Making Odd Kin Tue, 24 Mar 2026 08:49:56 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2396386 en-gb © 2026 Making Odd Kin yes 1fb96e7f-ec34-5335-b393-994f36a94699 matthew@matthewmaxwell.com matthew maxwell episodic false Making Odd Kin is a research and development pilot project that takes a novel approach to re-thinking relationships to the environment by investigating how important multispecies flourishing is to all of us. Underpinned by philosophically-informed childhood research, the project involves working in close partnership with teachers by tapping into work already underway in Reception classes.


 The arts-based processes involved in the project recognise the capacities that children have to tell fresh and insightful stories. The project will culminate in the production of a children’s picturebook, created with local children 

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) matthew maxwell matthew@matthewmaxwell.com https://storage.buzzsprout.com/t115t67gb6nrepd8bo5cqvlxag9k?.jpg Making Odd Kin Cicada: unfounded fears for the innocence of childhood Cicada: unfounded fears for the innocence of childhood Cicada (Tan, 2018) tells the story of a hardworking cicada trapped in a human world. Teachers at one of the participating schools were uncomfortable with some of the implicit themes.  In this conversation, we discuss why that should be, and what it says about our fears for the innocence of children.

]]> Cicada (Tan, 2018) tells the story of a hardworking cicada trapped in a human world. Teachers at one of the participating schools were uncomfortable with some of the implicit themes.  In this conversation, we discuss why that should be, and what it says about our fears for the innocence of children.

]]> matthew maxwell Buzzsprout-16113815 Fri, 15 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0500 1448 full false Don't Lick This Book: Small Things make a Big Difference Don't Lick This Book: Small Things make a Big Difference Professor Jayne, Doctor Quack, and Muttley discuss microbes in general, and Corona virus in particular, have impacted the minds and educational conditions of 4-year-olds. 

]]> Professor Jayne, Doctor Quack, and Muttley discuss microbes in general, and Corona virus in particular, have impacted the minds and educational conditions of 4-year-olds. 

]]> matthew maxwell Buzzsprout-15961457 Mon, 21 Oct 2024 07:00:00 -0400 1552 full false Superworm: from disinterest and distrust to adulation and respect. Superworm: from disinterest and distrust to adulation and respect. Reconsidering tiny critters away from anthropomorphic frameworks, and taking seriously their vital contributions to world-making. We discuss the importance of making visible the imperative for adults to unlearn and relearn, taking their lead from children and attuning to the generative potentials that surface when hierarchies (human and non-human) are dismantled.

]]> Reconsidering tiny critters away from anthropomorphic frameworks, and taking seriously their vital contributions to world-making. We discuss the importance of making visible the imperative for adults to unlearn and relearn, taking their lead from children and attuning to the generative potentials that surface when hierarchies (human and non-human) are dismantled.

]]> matthew maxwell Buzzsprout-15861713 Thu, 03 Oct 2024 06:00:00 -0400 1552 full false When the Bees Buzzed Off: fragile foraging and careful composting When the Bees Buzzed Off: fragile foraging and careful composting matthew maxwell Buzzsprout-15628723 Fri, 23 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0400 1754 1 3 full false You are Stardust: reconfiguring early childhood environmental education You are Stardust: reconfiguring early childhood environmental education matthew maxwell Buzzsprout-15628721 Fri, 23 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0400 1680 1 2 full false Starting from the Middle: telling the story of Making Odd Kin Starting from the Middle: telling the story of Making Odd Kin Thinking with the way women saved and collected leftover bits and pieces and scraps, Schapiro and Myer’s 1977 term “femmage” encompassed decoupage, collage, photomontage and assemblage. Defenders of “slow” early childhood pedagogies (eg. Clark’s “Mosaic” approach 2017, and Tishman’s “Slow Looking”, 2018) have employed collage as visual, participatory research frameworks for listening to young children’s views and experiences, and as a means of enquiry and representation.

]]> Thinking with the way women saved and collected leftover bits and pieces and scraps, Schapiro and Myer’s 1977 term “femmage” encompassed decoupage, collage, photomontage and assemblage. Defenders of “slow” early childhood pedagogies (eg. Clark’s “Mosaic” approach 2017, and Tishman’s “Slow Looking”, 2018) have employed collage as visual, participatory research frameworks for listening to young children’s views and experiences, and as a means of enquiry and representation.

]]> matthew maxwell Buzzsprout-15628714 Fri, 23 Aug 2024 06:00:00 -0400 1692 1 1 full false