Red Hill Family Centre

with Janice Kovar

From abstract to design, we tried to value the story of making. Observing, documenting and honouring the thinking, not the finished piece. The atelier isn’t just a room, it can be a collaborator where shadow, light, colour, texture, sound, and play are part of the provocation.

What...

At Red Hill Family Centre, we explored Reggio-inspired teaching through playful, curiosity-driven projects with toddlers and preschoolers. Embracing the idea of the child as researcher, kids led explorations and made discoveries in projects like:

– Colours & transparent cellophane hanging sculptures (exploring transparency, colour mixing, and layering)
– Plastic & light-infused lanterns (investigating light, transparency, and glow)

– Ramp & tunnel making (understanding gravity, movement, and pathways – some hidden, some revealed)

– Painting on glass with acrylic (exploring see-through, hidden spaces, and the interplay of opacity and transparency)

– Ice printmaking (experimenting with texture, process, and change – revealing images as ice melts)

These projects centered around the theme of transparency, playing with what is seen, unseen, revealed, or hidden. Kids worked collaboratively in groups, sharing ideas and building on each other’s discoveries.

So What...

Exploring transparency allowed children to investigate concepts like visibility, layering, and transformation. They engaged with ideas of “see-through” and “hidden”, developing spatial awareness and visual literacy. Transparency became a lens to understand the world, fostering curiosity about how things work and what is revealed when materials interact. Kids shared thoughts like:

– “I see the light through the colours!”

– “The ice is making a picture… it’s disappearing!”

– “I made a secret tunnel!”

Collaborative working and the child-as researcher approach sparked dialogue, problem-solving, and creativity.

Now What...

Moving forward, we’ll continue to design experiences that invite curiosity and wonder around transparency and other big ideas. We’ll keep exploring materials, light, and natural elements to deepen understanding. 

Next steps: How can we integrate more nature-based materials to explore transparency in the environment?

Other ideas could include creating a “playground” of transparency sculptures. Explore the idea of “blocked” and see through in a different ways using unusual materials. Continuing to work collaboratively with the ECE’s at Red Hill Family Centre to learn more about child development, Reggio techniques, process-based play, and the artist’s role in daycare learning.

The conversations with educators opened possibilities for deeper collaboration and shared thinking around children’s ideas.