What really matters- Me & My Shadow- Getting to know “me” is not only body parts and internal feelings and thoughts but things that I cause such as my shadow. In the video to the right, Whitney was intrigued that she could not run away from that dark black thing following her around. She seemed to want to run away from it at first but then realized that it goes where ever she goes. She figured out the only way to get rid of it was to step into my the adult shadow. Toddlers initially don’t know what to make of Shadows: are they alive as it seems to move by itself; is it an independent object as it projects onto a floor or wall. I have seen lots of kids go up to a shadow of themselves projected on the wall and try to put a hat on it or interact with it in some way as if it were its on independent entity. As toddlers explore it they develop a more robust concept of the aspects of “me” including my shadow.

How to put it into practice-

My Experience-

Whitney was playing around for a while with her shadow long before I clued into what she was up to (when I ran and got my camera). Sometimes I surprise myself about how much I can miss when I am supposed to be sensitive to this stuff. I narrated for her what I thought was going on saying “shadow” and “look it keeps following you; you can’t get away”. (see Shadow play video). It was what I thought she was interested in and a good enough place to start.

Tuning In-

Initially I thought Whitney was having fun just running around somewhat randomly but then I finally noticed her looking intently at her shadow and it dawned on me- oh she is trying to run away from her shadow. I am always reminded that seemingly random behaviors, almost always have a purpose and intent that can be quite rich if identified and built upon. I can be more diligent about always speculating at what that might be.

Extending/Bridging-

The other thing I did not do so well at was really enriching and extending the play. When I saw that Whitney was interested in comparing her shadow on the ground to the shadow on the garage door where she could get really close to it, I could have seen that as a cue to create other comparisons. I could have moved my shadow to the bush and seen how that uneven surface effected the shadow. I could have gotten her ride on toy close by and we could have explored how the shadow warps around objects. There are always lots of directions to take the play in to extend and enrich it.