the little tweaks we do: an observation

When you work with a lot of children you will find that some really like to get into the materials. They are the ones that always seem to have paint on their bodies and play dough in their hair. They are whole body explorers and boy, do they explore. 

You will also find a good number of children who prefer to not get their hands dirty and while it may look like the whole body child is playing more and getting more out of the process it only appears that way.  The child who prefers things orderly, or perhaps is sensitive to different textures is also playing...and learning. It just manifests differently. They are both playing fully and processing as they work.
 

These two photos were taken moments apart on the day I first introduced baking soda and vinegar to the children. All of the children were engaged and excited in the investigation. As the fun grew louder and um...bigger, one of the children began to back away. This child often enjoys getting elbow deep in paint but the noise level during this activity was a bit too much. I did not want this to be a defining moment where this child might abandon investigative activities due to noise and perhaps carry that around with them so I asked if they would like their own tray to work on in a different area of the classroom. They nodded that they did and a happy child trundled off to a quiet corner to investigate at their own pace.

Much of my work as a teacher is simply observing. To an outsider it might appear that we aren't really doing much at all but we stand or sit and we watch. We constantly make mental notes as to what works, what doesn't work. Who prefers quiet, who loves to sing. Who likes to build, who enjoys puzzles. We watch and observe and take photos and document all that is going on so that we can prepare an environment that meets the needs of all of the children. Some children need to be challenged in their play, others need to build confidence. As we observe we figure out who needs what and it is truly a joy to be a part of it all. Each day brings new discoveries and each group of children makes the classroom feel brand new.

on sorting and set ups...

I teach threes in a literature based school. We focus on one book for the week, pulling out theme and curriculum ideas from the book. No matter the theme, I will always have one or two sorting activities out along with fine motor fun, our sticky easel, maybe a felt board, a story basket, the mystery bag, a sensory bin, play dough, and art stuffs. Repeating these projects and actions using different materials is a great way for children to learn and stretch their growing minds and fine motor skills. The success and anticipation of knowing how to use the materials builds their confidence and autonomy while allowing for creative play when they engage with the materials in ways of their own choosing. Each time they succeed or stretch those thought processes connections are made in the brain. It's really cool! So whether or not the children put the correct amount of pom-poms on the corresponding gingerbread person there is still development happening. If the children color sort the poms (like one did in the picture) while another simply throws them all in the air, that's okay, the brain is still working and growing and the child is learning about the world around them.

 

The pretty set ups in my classroom are to engage and invite the children in and create a pleasing environment for myself and their parents. The set up is the photo-sell of a classroom but the real magic happens when the children arrive and create new ways of playing and manipulating their environment. Those photos don't really show the magic but it is there in super leaps and bounds. It is the main reason I work with children, that magical moment of learning that happens when nothing seems to be happening at all.

These gingerbread people were picked up from the dollar section at Target. I'm not a big foam fan but thought these could last a few years. There are numbered dots on one side with the number written on the other. One of my children immediately ripped a leg off of poor number six. After we discussed what was suitable for tearing, we figured out a way to repair the leg and then grabbed some tin foil and construction paper  to create a tearing station. For the sorting pieces you could use pom-poms, stickers, punched pieces, small counters, beans, or even wrapped candies though with a room of three-year olds you may find one hiding out in the gingerbread house with their cheeks full of peppermints...ahem.

kickstarter: inventing kindergarten

Here's a kickstarter project I urge you to look into. Inventing Kindergarten by Norman Brosterman is one of my most favorite books. It is what clued me in to Frederich Froebel and turned my education focus towards child development and progressive education. The problems that Froebel saw in education 176 years ago have not strayed too far from today's issues. His educational philosophy has had a direct influence on some of our most innovative people in our recent history; Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Feynman, and Paul Klee to name a few. It is Froebel who brought us building blocks and paper weaving. It is Froebel who made the connection between children and nature, and it is Froebel who demonstrated the concrete learning children obtain from play.

"Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul."

 I am so grateful to Norman Brosterman for writing such a lovely book and am doubly grateful I was able to purchase it the fist time around. When my hardcover copy went missing, I was relieved to find a used one in paperback but those copies are now few and far between. I am proud to say I am able to contribute to this kickstarter fund and encourage you to take a look and see if it interests you. There are only a few days left and he is sadly far from his goal, perhaps we can make a difference and get this book republished. If you have an opportunity to do so, please do and if you have an opportunity to read it, yes, please do! It is that good!

change is approaching...

