Why we made this Pop-Up:  With Family Literacy Day on the horizon we began to consider how to bring literacy to a wider audience. Aviva remembers her own struggles with literacy when she was a young student – especially how she would dread thirty minutes of “creative writing.” As soon as the topic or sentence-starter was given, her brain would shut off. She would spend the entire time feeling incompetent and anxious about handing in an empty page. There are still many students who struggle to find an entry point into literacy that meets their skill level, creativity, and sensory needs. So we wanted to create a literacy program that would boost confidence and encourage meaningful connections. We realized that we all share verbal stories every day – in essence, storytelling without the physical tools connected to literacy. We wondered what would happen if we challenged children to build stories without words. Would it diminish the importance of the written word? Would it elevate the oral aspect of storytelling? Is it even possible to “write” a story without a keyboard, pen or paper?

So we served up an irresistable buffet of creatures (bowl of snakes, anyone?) and a unique mix of building materials, and children aged 3 to 13 rose to the challenge. Working independently and sometimes in groups, they built stories that ranged from a single scene to full storyboards. Each narrative became a tangible manifestation of the child’s imagination. What we discovered by witnessing these stories unfold is that at any age and any skill level, literacy in the form of story-building and story-telling can be just as powerful and meaningful as reading and writing.

Behind the Scenes:  We decided to bring a mini photo printer to the Pop-Up so children could take photos of their creations home with them. Providing an artifact with which to retell their stories was our way of meeting the 2014 Literacy Day challenge of “15 minutes of literacy with your family.” We spent some time deciding whether or not to provide a template for the photos. The design of the template went through various iterations until we boiled it down to a very simple layout with space on the front for the title and the author. We printed two versions – one with lines on the back and one without – imagining the children would self-differentiate (which they did). We discovered that the children who regularly enjoy writing asked for the lined version and easily gave their stories titles. These children were as passionate about writing as they were about building their stories. Others were happy to take their photos home – untitled – eager to practice their oral language skills by sharing their stories with family and friends. 

An 11-year old boy who built five incredibly intricate stories, was reluctant to write them down or share them verbally. However, when he got home he found a way to express himself. The stories he shared with his family were not about the content of what he had created but about how he had built each story and how the experience had made him feel. He described his selection and building process – which is storytelling in a different way, but storytelling all the same. Another child who struggles with writing assignments and often complains that she hates writing, was given a homework assignment to write a journal entry about her weekend. That night she confidently announced: “No problem, I know what I’m going to write about” and proceeded to fill the entire page in less than 10 minutes – writing about the way it felt to participate in the storybuilding pop-up. This child, who usually struggles with every sentence on the page, was squeezing in words right to the very last line. Experiences like these help us recognize that choice and voice in an environment that supports multiple definitions of literacy will not only help children meet learning objectives but may even encourage them to embrace writing on their own initiative.

The biggest Lesson from the Littlest Child:  We like to think that every child who participates in our programs becomes part of our learning and future planning process. This time it was a 3-year old girl who pushed our thinkin’ forward in a really big way. She and her mother and grandmother all spoke little-to-no English, making it difficult for us to explain what was happening in the room. But this wonder-filled child was determined to participate. First she made a bee-line for a large bowl of seashells, then she scanned the room to see what the other kids were building and began walking back and forth between her work-space and the loose-parts picnic, carrying as many items as her little hands could hold. Gradually her story began to take shape. Twice she was offered large but interesting creatures from adults in the room but both times she turned them down with a dismissive wave of her hand. Finally, when her story was almost complete, she walked over to the creature buffet and carefully selected three very small, delicate animals to invite into her story. When she was done we snapped a photo of her creation, then mother and daughter chose a picture-book from our bookswap table and curled up on a chair in our snack area. 

