The drive to school in the morning sometimes produces amazing insights. This morning I was asked "How do you go up?"After a few moments of thinking, I responded with "What made you ask that question?"
"There was a sign back there that said to go up...how do you make a car go up?"
"Oh...I see." Now, I could answer the question directly, but there was an opportunity to see into the mind of a child here, so I didn't want to pass that up. "Well, it means to go straight ahead, not up."
"Oh..."
Pause. Long pause.
Me- "How would you draw a picture that tells someone to go straight?"
"I don't know."
"Well, think about it and draw a picture of it for me."
"OK"
I haven't seen the picture yet, but the point is that it's good to be looking out for these opportunities to encourage creative expression, especially in children. There's so much to be learned from a mind that has not yet been informed by common conventions, like up actually meaning straight when it comes to street signs.
