Last week, I had a nice surprise; I heard a group of 3-year-old children walking in the hallway making different noises. When I got close to them, I noticed they were wearing different kinds of masks. A boy said to me -I am a horse, I made my mask-. A girl said to me -I am a flying princess, look at my mask-. I also saw a monkey, a giraffe and a wolf.

When I asked how they made their masks, the boy that started “the project” said -I wanted to be a horse, so I went to the creative center and drew a horse, then I cut it and my teacher helped me put a string around my mask.

From an educational perspective, I see amazing things happening in this classroom. I will share some:

-Children own the space, they know their ideas are valuable and have a space where they can create

-The teacher understands the value of emergent curriculum. She let them create their own design instead of saying -making masks is not in today’s lesson plan-

-Creativity and teamwork are valued in this classroom

-Imagination is visible and was a starter for stories and creative play

-Open ended materials are provided

-Fine motor skills were practiced

In this little project, I see initiative, collaboration, creativity, imagination, hands-on … Aren’t these the qualities needed in the job force? Let’s give children opportunities to develop them!