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The first vivid memory that came back to me as I recalled my childhood days was the smell of oil refinery factories. On rainy days, in particular, the smell was strong, and my body seemed to know how toxic the rain could be. At night, I could see the bright lights of these factories from the windows of my house. I remember imagining all sorts of stories about the mysteriously bright factory lights when I was a 5 year old- magical creatures living there, wild things growling at night. Against this backdrop, I recall the beauty of the plants my grandmother was growing from saved seeds and propagated plant stems. I remember the feeling of comfort being under phoebe trees, which were resiliently growing even in the polluted air. - Miwa

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When I think of my early learning memories I don't quite recall specific learning experiences, but feelings of discomfort and unknowingness, of being different and not part of the group. Not only was I a queer child who had little interest in boy/masculine activities I was expected to pursue, I had a "learning disability" and struggled to learn in sedentary environments that pushed rote learning and memorization. Some images come to mind: hockey rinks because my older boy siblings played competitive hockey I would run amok with players' little sisters (shown above... can't figure out how to post multiple images!); the book Rainbow Fish (although problematic in ways) was a special book for me because it centered a character who was different than their peers; and math and handwriting worksheets- so many horrible worksheets. Together, these feelings, images, and thoughts make me think about how I felt very "stuck" as a young child: stuck in my body, stuck in my head, stuck in spaces I didn't feel connected to nor accepted. I remember the urge to move and express myself, but I refused to do so in masculine ways like ice hockey or rough play. I couldn't read until grade 3, but the first book I was proud of "reading" was Rainbow fish, which I just memorized, because I felt connected to the character. I found school very stressful yet boring, like those worksheets, that only confirmed in my little mind that I wasn't smart.

- Luke

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I spent my childhood growing up in different countries and cities. Because of my parents’ work and studies, we relocated every 2-5 years. Although I am incredibly grateful to have such a unique and culturally diverse childhood, it did not come without challenges. The biggest ones being adapting to a new language, culture, school system, and moving away all the time. Growing up, I was always the “new kid” at every school and neighborhood. I felt like an outsider and never established a true sense of belonging to any place. When I was 8 years old, we moved to China from the UK, which was the first time we moved to a new country. I remember feeling confused and lonely, I tried making friends, but I had nothing in common with the kids around me. I looked different and spoke a different language; my body knew I didn't belong there. There were no English language schools in the area we moved to, so my parents decided to homeschool for the two years we lived there. I remember learning with my mom. Twice a week she would take off early from work, pack a picnic basket, and take me and my brother to local parks and botanical gardens (as shown in the image) to have hands-on learning experiences with nature. We would look for insects, visit different ecosystems, observe the local flora and fauna, feed animals from our basket, play games, collect leaves and rocks, and try out local street food. She would also teach us new Mandarin words that she learned to greet and interact with the locals. Although I felt incredibly lonely due to the lack of socialization with other kids my age, these outdoor learning days with my mom used to be the highlight of my week and are some of the fondest memories of learning from my childhood.

- Kinza

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Early Childhood Learning, Bodies, and Places 

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Early Childhood Learning, Bodies, and Places 

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When I think of my childhood, most of my fondest memories surrounding play took place at my Grandparents farm that later became ours. This is where my brother, my cousins and I would play outside, take care of the animals, and use our imaginations to go on adventures. We had time away from technology and structured play and were able to explore our natural environment in creative and fun ways. Not only did I learn responsibility and how to care for animals who depended on me, but I learned how to use my imagination, farm safety, and how to connect with nature through play and exploration. When I think of play, my fondest memories come from this place. I am grateful to have had this place to grow up in and it will always hold many of my favorite childhood memories.

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Early Childhood Learning, Bodies, and Places

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Early Childhood Learning, Bodies, and Places

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When I think of childhood memories the first thing that comes to mind is playing with my cousins. I grew up in a large family with many cousins close to my age. We saw each other often and would spend summers together at each others houses and at our grandparents farm. We would spend a lot of time outside in nature making up socio dramatic play scenarios, exploring the land we were on, and having multi sensory experiences. When I reflect on my childhood I think of how these experiences helped to develop my imagination, language, and social-emotional skills. Another major childhood memory for me is water. I grew up on an acreage where my parents built a pool in our yard. Every summer was spent hours by the pool - from morning to evening. Today, I still love to be in the water - lane swimming, paddling boarding, relaxing. The smell of the chlorine water and that initial cool "dip" in the water brings back many memories for me as a child!

-Colby

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My earliest memories of learning are of my family and I singing, dancing, and playing different instruments together in my childhood home. I remember observing my dad as he would play the guitar or piano, as he experimented with different sounds and put together his own original songs. As a little girl, I would imitate my dad and try to make songs of my own. Not only did I get to explore different sounds and instruments, I also was able to develop deeper relationships with my family members. Through music, I made connections to my parents, aunties, and uncles. Through song, I developed foundational language skills, and was able to understand different emotions. Even now, I am grateful for the ability to read music and connect with others through music.  - Lilli

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When I think of my earliest memories of learning my mind goes to sitting on the carpeted floor of my grandparents living room, a place of family and play. My Situ (grandmother), would have all us children sit and listen as she told us stories. Her rich stories intertwined connections about life, language, friendship, our family histories, the lands which we came from and faith—while also seeing and connecting to our particular stage in life. This learning also extended into other spaces such as our boustan (garden) when I had the chance to visit Lebanon for the summers between ages 9-11. The land and community were her classroom, never having attended formal schooling. I felt the most connected to my grandmothers wisdom on the land stewarded by her and my ancestors as we we picked tomatoes and Persian cucumbers together for breakfast. As a child, as much as I loved school, I felt this separation of self. I came to see the stories and learnings from the homes of my loved ones had little place in the classroom.

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Like Luke, I don't have many early learning memories, but I do have a lot of feelings. As an Immigrant who came rather early, I experienced a lot of d discomfort. I wasn't able to fit in with the "Chinese" group because I didn't speak my language too well, and I definitely didn't fit in with the dominant group because I'm visibly Chinese. The local swimming pool, is one of my most prominent memories, mostly because my best friend and I often swam there. There we freely spoke a language we dubbed "Chinglish" an odd mix of Chinese and English, that according to our mothers gave them "whiplash" but was unique to us, because we spoke Chinese at home only. In the pool, we got to explore being different characters from Chinese popular culture, and from Western culture like Mermaids, or "Long (dragons)" sometimes an odd mix of the two, which our parents still laugh about.