🌱 When Materials Begin to Speak: A Day of Children’s Creation
On this day, the classroom had no fixed template and no expected outcome.
On the tables lay wooden pieces, leaves, stones, coloured dots, lines, and fragments of nature—quietly waiting for children to give them meaning.
These materials were not prepared to teach a specific skill.
They were invitations—open-ended, flexible, and full of possibilities.
Children gathered slowly.
Some began by observing carefully,
some reached out with curiosity,
and others waited patiently until an idea formed in their minds.
A leaf became a roof.
Coloured dots turned into a path with rhythm and direction.
Wood, stone, and natural objects were no longer just “things,”
but languages for children to express their thoughts.
Throughout the process, no one told the children what they should make.
Teachers stood nearby as observers and listeners—
offering time instead of answers,
responding with questions rather than instructions.
Here, art is not about producing a “beautiful” final product.
What matters is the process the child experiences—
trying, adjusting, deciding, persisting, and sometimes letting go.
Some creations were kept.
Others were taken apart and rebuilt.
But the thinking, focus, and growing confidence—
“I can think, I can choose, I can create”—
quietly took root.
In a Reggio Emilia–inspired environment,
art is not the outcome.
It is a way for children to understand the world and express themselves.
When materials are respected,
children learn to respect their own ideas.
🌱 当材料开始说话：孩子在创作中的一天
这一天的教室里，没有固定范本，也没有预设结果。
桌上摆放着木片、树叶、石头、彩色圆点、线条卡片，以及来自自然的各种材料，
静静地等待孩子为它们赋予意义。
这些材料并不是用来“教某个技巧”的，
而是一种邀请——开放、自由，充满可能。
孩子们慢慢围坐下来。
有人仔细观察，
有人带着好奇伸出双手，
也有人静静等待，直到一个想法在心里出现。
一片叶子，成了屋顶；
彩色圆点，排出一条有节奏、有方向的路径；
木头、石头与自然物不再只是“物件”，
而成为孩子表达想法的语言。
在整个过程中，没有人告诉孩子「应该怎么做」。
老师选择在一旁观察、倾听与记录——
给予时间，而不是答案；
用提问代替指令。
在这里，艺术不是为了完成一件“好看的作品”。
真正重要的，是孩子在过程中所经历的——
尝试、调整、选择、坚持，
以及学会放下与重新开始。
有些作品被保留下来，
有些则被拆解、重新组合。
但那些思考的轨迹、专注的时刻，
以及那份「我可以自己想、自己做」的信心，
已经悄悄生根。
在 Reggio Emilia 的学习环境中，
艺术不是结果，
而是孩子认识世界、表达自我的一种方式。
当材料被认真对待，
孩子也会认真对待自己的想法。