Children's Special Places

I saw the children's propensity to build forts within the first few weeks of starting at the afterschool program. Inside, outside, with sticks, blankets, cardboard boxes, gymnastic mats, chairs, anything to separate them from the rest of the world. The second thing I noticed was children's tendency to argue about these forts, particularly who should be allowed in.

I came across "Children's Special Places," by David Sobel in another book, the wonderful "Last Child in the Woods," by Richard Louv. I was immediately intrigued to learn more about this all consuming desire to make forts.

 

In this fairly academic work, Sobel, shares his research that he conducted in England and the West Indies in which he studied children's propensity towards fort play, particularly those of ages 6 - 12. 

I was fascinated by the author's observations about the differences between girls' and boys' forts. Sobel states that, when describing their hideaways the girls mostly described playhouses and playshops focusing on what was put inside of the structure. Boys, on the other hand, focused on the actual structure of the building, as opposed to was inside of it.

 

After sharing his research, he moves on the motivation behind these activities. Sobel cites Joseph Chilton Pearce's matrixes of human development which theorizes that children get their strength from every widening circles or matrixes, beginning with the womb during pregnancy and ending with the mind matrix in adulthood. The middle childhood zone of  comfort and strength is the earth matrix. So, children need that ability to step out of their own family home and explore the immediate world outside and make it their own.

 

Sobel then moves on to cite Roger Hart who says, "these places are valuable in that they provide 'the satisfaction of being able to transform the environment successfully and comfort in being able to make a place for oneself - ordering the world assists in the development of a sense of personal order." Sobel adds, "Not only does the place help in creating personal order, it is actually one of the vehicles by which the self is shaped...We need to recognize and respect children's need to find a place of their own as a step toward becoming their own persons." (Pg. 73, 74)

 

 

Finally, Sobel adds practical helps and perspectives to aid teachers, children's program coordinators, and other child care professionals to add elements to their program that allows for children's development in this area. As I struggled with knowing how to handle the squabbles surrounding fort play or how to aid children in their development and growth through fort play, I found these principles to be helpful:

 

- Special places are found or constructed by children on their own. (Adult supervision not welcome!)

- Special places are secret.

- Special places are "owned" by their creators. (Which turns "You've got to share!" on its head.)

- Special places are safe. (My job is to keep the "fort wreckers" at bay.)

- Special places are organized worlds.

 

Whether it's a heaped mess of blankets in the middle of the classroom floor or a mass of precarious branches tied to a tree, the fort building continues, and "Children's Special Places" has helped me gain a bit of insight into the development that is occurring and, more importantly, discover my role in this activity. For the most part, I can just provide the materials, make sure ownership is enforced and leave the rest to the eternal creativity of children.

 

At the end of the book, Sobel gives a few examples of school or afterschool programs who incorporate fort building into their curriculum. One program carved out time for the children to each claim a special spot and build on it for several consecutive months. The program coordinator comments, "Of all the wonderful things that happened this year, the special spots activity was most remarkable. We would just go up into the woods, the children would go off to their special spots, and things would start to happen. They seemed so placid and calm and self-directed when we were there. It just seemed so right for them." (Pg. 120). I couldn't agree more.

 

~A