While I have focused on bringing you projects and experiences for you to do with your children these last five or six years, I have to admit that I really yearn to make connections in what and how your children are really learning. I've written about it before but I am an educator at heart with a deep empowered belief in the philosophies of Fredrich Froebel,  Magda Gerber, Rudolph Steiner, and the Reggio Emilia approach. Our world is changing quickly everyday with more and more pushing towards an accelerated approach to academic learning (eegads, the things they are throwing at our kindergarteners). Tearing the curtain down, I'm hoping that by visiting here and other lovely spaces and blogs, you will find a confidence in slowing down and allowing your child to grow and develop on their own. Trust in those little brains and enormous hearts.

I have had the heartache to learn that I will not be a mother to my own children but my entire adult life has been steeped in learning and observing children at work and in their developmental stages a la Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Bronfenbrenner, and the like. It is my aim to add more content on a developmental level and so now I introduce to you links from the web world that you may find interesting, astounding, reassuring, or even appalling. Not everyone will agree with these points or beliefs but I do hope that you find something that interests you and your children. Thank you from my heart for continuing this journey with me!

To begin:

*my pinterest board for developmental goodies
*a favorite blog
*an introduction to Piaget video
*a favorite picture book
*a lovely post on slowing down

taking the time...

 I work as an assistant teacher at a preschool that teaches children 18 months to 5 years of age. Much of my job is scurrying about escorting tots from one area to the next and being an extra pair of eyes when needed. The cool part is that I get to work with all the kiddos. I spend time in each classroom observing, teaching, playing and I enjoy it immensely. My favorite part is the observing. It is where I can apply all my fancy-pants education and see which theories may apply or not. It challenges me to reassess whether or not what I believe has value or not. Also, it is never dull.

As I wrote up above, my favorite part is observing. I like to set out supplies with one goal in mind and see what the kiddos do. I make predictions in my head as to which kiddo may actually use it in the manner it was intended and which will clutch the supplies and horde them. There are no incorrect ways to play, this is how they learn. When given enough time, a lot of learning can develop in their little noggins, even if it appears all they are doing is pouring water or gathering dowels...or playing with my watch.

I wear an inexpensive slap watch at the school so that I can get myself onto the next transition in a timely manner. It has gotten left behind on numerous occasions, as well as dropped and buried in sand. I have to admit, not only does it get me to the next transition on time, but it works at bribing the kiddos when a good bribe is needed. When I write bribe, I don't mean if you do this now, you can play with my watch. I use it more as a tool for coaxing a kiddo to transition.

"Hey Bella, when you finish in the water table can you hold my watch for me and make sure it doesn't get lost as I wash my hands for snack? Come with me so I can hand it to you at the sink."

Stuff like that.

Now the kiddos often ask if they can try my watch on. The toddlers especially like it. It works great with an antsy tot that needs a diaper change.

"Oh, can you hold my watch while I get yer diaper on?"

Last week, one of the toddlers asked if she could sit on my lap during outside play. I said sure and she climbed up and immediately asked if she could take my watch off. I sat there with my wrist elevated as she took it off and put it back on, over and over again. As she did so, I talked about what my watch does, how it helps me and what time it was. At one point she asked me what time it was and I told her it was upside down and that I could not read it. She took off my watch and attempted to turn it around and put it back on upside down again. So she went through the process of trying to correct the angle of the watch and I watched and saw where she flipped it so that it was upside down. Rather than say anything, I just watched and after a great many tries she exclaimed with a huff that she couldn't do it. I simply said you have to turn it around. So she turned my wrist around and kept trying. She spent much of the outdoor time flipping the watch over and around until finally she got it and when she did she beamed. BEAMED! As I looked at my wrist I exclaimed "Hey, it's not upside down!" And so she asked me what time it was and I told her.

Later that day, after lunch, she climbed back up on my lap and took my watch off. She put it back on upside down on purpose and had a good laugh at the joke she played on me. She took it off and put it back on right-side up. I write about this to encourage you to allow your child all the time she or he needs to master a task, be it minutes, hours, days or weeks. Kids don't need the next big thing to keep them entertained or busy. By allowing them time to master a task or skill you are helping them build confidence, strengthen autonomy and master relationships. If you get a chance and if you have the time (so to speak) slow yourself down, get out the blocks or fill a tub with water and some cups, sit back, take a breather and observe. It's when we are quiet and not a part of the playing the magic happens.

