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Image of Supporting the Caregivers: Leonardo’s “Virgin and Child with Ste. Anne”
In this morning’s workshop we again started with the image of Leonardo’s Virgin and Child with Ste. Anne to remind the participants of the symbolic representation of supporting the caregiver. Then we moved to Sarah’s videos of last evening in the Home. We wanted to follow up our yesterday’s workshop discussion in which we talked about how the caregiving relationship can grow the children’s brains.
1. A, with V, the cook: The Papusa Maker
In this video, A, a little girl now 7-years old, is watching intently as the cook, V, makes papusas. The video demonstrates the role models of caregivers in constructive adult activities provide the children. The children observe the caregivers in their roles and imagine themselves engaging in the same activity.
The video shows A imagining becoming a papusa maker. In her expressive face, you can see her longing to be doing what the cook is doing. Even though there are computer games going on in the same room, A stands enthralled by the papusa maker for about 20 minutes. She is observing the whole sequence of activities involved in making the papusas. As she observes, she is building the capacity for sequencing the steps in an activity, a critically important capacity for development. She is learning by watching, by imagining, by anticipating, and finally by practicing. V is very patient in letting A be there and get in the way a bit and letting her feel as if she is part of what is happening. This is a great gift. A is beginning to anticipate a little bit, pointing to a papusa that she thinks is nearly ready. Kevin, an older boy, shares her interest, and V allows him to turn a couple of papusas over, because he is older, which is completely right. A can look forward to being older, when she will be able to make papusas too. Continue reading