together with teaching assistants there were only a few potential places to attach string across the room using water pipes or use staple gun.

Perhaps all classrooms should be lined with hooks around the walls for such a purpose.

Visiting a secondary School this week the rooms seemed even more restrictive in their potential for change and so restricts explorative, creative activity in changing a space for whatever purpose.

The teaching has reduced potential for departing from the desk and chair scenario plus the constant changing of classes also hampers this.

A field trip / visit is regarded as a significant part of learning in new / different surroundings and yet high schools must predominantly function in very limited ways.

While it seems accepted that people learn in different ways to varying degrees it seems to be ignored that the space itself plays a significant physical and symbolic role in this.

The Empty Room

Liz and I were trying to write.
Frank was off school wanting to play.
Alone Frank built a den using the big cardboard and the pink bed sheet.
Together we built tunnels.
Liz and I wrote a little.
...Thinking about the effect of space. How to explore space through play, how to play by exploring space. Hide and Seek.



Later Frank played alone making a telescope, which he then used to look at the room.
ps. this post would look so much better with the photos big n text above or below but i can't work out how to do it right now. aaaaaagh.

Spiral. Last build of 2011.

This space is great. The privacy and lack of nosy interruption from neighbours means we can enjoy ourselves, make lots of noise and run about.

We dont have to think about the world outside if we dont want to.

We made a spiral hotel and a performing area.

Edie and Martha ran round round round the space.

Its a great size for running.

They played hide and seek with their friend Emma which was ridiculously silly as its 'almost' impossible to find a hiding place.

polly as ever observed from her bean bag.