**okay, can i just say that it must have been the antibiotics that i am on that made me think it was a good idea to title this post slap happy? seriously, i was thinking of the slap watch which made me happy and i thought slap happy would make sense but now i see that well...that wasn't one of my better ideas. i do hope yer still sticking with me.  happy July!

snakes and snails...

At school last week,  much to her delight, one of the toddler girls found a worm as she was planting her own batch of flowers in the garden. We then spent the next fifteen minutes oohing and aahing over the wriggly little thing. I watched as she passed it along to one girl after the other as each one wanted to hold it. And each time a new lucky child got to hold the worm in her hands she would look up all smiles and announce, "I have a worm!" It's not just a boy thing.

When I was a little girl you could equally find me getting all dolled up in twirly skirts and tutus or elbow deep in mud as I raced my hot wheels around with the rest of the kids on my street. I would loose myself in games of Princess and climb down, down, down the large drain pipe behind our house along with the other kids in the neighborhood. I baked cookies and had tea parties and built houses for roly-poly bugs. My jeans had more patches on them than a king-sized quilt and the amount of pink in my closet would make anyone crave another color...any other color.

I was never called a tomboy, thank goodness for that. I'm not a fan of that term. I'm not a big fan of any term really. Girlie-girl? Blech. Boy boy? Ick. Children are children and as individual as each of us adults. To pigeon-hole a boy who likes to turn everything into a weapon is silly. Girls do it too, I was one of them. Those black laquered hinged plate stands? Those made excellent guns when we played space monster in our third floor condo. They could even be clapped for a shooting noise. It was all my idea.

When your child hears you exclaim "You're such a boy" they might brush it all off being that yes, they are indeed a boy but at some point that term just might define them. Same for boys who like to play dress up and get into the pink and sparkles. There is absolutely nothing girly about it save for you labeling it as such. Switch it up a notch in relation to girls and I'll say the same thing. Simply stop it. The same goes for "She's just shy" or "He's our artist". Take some time to omit labels from describing your child, work on specifics. If your daughter is quiet but really loves cats, then she may know a lot about cats, focus on that. If your son is the artist of the family, focus on the tools he uses, "Sam has been drawing a lot with his water color pencils". Let's work on the individuality of your kiddos be they yours, your sibling's or your friends'.

Girls who like sports and bugs and messy things are NOT tomboys. They are athletic and strong. They are scientists and they are curious. Boys who like to bake cookies, put on the tutus in preschool and dance rather than pass a football are not sissies. They are chefs, they are imaginative, intuitive and they are also athletes.

And for those of you who disagree and think that all boys are most certainly only about super heroes and that all girls are into princesses, I know more than a handful, more than two even that might just sway you to think otherwise. Boys will be boys and girls will be girls if that's the only way you view them.

let me tell ya about

my man Froebel.

Frederich Froebel was an educational theorist born in 1782. He developed his educational theory that became what we call Kindergarten in 1837. Froebel believed that children best learned through play and the action of exploration. Even back then, the idea of learning through lecture and the banking of information left a sour note in Froebel's heart.

Many of the tenets of Froebel's philosophy are reflected in today's popular educational theories.  Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, Montessori, progressive and/or play based schools all lend themselves to the ideas that Froebel brought forth. Click here for some light Froebel reading and a breakdown.

The coolest thing, to me at least, about Froebel's Kindergarten is that many of the routines we do in preschool come from him. Circle time? Froebel. Nursery Rhymes? Froebel. Manipulatives such as block playing and sorting? Froebel! I have been hard pressed finding reading material on this fascinating philosopher. Most of the books I have found were written in the 1800s. So imagine my delight when I found out there was to be a Froebel convention just a few hours away from the tiny casa! This year's convention will feature the use of the Froebel gifts (i.e. manipulatives) and I am over the moon with the idea of learning more about them. As I wrap my head around articulating how awesome I beleive Froebel's theory is, I will be adding more info the scrumdilly-do! If you are a reader or fan or passer by who is interested in supporting my journey, I would greatly appreciate any donations to help me get to the convention. There is a happy little donate button up there on the left side-bar of the blog. If you have any direct questions, feel free to email me, I would love a conversation with you!

Thank you, and happy reading!

links-a-dilly

As a progressive educator, I am always thrilled to pieces when I come across a kindred soul. Imagine my delirium when I found this awesome link-fest from Jenny of Let the Children Play. Bookmark her post when you get a chance, there is a lot of nifty reading to be found.