Solitude in the wild
This activity is reproduced with permission from the board game "Kookception: Philo at Play" created by our community partner Brila as part of its philocreation approach.
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| Objective : To better understand the concept of solitude by stretching it out in all directions through mini-missions of playful thinking! |
Duration : 15 to 45 minutes
Material :
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Sheets of paper and pen
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Coloured pencils and markers
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Your imagination
Instructions :
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Mission 1: Define the concept. Imagine a very curious alien who wants to understand the world of humans, but who doesn't have the same concepts on their planet. How would you explain solitude to them by giving a definition of the concept and examples from planet Earth? Keep track of all your ideas because they will be useful for the activities that follow, like Creative Conception and Creative Construction!
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Mission 2: Imagine the concept. If the concept of solitude were a living creature, what would it be like and why? Close your eyes and visualize how it would act and speak, also thinking about its attitude and life plans. Then imagine that solitude has to record a message on the answering machine of its new smartphone. What would it want to communicate to everyone who tries to call? Record its message by trying to imitate its voice as you imagine it in your head! Do you think solitude would want its phone to answer on its behalf most of the time? Or maybe it's not as wild as it lets on... and it wishes it was a little less alone!
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Mission 3: Compare the concept. Sometimes you can discover new ideas by making comparisons! In this game of wacky metaphors, your task is to make a connection between the concept and something completely different: If solitude were an animal... what kind of animal would it be and why? Describe this animal as if you were making a documentary: What does it look like, how does it move, what does it eat, where does it live, what does it do with its days?
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Bonus : Are you still overflowing with ideas? Then imagine that you are the teacher of the concept of solitude! What would you want it to learn and why? What kind of student would it be? Visualize your school experience together! You can even plan a few lessons you would give it and imagine its answers. |
This comic strip is reproduced with permission from the philosophy columns of our community partner Les Débrouillards magazine. It was produced in collaboration with our team at the Institute of Philosophy, Citizenship and Youth.
| Tricks for tots : To help you imagine solitude as a creature, you can start by thinking about things you like to do alone. For inspiration, read the comic strip above! Can being alone be fun? ...relaxing? ...motivating? Then think of times when you don't like being alone. Can being alone be boring? ...scary? ...discouraging? Based on your own experience, imagine a creature that represents both the positive and negative sides of being alone. Would it be a creature with two faces? |
| Tips for teens : In addition to imagining the recorded message from solitude's answering machine, imagine that boredom leaves a voice message on it. What could boredom want to tell solitude? In your opinion, are solitude and boredom good friends? To create your message, you can think about the following questions: Is solitude boring? Can we be bored of solitude… or of ourselves? |
Share your creative reflections by sending them via email.
Include photos of your projects and notes of your thoughts, as well as your first name and your age!
