Observation

My son, Kian, just turned four years old and attends a daycare centre full time. Every Friday, the performing arts teacher, Charlotte, comes to the centre’s preschool class and enters the classroom dressed as a character, such as a pirate, a princess, a fairy, etcetera, carrying her big red box. The children always look forward to her arrival and are eager to join the session. The class also includes the preschool teachers, who actively participate in the session and support the performing arts teacher and children. Charlotte always starts the session by telling the children a short story to ‘set a scene’, and then uses various props or music to engage the children.

One session started with Charlotte telling the children that she was a princess and that she had a busy day meeting all sorts of people and was now in need of a bit of fun. Some girls commented on Charlotte’s beautiful dress and she thanked them and said that she loves the pretty blue colour, too. “Blue just like superman’s suit!” a child called out. This was a cue for all the children to run to the stage, line up and ask Charlotte to start the superman dance and song. This dance involves some simple moves, such as stepping sideways, stretching up high, swaying hips, and is a regular ‘warm up’, which the children have come to enjoy. Some of the children know the words to the song and the big smiles on their faces show that the children enjoy the dance. Charlotte is facing the children and sings and dances with the children and the preschool teachers join in, too.

After the dance, Charlotte takes the children on a journey through her kingdom to look for a treasure. She encourages the children to walk through the classroom with her and the teachers and soon, after a bit of looking, Charlotte finds an imaginary crown. She puts it on her head and invites the children to follow suit. The children copy Charlotte and put their crowns on their heads. As Charlotte, the teachers and the children make their way through the room, they look under furniture, on top of shelves, behind the couch and keep on finding little treasures. They move their bodies, either crouching low, lying flat on their tummies, stretching up tall, pretending to climb ladders, trees or running down into the deep cellar of the castle. The children call out their ideas of where they are looking and what they are finding. Charlotte incorporates these ideas and gradually the children take over the treasure hunt while Charlotte sometimes makes suggestions to keep the children focused. This allows for lots of collaboration and negotiation amongst the children, and movement, as well as body awareness as the children dust their ‘dirty pants’, brush cobwebs off their arms, shake mud off their feet, etcetera. All children are excited about their imaginary finds. Kian pipes up, “Look, Charlotte, I found undies!” He then looks at Charlotte expectantly as if to see how she would react. She grins and answers, “You found your undies! Quick, let’s put them on!” She then pretends to put on underpants and the children laugh and copy her with enthusiasm. Kian thinks this is great fun, too, and runs to hold Charlotte’s hand for the next part of the treasure hunt. Now, other children come up with suggestions of what items of clothing they are finding – shoes, jackets, skirts, a car, a sword. Again, Charlotte works with the children’s active participation in creating the story. She asks question such as, “What are we going to do with this?” “What shall we use it for?” This activity goes on for a long time and most children find something new. Some children are less active but watch intently and their facial expressions show that, while they might not fully participate, they are enjoying this part of the session.

Interview

I emailed my questions to Charlotte and she was kind enough to answer them in writing; she has given full permission for me to include them in this paper.

How would you characterise your work with the children of the preschool age group?

I teach a Performing Arts Programme in our Pre Schools, which combines Dance, Singing and Drama. I use a variety of techniques, including singing and sign, teacher led improvisation, drama games, mime, vocal and physical warm ups, basic dance routines, use of props and parachute games.

Do you teach specific moves with a definite outcome in mind or do you encourage children to participate in their individual ways and learn from the other children as well?

My objectives for each class are for the children to become active participants in the activities, to share ideas and come up with original ideas, to take ownership of the activities, for example, become the magical wizard with the wand in magical rocks, therefore turning the children into something of their choosing, to promote communication and language and to gain confidence. In terms of Dance, I have a specific set of moves that I might do, but I am more interested in them copying and following me than learning them as one would teach choreography in a dance class. I do try and stretch them, for example, I might put in a few more complex moves for them to try, or if a child has a particular physical need, such as a low pitch sense, I will try and incorporate ways in which to help them by balancing the activities. The children always want to show me what they can do, so often we watch and then copy what the children do as they again take ownership.

What is the significance of incorporating children’s ideas for you?

Incorporating the child's own ideas is of huge significance to me. It shows that they are engaged, it shows that they have gained confidence so as to be able to share ideas, and it means that they have an opportunity to express their likes and interests. Suppose I do an improvisation where we are in the forest and a child might say, “I'm going to be Spiderman,” and trap the monster with my web. I would steer the children to accept that idea and go with it. Accepting and offering ideas is one of the most important "rules" we learn when teaching older children about improvisation.

Do you feel that developing a bond with the children increases the children’s benefit from your session?

By continually accepting their ideas, you build a really wonderful relationship. They feel safe and secure in letting their creative juices flow! They become fully engaged and feel an enormous sense of belonging as they realise that they are how the story has evolved.

How much structure do you think a session needs to have for it to be a success?

