“It is through others that we develop into ourselves.” -Lev Vygotsky 

Our school wide study of identity has evolved from the Study of Me to the Study of Us. Their examination of sense of self is interwoven with their relationships to others. Discussions of family and friendships have emerged throughout our study.

 Photographs of classmates were offered back to children to incorporate into their work in many areas of the classroom, including their artwork, their block buildings, and on the light tables. Adding photographs as manipulatives has encouraged children to explore relationships, at times an abstract concept, within a context of concrete thinking. Young children are often very literal thinkers and offering concrete representations to process abstract thinking facilitates deeper thinking.

“I am made and remade continually. Different people draw different words from me.” -Virginia Woolf

 How do you get to know your friend?

“Because they’ve been friends since the Quail class… I have a friend and I know how I ‘came friends from the Tortoise class, now I almost know her for two years!” -Emma (age 4)

How do you make friends?

“You be nice to them.” -Kayn (age 4)

“You can visit each other’s houses.” -Patrick (age 5)

“It’s somebody you like to play with… and be nice. And be helpful.” -Colleen (age 5)

“Because they be kind to you.” -Blaise (age 4)

“Because you need to take care of them and be kind to them.” -Christian (age 5)

Because they’ll be there when you need them.”- Colleen (age 5)

“Because we laugh.” -Nolan (age 5)

Self-portraits emerge in a variety of ways each year. Our school-wide study on identity has propelled us to slow down the process of self-portraits, as well as expand to portraits of others. In the Owl Pre-K class, slowing down took the form of studying the individual features of faces, of both ourselves and classmates.

“I think my nose is a little bigger than yours.” -Reagan (age 4)

“We have the same hands.” -Juliet (age 5)

“My nose is like this kind of shape.” -Troy (age 5)

“My eyes are definitely circles.” -Kanon (age 5)

“My eyes are oval.” -Raja (age 4)

“I want to make Willow’s eyes. The shape of her eyes are circles. The shape of my eyes are circles too but the color is different.” -Adeline (age 4)

Through this Study of Us the consideration of our Sense of Place has also emerged. Relationships are often linked to memories. We noticed a common thread in children’s artwork representing connections to a significant place, making visible the different facets of their identity within the school, classroom, family, and community. Each relationship adds another layer to the unique identity of the individual.

“That’s the ocean. I’m painting Huntington Beach. Last year we went. My whole family. I don’t go in the water, we stayed on the sand.” -Heidi (age 3)

The study of our sense of place brought up discussion of favorite places and ideas of home. Children’s expressions of home were not limited to a house, but rather the family members and loved ones inside. Through the Study of Us we place value on the relationships at the heart of self-identity.