Later that night as we reflected on the day’s events, we discussed the way this young child had silently built her story “backwards” and how she and her mother had so eloquently embraced our literacy day challenge. And then it dawned on us – her story-building process was only “backwards” according to our expectations. What we considered a language barrier actually freed this child from expectation. She chose for herself how to build her story, and for her, it made sense to create the scene first and then add the characters. Yet, we had given all the other children verbal instructions to choose their creatures first. As teachers and parents, we both know the dramatic effect that language can have on our children’s learning. On this day, our simple but specific instructions determined the order in which the rest of the children built their stories. Rather than asking them to choose a creature first, then build a story around it, we could have said: “choose a creature and some materials to build a story.” This slight change in our verbal provocation would have given every child in the room the power to choose their own point of entry for their storybuilding.

Not Far Enough: We then thought back even further to our initial planning stage – to our first idea of assigning creatures randomly to the children (surprise! challenge!) Then to our second idea of having them pull hidden creatures out of a bag (sensory! choice!) Eventually we settled on creating a buffet of inviting creatures that would inspire the children to build their own stories. It never occurred to us that the materials for the setting of the story might provoke their creativity more than the characters. We were convinced we had undone the structure of storytelling as far as it could go and then discovered we hadn’t gone far enough. 

We can’t believe how easy it was to fall into the trap of giving very specific instructions so that every child would meet the same learning goal. Even with all of our planning there is always room for improvement. We've learned that using specific instructions may seem like it will create an easier outcome but the end result is actually more complex. When we ask a group of children to follow a narrow path that’s been set out for them, we can end up with some students who meet the success criteria, but also many discouraged learners who do not. When we spend the bulk of our energy on front-end purposeful planning, we reduce our time and energy on the back-end by creating a wider path for students to navigate their learning more smoothly. Click here to see more images from our Storybuilding Pop-Up!

So, after years of walking, talking, learning, and thinking; studying, researching, planning, and doing; we are finally – finally! – launching our company and bringing our website to life. We're incredibly grateful to everyone who had faith in us these past few years and happy that we ignored all those who didn't!

Our official name is Thinkin Educational Services, but you can call us Thinkin or ThinkinEd. We’ve got all sorts of unique and exciting learning opportunities in the works, so we hope you’ll join us for one of our signature pop-ups, thinkshops or knowledge swaps. Say goodbye to boring conferences and workshops – we load ours up with unique and innovative ideas and then top em off with a whack of creative energy. But before you say “sign me up!” we invite you to read through the ideas and inspiration we’ve crammed into our website. There’s a lot to consider, so find a cozy spot to kick back, grab a warm drink, and take your time... we promise it will get you thinkin’.

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The Space:  The art studio at the North Thornhill Community Centre was the perfect space for this pop-up. The large picture windows filled the room with an incredible amount of natural light and provided a beautiful post ice-storm backdrop that made us feel grateful to be toasty warm inside. To create a space that would flow differently than a traditional classroom, we placed all of our materials in the centre of the room – like a loose-parts picnic – and left the surrounding area open for children to spread out, choose a work space, and interact with each other as they built and tested their creations. What we found most interesting about setting up the room this way was that a comfortable ebb and flow between projects and groups developed organically. Placing everything in a delineated space in the centre of the room allowed the children to use the rest of the space according to their needs. 

The Materials:  As the children arrived, we asked them to sign a loose-parts agreement and encouraged them to slow down and carefully select the items they might like to construct with. Then we provided them with large collection trays with which to make their selections. This set the stage for an incredible level of mindfulness, respect and care for the materials – which directly affected the way they interacted with each other as well. Even though the loose parts picnic was jam-packed with what seemed like random materials, we chose the materials purposefully and intentionally – taking apart pieces that went together, deliberately leaving behind parts of full sets, and including materials that stimulated a variety of senses (tactile, auditory, visual etc.) One of the things we love most about loose parts – besides the open-ended creativity they provide – is the multitude of sensory needs they help us meet. Parents marveled how their children, who struggle with everything from anxiety and ADHD to shyness and introversion were productive and focused for hours because they had access to materials and a learning environment that filled their needs. For us, this experience confirmed what we’ve long believed – that all children benefit from environments that are well-thought out to promote personalized learning.