There is a certain amount of structure needed to make it work, because it can be very noisy when everyone wants to make suggestions. It is important to have some ways of getting the children to listen, etcetera, but it is always important to let the children have some choice in where the class goes, so to speak! If someone says, “Can we do the superman song?” I will always say, "Yes, what a wonderful idea; I love that song, too!" I also do lots of repetition, so that they know the songs and dances and therefore feel confident in performing them.

Do you change your session if you feel the children are not engaging well? If so, why?

I'm constantly finding new ways to change sessions if I feel the children aren't engaged. I have many tricks up my sleeve, so if something isn't going to plan, I can usually pull out something else! I also have lots of stuff in the box I bring, so if it's all going a bit crazy, I bring something out of the box!

What is it that you love about teaching performing arts to preschool children?

I love that, once you have gained their trust, they have very few inhibitions, which makes the creative process so much easier! They almost have too many ideas that you can try out. I did an improvisation about a witch who we used magic to turn into a tree, and that was going to be the end of the improvisation, only for a child to say "Oh no! Look, there's another witch in the sky!" So we set about a new set of things to turn her into a tree. It is wonderful to see the children grow each week and become more and more confident, like asking to do a song or asking to be the wizard in magical rocks. And I love the challenges of it, for example, finding a way to engage a child who has a particular need and seeing the results, albeit very slowly. As a teacher, it is really rewarding. I absolutely love my job!

Critical discussion

All the observations on the children and discussions with those who engaged with children, the observation of the performing arts session and the interview with Charlotte added to my understanding about the role the Arts play in early childhood education. Osberg and Biesta (2008) inform us that “…much more takes place in the classroom than simply the transfer of a pre-given set of meanings” (pp. 314-315). The performing arts is a space not only for children’s physical and cognitive development, but for philosophical concepts. Deleuze and Guattari’s work will, as outlined below, show how teaching and learning is realised in the arts.

While the observed session had a starting point, Charlotte allowed the children to take over by adding their ideas. This reflects Deleuze and Guattari’s ‘lines of flight’, where “new connections and combinations can be drawn” (Parr, 2010, p. 149). The children were able to decide if they wanted to stick to the ‘princess theme’ or, as was the case, add items of their personal interest to the treasure hunt. This ‘line of flight’ is apparent in the unpredictability of the children’s engagement. After all, who would have thought that the princess would find her underpants on a treasure hunt? However, this could also be an indicator that maybe Kian had no understanding of what a crown was and, therefore, he decided to choose something he found amusing and was familiar with. Greene (2000) reminds us that “Interpretations and perspectives on the world are bound to differ” (p. 268). The concept of a ‘line of flight’ is also referred to by Charlotte as she remarked that she and the children go “where the class goes” (C. Nightingale, interview, April 9, 2014).

Sansom (2011) has suggested that “… play is in danger of disappearing if teachers are not prepared to enter this world alongside the children” (p. 31). Charlotte’s enthusiasm for allowing children to add their individuality to the session and her willingness to weave the children’s ideas into the lesson shows that she is sharing the children’s world with them. This also creates a sense of belonging, which is necessary for the children to let their “creative juices flow” (C. Nightingale, interview, April 9, 2014). In early childhood education, children learn through play as, according to Samsom, “… [play] contributes to the young child’s construction of the self, socially and creatively as well as physically, emotionally and mentally” (Sansom, 2011). One of the leading figures in the Reggio Emilia Schools, Loris Malaguzzi, sees children as continually exploring, “constructing and re-constructing on a continuous basis” (Sansom, 2011, p. 32). This does suggests a certain fluidity to children’s learning as they “ebb and flow freely through their ideas” (Sellers, 2010, p. 574). This can be recognised as ‘deterritorialisation’ and ‘reterritorialisation’ (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987). This was observed when the children in the performing arts session turned the hunt for treasures fit for a princess into a hunt for everyday items, such as clothes. Deterritorialisation can be seen as an unravelling, a bringing of change, creating something (Parr, 2010). This entanglement allows for a line of flight to come about, as by allowing for new creations, and crossing over of partitions, a reterritorialisation or the re-‘formailisation’ of the children’s ideas emerges.

The earlier mentioned fluidity of children’s learning resonates with the Deleuzo- Guattarian understanding of ‘becoming’. This thinking of children as becoming is “characterised by continuous change and alteration” (Sellers, 2010, p. 562) and Sellers advises us further to see children as becoming, as “young human beings” (p. 563), instead of incapable and in need of completion. Charlotte (interview, April 9, 2014) reflects this notion for children as becoming as she says that the children “are how the story happens”. As Sellers explains, “Becoming produces nothing other than itself” (Sellers, 2010, p. 563) and therefore belongs uniquely to each child. This becoming suggests constant and dynamic change. As Stagoll (as cited in Parr, 2010) explains, Deleuze sees the becoming “as a constantly changing assemblage of forces” (p. 27). This assemblage of force is shown where Kian calls out that he has found a pair of underpants and therefore brings a line of flight into existence, as now the treasure hunt is based on everyday clothes items, rather than crowns.

