Imitation and Imagination in the Play at an Early Age Hilkka Munter & Kaisa Jakkula Kajaani University Consortium University of Oulu

Lev Vygotsky, ”The psychology of art” ”By dragging a child into a topsy-turvy world, we help his intellect work, because the child becomes interested in creating such a topsy-turvy world for himself in order to become more effectively the master of the laws governing the real world.”

The research site: Little-Silmu Creative playgroup for young children and their parents –12 children (age 6-33 months) –3 students' groups (á 12 students) –2 teachers Meetings weekly, 2.5 hours –moving activities –little stories and presentations (little dramas, books) –face-to-face plays, rituals, rhymes –free play in different environments with different materials –music and artistic activities

Purpose of Little-Silmu activity Pedagogical purpose: (1) Students in early education get their first knowledge about children under three years of age: what is development, what it is to be a very young child, how do I am present to the child, how do I interact with him/her, how do I interact with parents, how do I develop my interaction. (2) Students get their first experiences from the pedagogical activity with small children and with their parents; their learn, what is narrative and what is play in early pedagogics. (3) Students learn to think how to bring together theory and practice. Research purpose: To find out the way from imitative play to pretend role-play and joint imagination aiming to elaborate early creative play pedagogy.

What must happen – and happens – before "the real play"? What is the ZPD of play in the first three years of life? Main Research Questions

ZPD - the meeting of minds Galina Zuckerman (2007): ZPD – the meeting (or failure to meet) of two different minds, each of which reflects the entire fullness of existence in its own way. – The chief condition of the meeting and dialogue of these minds is the orientation of the adult toward what IS PRESENT in the child at the moment of the meeting. Experiences of co-participation. All participants are developing / learning.

Contextual frame of imitation and imagination

Research Questions How does an adult manage to attain the sense of child's activity? How do children create joint sense in their activity? How these two are intertwined?

Case: Leevi Participarting Little-Silmu from the age of 15 months to 33 months with his mother or grandad, from autumn 2005 to the spring 2007 Video material: mainly students (sometimes teachers) are videotaping the activity of children and of themselves with children with two little cameras, in different activities and situations Leevi: together about 300 episodes, lasting from 10 seconds to 15 minutes

Episode 1 ( /1) Leevi 15 months Common meaning, joint sense between adult and child in imaginative activity (pretense) –Child: observes an other child playing “cooking”, comes to the same place, imitates the activity, but makes own choices, creates his own way to act, finishes the activity when ready –Adult: observes the child, gives hints with a co- regulated manner, notices sensitively the intentions of the child –Creative interaction between the child and the adult; mutual understanding

Episode 2 ( /1-2), ( /4-1) ( /1-2), ( /4-1) Leevi 19 months, peers 17 and 31 months Common meaning,joint sense between children and adults in non-fictive activity –Children, full of initiatives, imitate each others in the movement environment; repetitions of moving activities; bodily interaction and enjoyment, harmony –Mothers make children’s relations possible, sensitize them to each other telling their names, support them in taking turns; they create prerequisites for “we-ness” –No imaginative acts; joy in mooving; later in this same environment moving and pretense will combine –Moving makes imitation, common experiences and sharing possible

Episode 3 ( /1-2) Leevi 28 months Common meaning, diverse sense in common activity between child and mother in imaginative activity –mother’s idea and aim is to teach the rules of the game –the child begins to follow, but soon changes the idea to the imaginative traffic play –mother holds her aim, the child his idea; the activity will stop

Episode 4 ( /4-2) Leevi 29 months Common meaning, diverse sense in common activity between child and adult in imaginative activity –Child: playing with wooden railway and trains, but imagining them as cars, taking a role as a driver, who chauffeurs an oil truck and goes to the home; tells aloud - to the adult and to himself - what is happening –Adult: has an idea of railway, misunderstands in critical moments, what the child tells, repeats child’s words wrongly, but does not notice it; tries to be attentive and sharing –Child: leaves the play, goes to search something else –The adult does not catch child’s sense, because he is acting in realistic sphere, the child in imaginative sphere

Episode 5 ( /2-2) Leevi 32 months, peer 27 months Common meaning, joint sense between child-mother and child-child, but not mutual (equal) co-operation between children in imaginative activity –Imaginary situation, mother supports by verbalizing it (shopping, bying), and helping children’s social interaction –The other child tries intensively to participate bringing objects (buys); Leevi will be pleased, but do not begin reciprocal interaction –Leevi is verbally very well developed and uses spoken language as imaginary tool; the other child is verbally late and uses mainly communicative gestures and acts; they have difficulties in imaginary play situations, but common activities, for instance, in movement environment

Episode 6 ( /3-1) Leevi 32 months Common meaning, joint sense between child and adult in imaginative activity –Child is telling to an adult an imaginary story using figures made by himself from plasticine –In this story the child combines his favourite TV-hero Goofy, also Mickey Mouse and Minnie with his experiences from airport and from movement environment in Silmu –Adult follows the child’s idea, accepts, makes only a few verbal hints and questions –The child is excited and amused

Tentative Conclusions The younger the child, the more important is the adult support. Peers developmental importance begins earlier than we have used to think. Initiative of the child is basis to that their experiences are meaningful to them and therefore meaningful for development