The Goodbye Game

10/12/2017

Sé impecable con tus palabras. (Be impeccable with your word)
Don Miguel Ruiz, Los Cuatro Acuerdos (The Four Agreements)

In her popular new book, Really Seeing Children, Deb Curtis writes about her respect for children's ability to deal with challenging situations. Here's how she describes a child who makes up a game to help her cope with difficult emotions:

"I've watched Hannah repeatedly invent a game over the last few weeks. She rounds up purses or baskets, fills them with rocks or loose parts from indoors, and walks to the door if she is inside, or to the gate if she is outside. From there she waves, smiles, and cheerfully calls out, 'Good bye, good bye!' She has been repeating this game again and again...

"She struggles with separating from her family each morning and I wonder if the game is her attempt to practice these difficult moments of saying good-bye while being in charge of them...

I marvel at her ability to figure out how to negotiate the big world she is learning to live in...Her example of making a game out of these scary feelings inspires me. If she can figure these big things out, so can I."

Kohburg - Create a Reggio Inspired Classroom.

Brookes - Screen Language Skills with QUILS.

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