This correlates with Livesey’s (as cited in Parr, 2010) explanation of assemblages producing “a new reality” (p. 19). Livesey describes an assemblage in the Deleuzo-Guattarian way as a “…complex constellation of objects, bodies, expressions [and] qualities” (p. 18). Therefore, spaces can be affected by assemblages, which is connected to what is described by Deleuze and Guattari (1987) as deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation.

When Charlotte enters the classroom, she sets a scene by being dressed up and greeting the children in accordance to her character, thus creating an imaginary milieu. The children alter this milieu, become the milieu by changing from a princess theme to superman. Sellers (2010) describes a milieu as something that changes on an on-going basis, in accordance to the children’s play, “ebbing and flowing” (p. 564) through the children and with the children. The change from princess to superman also heralds a change from listening to Charlotte’s introduction to the session to ‘becoming’ active, dancing and moving their bodies, (re)constituting the milieus, which “slide in relation to one another, over another” (Sellers, 2010, p. 564). While the observation only lasted for the length of a performing arts session, it could be seen how children had created their own world and how important it mattered to them. This kind of forever changing and overlapping of milieus resonates with Sellers’ (2010) linking milieus with curriculum. In a bid to move away from a curriculum that is created and led by adults and that is measured by the achievement of a “specific standard” (p. 564), Sellers (2010) suggests an emphasis on the active role for the children. Seeing children as creating possibilities by themselves and for themselves, there is potential for “becoming children and their understandings of becoming-curriculum (e)merging as becoming curricular performativity” (Sellers, 2010, p. 564).

For milieus of becoming and becoming curriculum, a rhizo approach to thinking and operating is necessary. Just as rhizomes in a botanical sense are complex, rhizo thinking allows for a “chaotic or differently ordered approach to thinking, writing and analysing research data” (Sellers, 2010, p. 559). Rhizo thinking is an interconnected tangle and has no starting point, nor an end, and therefore leads to new “possibilities for approaching any thought, activity or concept” (Sellers, 2010, p. 560). It can be said that rhizo thinking is how children create and perform curriculum. Evidence of this notion is obvious in Charlotte’s (interview, April 9, 2014) statement: “My objectives for each class are for the children to become active participants in the activities, to share ideas and come up with original ideas, to take ownership of the activities,” thus allowing the children to ‘grow’ their rhizomes in any direction they wish. It is also worth considering that rhizo thinking is reflected in the manifold benefits that a performing arts class can bring. As Charlotte (interview, April 9, 2014) stated, “I love that it [performing arts] helps with so many other things other than just using our imaginations. It helps with fine and gross motor skills, speech and language and interpersonal skills, which are so important, particularly when getting ready to go to school. It is wonderful to see the children grow each week and become more and more confident.”

While Kian probably wanted to just add a bit of extra excitement to the performing arts session, he also made use of his ability to ‘think outside of the box’, as instead of finding items fitting for a princess, he found ordinary underpants. Olsson (2013) reminds us that this flexibility on the part of the teacher is of utmost importance to carefully listen to children, in order to fully understand their “questions, their constructions of problems and their production of sense” (p. 231).

A point worth noting is that, while the start of the treasure hunt was led by a single person, namely Charlotte, once the children took over, it was a string of children calling out suggestions, creating the story together as they thought of things that could be searched for and where they could be found. To those ideas they added movements, either copying each other or creating their own. This improvisation allowed the children to create their own emergent curriculum, learning through the ‘otherness’ of their individual thoughts and ideas. This notion of emergence, as noted by Osberg and Biesta (2008), reflects Charlotte’s (interview, April 9, 2014) observation that children add their own ideas and interests, inducing ongoing change, in the making or becoming. Osberg and Biesta (2008) support this view, as they believe that “meaning is continuously made and remade through engagement with our world” (p. 325).

Conclusion

As this observation, interview and critical discussion show, by applying a philosophical view of Deleuzo-Guattarian concepts, we allow for a new way of understanding and appreciation of the potential of the arts and how important the arts are in children’s learning. Therefore, we recognise lines of flight in early childhood education and see them as wonderful opportunities, rather than disruptions in a negative context. By enthusiastically acknowledging the de/re/territorialisation that already takes place in children’s every day ‘construction of meaning’, we can better support children in their learning and view them in the light of capabilities and becoming curriculum.

References

• Greene, M. (2000). Imagining futures: The public school and possibility. Curriculum Studies, 32(2), 267-280.
• Grierson, E. (2011). Art and creativity in the global economies of education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43, 336–350.
• Olsson, L. M., (2010). Taking children’s questions seriously. Global Studies of Childhood, 3(3), 230-253.
• Osberg, D., & Biesta, G. (2008). The emergent curriculum: Navigating a complex course between unguided learning and planned encultration. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40(3), 313-328.
• Parr, A. (2010). The Deleuze dictionary. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
• Sansom, A. (2011). Movement and dance: Crossing the divide. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• Sellers M., (2010). Re(con)ceiving young children's curricular performativity. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 23(5), 557-577.