Something else we really love about loose parts is the dramatic reduction in consumption and waste. Except for the masking tape (which is now a giant tape ball that Aviva’s using for inspiration), the minimal trash we generated that day came exclusively from food packaging. And even there, we did our best to minimize waste by creating a SnakPak system that can be re-used for future events. As each child arrived, we labeled their basket and let them know they were free to snack whenever they got hungry. The kids loved that their snack was contained and personalized, and they appreciated being able to work uninterrupted. The baskets are completely stackable, re-usable, re-washable, and (bonus!) the labels pull right off without leaving residue. At the end of the day, we were thrilled with the ridiculously small amount of trash we had produced.

The Provocation:  We designed this pop-up with ages 8-12 in mind but everyone was welcome. We had children of multiple ages from nursery to grade 6, and it worked for all of them for many reasons. To keep the task open-ended and appropriate for varying language and learning needs, we made a conscious decision to keep the provocations wordless. We printed out images of online games and strung them along a rope with clothes pins so children could pull the pictures down and place them on a clipboard. Some students knew instinctively what they wanted to create, others came in unsettled but quickly adjusted to this new approach. It didn’t take long before all the children were helping each other and deeply invested in bringing their ideas to life. 

When parents returned to find their children heavily engaged and on-task, they began asking us questions like, “how did you get them to build this?” They couldn’t comprehend or imagine the process that had occurred while they had stepped away. We used the same minimal but purposeful language to explain to parents what we had already told their children: “choose a game that interests you and see if you can use some of the materials to recreate it.”

While observing and documenting the children as they worked, we noticed that many of them had moved beyond the original provocation. Armed with clipboards, time, and well-chosen materials, these children actually became inventors, designers and engineers who took apart and rebuilt the games in imaginative and innovative ways. The open-ended provocation allowed the children to release ownership of their creations. So much so, that an 8-year-old boy who had spent half an hour creating a 3D version of Cut the Rope willingly handed over a pair of scissors to a boy in kindergarten who wanted to play his game. The rest of the children unexpectedly gathered around to witness the big moment. The room fell silent and everyone cheered even though the swinging candy missed its target. After this brief but wondrous show of support, the children went back to their work newly energized and motivated to test out their own creations. The noticeable absence of aggression and competition, and the sense of community and support these children extended to each other in their language and actions, was nothing short of remarkable.

The Struggles:  True creativity does not exist without struggle, so it was inspiring for us to watch the children push through their discomfort of failed experiments and uncertainty. They asked for help and guidance from us as well as from the children around them. Overall, they stayed committed to their visions but were willing to adjust their plans where necessary.

In an effort to make our own learning visible, we had a few struggles of our own. We had envisioned a cozy snack corner for the children where they could step away from their work, load up on energy, and allow their creativity to percolate. This worked well initially – until a group of kids recognized the creative possibilities of the colourful round table-top on the floor. While their use of the table-top effectively shut down our snack area, we can't deny that their 5-way multi-age, multi-gender collaboration blew everyone away. So while we saw the big round blue thing as the perfect snack table, it turns out it was also the ideal base for building an elaborate city! 

And finally, we were surprised by an exchange we had with an onlooker at the community centre who announced that it all seemed like "way too much work and totally not worth it." Although we welcome a wide range of opinions as a way to expand our own thinking, we were taken aback by the comment until we realized that this individual didn’t have a child in the room and hadn’t witnessed any of the creative transformations. Seen through the lens of a child, educator or parent, this person would have seen what we saw: that anyone can be inspired; that a single learning environment can serve multiple ages, stages and abilities; and that you can awaken parents’ curiosity to learning through witnessing their children at play.

The Takeaway:  The children who participated in our very first pop-up shared how much they appreciated the chance to express themselves creatively. One child in particular summed up the experience when she said, “I liked it because I could do whatever I wanted and nobody told me how to do it!” We know that feeling comes from having a lot of freedom within a purposeful structure. At the end of the day, they all went home with stories and photos of their creations – and memories of a learning experience that was empowering and meaningful. For us, it was a fantastic way to kickstart a new business and to announce to the world "game on!"

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