On invitational language and small steps forward.

Both teaching-wise and mantle-wise, I have very much been muddling along since September. New year group, mixed R/1 class, new teaching assistants, staff absence, and so on, have meant that I have not had as much time to focus on mantle as I'd like. Getting my head around all the... new... has taken up my time. 

However, I had a moment the other day that made me think it's maybe not going too badly.

Our main mantle has been around Percy the Park Keeper; the children have become park keepers and have been solving a range of problems for Percy, as well as patrolling the woodland and caring for animals. It's been... okay. Moments have been quite pleasing and children's interest is generally high. Our most recent problem has been bonfire night - many hedgehogs have been put in danger by people making bonfires on top of their leaf nests. This has led to us making a hedgehog hospital. 

My general feeling about this  mantle, though, is that I'd like to try it again right from the beginning. Maybe another day with another class. 

Despite all this, the other day I realised that the children are getting it - they are becoming mantle children.*

Simple, but effective.

We were going to spend the afternoon learning about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. I didn't really plan much but I found myself using mantle and the children responding. I introduced them to London 400 years ago using images. Then I put a put a willing TA on a throne, gave her a cardboard crown and introduced King James, who was not always very nice to people. 

At this point, I asked children whether they'd like to join in with the story. Mantle is so much about invitation and children being asked and not told; it only takes a subtle change of language to have a huge effect. Anyway, they all wanted to join in so I explained that I 'was going to become someone else, like I do sometimes.'

And this is where I realised - they got it. 

I started speaking in role, whispering that I had a plan to get rid of the King. I said - 

'He's horrid to us, we need to get rid of him. I have an idea... let's blow up the houses of parliament!'

Then: 

'Who wants to join me?' - again, the invitation. A few of the children looked hesitant (which I'm quite pleased about, moral-compass-wise) so I assured them they didn't have to join me but they had to agree to keep it a secret. Four children stayed back and watched, which was fine. 

I explained we needed gunpowder and gave out cardboard representations of the barrels. The children took them and we snuck across to the houses of parliament (the other side of the room) and laid them down. 

From here, I came out of role and told the next part of the story. I had intended to just tell the story to the end, but as soon as I asked on child to represent a soldier, they all wanted to, so off we marched back to discover the gunpowder and arrest people. **

It was simple, but it seemed to work. They are, despite the chaos, becoming mantle children.

*For more on the differences between mantling and non-mantling children, see a blog post I wrote about a year ago, here. 

** This was not, of course, fully mantle - more drama. However, the lines are blurry and I don't really understand them. There was a commission (to blow up the houses of parliament) and a team (of.... something), but it was more playing around with the elements.