Learning to really see
Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur
Of all the senses that we have, we perhaps over use the visual sense, which probably dulls this sense into seeing and sensing things in a predictable way. Little children can surprise us with their kaleidoscopic vision, as they don’t yet have fixed ways of seeing things. They experience the visual space around them, they do not merely see it. Let’s do a simple experiment.
Observe your left hand and draw it. (Or do the opposite if you are a left-hander). Now turn to a new sheet, and this time try and draw the space between the five fingers of your left hand and the space around the palm. So you are drawing the “space” and not the hand.
Compare the two experiences – one of drawing the “space” and the other of drawing the “object”.
Let’s avoid defining this sense of space, its arrangement, its appeal, and its harmony. Let’s explore spatial intelligence through a set of activities based on the acronym, S~P~A~C~E.
The authors run Geniekids, a learning centre in Bangalore that works with children. To know more about their work visit www.geniekids.com.