We talk about how important it is to model creativity so that we can recognize it in our students. Nurturing our own creative practice can be hard to fit into a busy life but I am a writer and sometimes I just get the urge to write. This is the latest. Enjoy.
Tales of a Tree Fort
by Stephanie Bartlett
Walking down the cottage road known as the “Back Road,” all seems to be what one might expect on a quiet afternoon, midweek on a hot summer day. The sound of cottagers chatting, boats on the lake, birds chirping and the occasional car. If the curious eye notices a lone orange pylon on the side of the road, and veers into the forest to investigate, this is the moment when one slides into another reality.
Slip into the cool woods, climb the steep hill with the railing and follow the clean and well-maintained trail through the maple grove…and prepare to be suitably impressed. For in these woods lies a small community built by the kids on the Back Road. The group of children consists of cousins and friends who spend endless amounts of time together engaged in old-fashioned fun.
Like most people who buy cottages, we bought our cottage to have our own special place on the lake. There was a back lot across the road attached to our property that we enjoyed for the privacy it gave us, but we never really knew what to do with it until the kids started to want to explore back there. As parents, we decided four summers ago to provide tools and the materials and allow the children to tinker and discover. Summer number one began with fairly regular parent supervision, with the adult serving as a guide. Once the building site was chosen, a rudimentary platform was built. The kids were, after all, only six and four.
The following summer, we provided the safety talks, some supervision and a daily inspection of the building site to tighten screws and reinforce structures. A real tree fort began to take shape. Towards our last day of that summer, the gang wanted to have a bonfire. The answer? Absolutely not and our reasons were many: the fort was in the middle of the forest, there was no water source to put out the fire, and kids weren’t allowed to build fires, to name a few. They disappeared into the woods without argument, only for us to be invited back at the end of the day. What we found amazed us. A fire in the middle of the woods? No problem. The kids had cleared a large spot to the point where there was not a single leaf. They had clipped any branches that were close and dug a fire pit, surrounded by rocks dug out from the forest floor. They had gone so far as to build benches, with cut and stacked firewood underneath, and even carved marshmallow sticks. And the no-water problem? That was addressed by the presence of a large garbage can, buckets and a plan. If they were allowed to have the fire, they would truck water up from the lake back to the tree fort to fill that bucket. And the icing on the cake was the railing they built to get up into the woods, knowing that one of the parents experienced severe knee pain. We were convinced.
Once the date and time was set for THE BONFIRE, the kids were highly engaged with the excitement of planning their first official gathering, which sadly, would be our last day before heading home two provinces away until the next summer. They created a loop of mountain bike trails, made welcome signs and gates, and planned the menu. By the time the adults arrived, we felt very much like guests and our hosts were bursting with the pride of ownership. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and washed them down with juice. Tours were given, as children proudly explained their role and the tasks that they had done to help make this a reality. Real tears were shed at the end, as the door to the tree fort was locked with a nail to hold it shut and the last gate on the path was lowered.
The third summer began with a more sophisticated level of creativity, tinkering and problem solving. As soon as the out-of-province gang arrived, the tree fort was open for business. The kids collected scrap wood and brought it over. The cottage collection of tools migrated from our basement to the back forty, and proceeded to be considered “theirs.” There was an easel set out to sketch plans of ideas that could and would take shape. Small details were added to the tree fort, such as hooks, hinges and windows. Additions, both big and small, were added, and then taken away. The sounds echoing out from the woods this year were music, hammering, sawing and laughter. Connor, a close friend on the road who lives there all year around, arrived with his lawn tractor and a trailer full of tools, wood and a portable stereo. The kids had it made.
As the tree fort became a metaphor for freedom and independence, more creativity began to happen. This is problem solving in a very real sense. Think of an idea, experiment, analyze whether it worked, collaborate and try again. The kids built a playground: swings, tire swings, and teeter totters, all by trial and error. Plans for a second level and another tree fort nearby began to take shape. When they needed to climb higher, they built a ladder; when they needed to take a break from working, they played on their playground. They became so engaged that sometimes we parents had to cajole the kids to come out of the woods and enjoy the water. Trips to the marina changed irrevocably. We were now being hounded to go to the marina to get nails, not just ice cream.
That summer, there was no question about scheduling bonfire parties. One mid-summer, a moonlight fire and one to close the tree fort for the season. The kids set the dates, carried endless buckets of water back for the fire, planned the menus and prepared the food. The guests showed up each time, anticipating the hard work proudly on display and a good time.
Adults and kids alike knew by this time that we had something really special at work. We are raising our children in an era where we don’t let them explore and wander the way we did when we were young. As Gever Tulley of the Tinkering School in San Francisco says, “challenges will arise that are usually developmentally appropriate. “ (Tulley and Kelly 2012). He points out that children will build to make their dreams a reality, not necessarily to make something that “works.” For the exception of the screw nails for safety, the kids built the entire structure and surrounding “toys” independently. By allowing kids to tinker, we are allowing them to engage in their dreams and to reconcile those dreams with the reality around them.
And so, as we begin to set our plans for next summer, I am wondering what will take shape in and around the tree fort this time. I know that my own kids have already started to reflect, as well as to think forward but they have yet to articulate any plans. That could be because the magic happens within the beauty of collaboration and they need both the setting and the gang for the dreams to take shape.
Citation:
Tulley, Gever. "The Arc, Learning by Making and Learning by Inventing." Educating for Creativity: A Global Conversation. Ed. Robert W. Kelly. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Brush Education, 2012. 39-51. Print.
The following summer, we provided the safety talks, some supervision and a daily inspection of the building site to tighten screws and reinforce structures. A real tree fort began to take shape. Towards our last day of that summer, the gang wanted to have a bonfire. The answer? Absolutely not and our reasons were many: the fort was in the middle of the forest, there was no water source to put out the fire, and kids weren’t allowed to build fires, to name a few. They disappeared into the woods without argument, only for us to be invited back at the end of the day. What we found amazed us. A fire in the middle of the woods? No problem. The kids had cleared a large spot to the point where there was not a single leaf. They had clipped any branches that were close and dug a fire pit, surrounded by rocks dug out from the forest floor. They had gone so far as to build benches, with cut and stacked firewood underneath, and even carved marshmallow sticks. And the no-water problem? That was addressed by the presence of a large garbage can, buckets and a plan. If they were allowed to have the fire, they would truck water up from the lake back to the tree fort to fill that bucket. And the icing on the cake was the railing they built to get up into the woods, knowing that one of the parents experienced severe knee pain. We were convinced.
Erin Quinn
