What does 'Hope' mean to you?

Let me start with that question: What does the word 'hope' mean to you? Let's take a few seconds and ponder on it. 
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We, the SM facilitators, were asked to collect as many loose parts materials as we could possibly find at home and to create something that symbolizes 'hope' for us in our morning Inspiration Stand Up (INSPU). This week's theme for our INSPU is anything Reggio - inspired hence, the selection of loose parts play. Why 'hope'? 

Perhaps it could be because it is so easy to get carried away in our lives and forget to stop and smell the roses...or that we are in the middle of this pandemic, some of us stuck at home and missing our community...or that life could get rough here and there...so what can we hold on to, if not hope? 

We then started on our journeys in the morning, amidst our online team meeting, through play with the loose parts we had collected from our homes, reflecting, creating, recreating, adding more materials...it was a sweet and inspiring morning to remind ourselves of the hope we carried within. Sharing what we each came up with, 

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Hope, to Grace is, "When I'm able to see light at the end of the tunnel."

Jennifer said, "For me, sunrise represents hope. Every problem has a solution, there is a ray of hope which lights up even the darkest moment."

"Where there is hope there are trials...where there are trials your ability to smile is golden.", said Kruthika.

For Neha, "I am MY hope!"

"Climbing the ladder to reach the light - I can climb to reach greater goals. I can climb out of my problems. That gives me hope.", is what Sheela had to say about what 'hope' means to her.

For Sruthy, "With me in the middle, a sense of community and belonging gives me a sense of hope. All the different things around shows the variety of people, things such as purpose, and such. The strings show how everything is interconnected. And as they expand more outwards, they get bigger and bigger to show the bigger perspectives, experiences and communities all around the world and beyond."

Tasha, "Hope is looking forward to a better tomorrow, knowing that there is a way even when you're shattered and lost. These birds are very protective of their young ones, they value their future. Swans are graceful and peaceful , these characters are very essential to retain hope and believe to believe in it completely. They are flexible and adaptable, two traits that allow us to move forward and feel hope."

Yashika says, " Music is one of the things that represents hope to me, music has the power to transcend you to places. Music inspires, music soothes, music helps shift narratives. There is a song for every situation and if there is not, we can always create one."

​What would you create to what 'hope' meant to you?

P.S. We incorporated Reggio - inspired themes this week as we are working towards making this new academic year a fruitful one for the children, no matter the pandemic, and no matter whether it's online or not. One can only go as deep as one has explored, in the sense that when we play around with materials first, we get to see various dimensions to materials we see laying around that we otherwise might not see. It's a learning journey for both us and the children alike!


Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.


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