Ever so often, a teacher gets a student that sets a whole new level of what they expect is possible. This spring, I got a new student who has astounded me with her ability to stay focused on her work, while keeping childlike and spontaneous. She has impressed me with her clarity of vision, her determination and follow through, and focus on productivity. And she is only five. Attention spans, as we teachers, and parents know so well, tend to grow as children get older. Some younger students seem to happily settle for less than their vision, because it’s just so much work to make it look right. Others will quickly crumble in frustration and discouragement as they fuddle with new mediums and clumsy fingers. So what’s it like when a five year old knows exactly what she wants to make and is willing to put in all the time and work to get there? Well, I can tell you, it’s pretty darn fun!
The magic started in our first class together, when she began exploring the studio, and expressing to me what she would like to try. She was immediately attracted to the unpainted dollhouse shell that I had, and decided emphatically that she wanted to make one of her own. Having not seen the houses that the other girls had built earlier in the year, I was delighted to guide her through the project, and follow her lead as much as possible too. As soon as we started, I was impressed that she wanted so much detail, and didn’t tire of all the painting, and gluing. The easy/fun part of finding all the bits and pieces and deciding on décor and furniture, didn’t consume her focus. She had an ability to collect items, keep her ideas and intentions for them solid in her mind, while she worked through the steps to get to the point to add them in. There were a lot of wood pieces that she happily painted, and she spent a lot of time on the walls in her kitchen. Her mother told me that when she took the house home, she kept it close to her at night, and spent hours playing with it, with her little dolls.
When she came back after the May long weekend, she had a new idea, and a new goal -to make a fair. Inspired by the Oak Bay Tea Party, she envisioned rides of all sorts and together we built them and she detailed the whole thing with colourful paint, jewels, shells, and trinkets that she found in the studio. The best part is, each ride functions; the Ferris wheel spins, so does the swing carousel, and the “Confessor’s Dream”, and the teeter totter goes up and down. We finished the project in 3 hours, (WOW! I know!) and I’m sure she will treasure it and play with it for months to come. She also decided to make a store for her dolls who live in the house to shop at, and a car for them to drive, and a zoo. Done and done.