Pockets serve different purposes for adults and children. For adults, they carry practical things (keys, money, a mobile phone). For children, they are a place to hold carefully selected treasures (rocks, miniature toys, rubber bands, etc). Many of these things may seem worthless to the adult’s eye, but they are cherished and precious to children.
As an Early Years Educator and a mother, I have learnt to observe and support children in their learning process. A schema is understood to be a ‘pattern of repeatable actions that lead behaviour and thinking in children’ (Brierly & Nutbrown, 2017). ‘Enveloping’ is one of the schemas that young children use to understand the world. My research has identified children’s use of pockets as an example of this enveloping schema.
I have developed a series of replicas of tiny little pockets that once belonged to a girl called Matilda (aged 3) filled with objects that she held dear. I have deliberately kept these objects hidden, inviting the viewer to speculate on what they might have been and to remind you of what you once held close as a child.
I have developed a series of replicas of tiny little pockets that once belonged to a girl called Matilda (aged 3) filled with objects that she held dear. I have deliberately kept these objects hidden, inviting the viewer to speculate on what they might have been and to remind you of what you once held close as a child.