 | "I made a Harvard shuttle bus. The bus is nice and shiny. The bus has seatbelts so everyone can be safe. They won't bump their heads and hurt their hands." Hannah (age 5) |
On Jan 7, 2004, Hannah (age 5) created this construction and dictated her story about the Harvard Shuttle Bus.
As is typical her piece was displayed in The Museum. The Museum offers an opportunity for casual conversations between and among the students and teachers. Children are very interested in how their friends use the materials in the museum. As they visit The Museum each week they may pick up on an idea or notice a new a material that holds some fascination for them. The children decide whether they want to revisit their work, or return the materials on their tray to the recycle shelves and start anew. The back and forth between the children includes a visual awareness, and encourages them to develop an idea which is naturally interesting. That is; they are looking at the thinking of their peers, which can be nothing but developmentally correct, and internally motivated. They are creating the seeds for the curriculum. It's what they see, and what they connect with personally. Hannah's mother takes the shuttle bus to school. So Hannah creates this piece, which represents that experience for her."I made a Harvard shuttle bus. The bus is nice and shiny. The bus has seatbelts so everyone can be safe. They won't bump their heads and hurt their hands."
Hannah (age 5)
Then, when Jasmine sees the shuttle bus it makes her think about her family, and how they travel.
 | "It's a car that moves very fast. The family in the car is going to Six Flags of New England. There is a bump in the road." Jasmine (age 5) |  | "One time I went up on a cherry picker. It went halfway to the moon." Nicholas (age 5) |