"I sort of did it the wrong way", one child told another as she pondered a new puzzle. She'd taken the puzzle apart and was becoming discouraged at returning it to its whole state. But it's nice to have friends at school, and her buddy nearby helped her reassemble it. It was returned to the shelf next to some of the other new materials that encourage sorting, stacking in sequential orders, and thinking about fractions in a very tangible way. The puzzles were a huge draw this last week, partly due to their novelty, and partly because they are just so engaging.
I love puzzles because they offer children a very concrete opportunity to work toward mastery all on their own. I notice that the fraction board puzzle is put away in a variety of "right ways", especially when the one of the halves is combined with two of the quarters to make a circle or square. Our narrow-to-wide puzzle is a challenge, because it requires some trial and error to get all the pieces in their correct spots, and the children really have to look at what they are doing to understand where each piece needs to go.
Our rice play went smaller: our larger bowls are gone and now we have a few larger water bottles and a glass vanilla bottle with a tiny neck; these props ask the children to exercise some fine motor skills in order to fill them up. We also have a muffin tin and egg carton to fill, but their favorite thing to make is still 'smoothies'; in fact, we added a beaker-shaped container to the housekeeping kitchen so that the children had a 'blender' to pile the wooden fruit and nuts into. Apparently, everything in the little kitchen goes into a smoothie, including some very tasty vegetables.
One of the most exciting moments of my time in the school last week was initiated by one child's interest in playing with the cars. I suggested that perhaps a road could be built with the blocks and the idea took off from there. The long blocks became a couple of main streets, from which smaller blocks extended, creating side roads. Not content to just drive the cars along the blocks, one child decided they needed a stop sign, so we took a minute to find a red piece of paper, which she then cut out and wrote "STOP" onto in her own writing. Once it was taped onto an intersection of her choosing, the play was abandoned. Nonetheless, the Stop Sign is still around, taped to the front of the block shelves and waiting to be used again. And, interestingly enough, the children all know that it's a stop sign, despite its dissimilarity from the real-life item.
It's moments like these that make writing and learning words interesting and relevant for our children. These are the sparks that keep children curious and help to empower them in their journey of learning.
One very important thing that we are learning at school is that the work of others needs to be respected and left alone unless we ask. As a playdough creation was crushed in a little hand, the creator let out a protest and the owner of the little hand declared that they didn't like what was being made. This was a great opportunity to learn about asking before we change someone else's work. We discussed how we could tell the creator was still using the playdough (because their hands were on it) and that when someone is making something, it is important to them. I avoid asking the children "How would you feel if...?" and instead focus on how the other person is feeling in that moment. The moment was resolved when the creator remade their work, then told the other child "you can do it now, I'm done" while handing the playdough over willingly.
Another phrase we are learning is to ask a friend if they need help before taking over an activity. Some children like a buddy to help them fill up a bottle with rice or to build a chair/bed out of blocks, while others have their own ideas on how to go about their play and want to work alone while in the group. Nonetheless, I've been encouraging the children to help each other with coats and boots or other daily tasks; I feel that this gives the children a chance to perceive each other as friendly helpers. When children are so busy learning how to take turns and share what's around, it's easy for them to perceive other children as potential competition. Helping each other provides balance by giving the children a chance to work together and enjoy each other for mutual benefit.
Because you don't want to spend an hour reading this, here are a few snapshots from our week:
The children digging carefully in the sandbox. The elves had hidden some treasure there and the children were very curious as to what it could be; a while later they'd uncovered the treasure (blue glass 'gems') and were discovering that the elves had scattered gems in other areas around the back garden as well, as a way of saying Thank You for the sweet flowers and seeds we've planted--Elves are great appreciators of natural beauty.
Children squeezing glitter glue onto foil with great intensity. "Look! I made a One!" said a child, pointing to a bright single line.
We brought out our new wax block crayons and created our first journal pages. A delight to hear their descriptions, rooted in such imagination!
Train play. We read Donald Crews "Freight Train" and this inspired the children to build a train by lining the stools up in a row. The following conversation ensued:
Child: I want to go to the table factory.
Friend:Where do you want to go next?
Child: The track factory.
Friend: I have this one factory here.The rice play.
(Children switch who's driving.)
Child:Here's some cheese. Where would you like to go?"
Friend: OMSI
We read "Growing a Rainbow", then examined the colorful seed packets of the vegetables we'll be planting. Yellow podded peas, blue podded shelling peas, orange carrots...yum!
We filled a planter of potting soil and scattered seeds from a children's flower mix. We'll be watching to see them sprout.
Pretending to be seeds; the children decided to be coconuts, so there we were, lying on the beach, when we began to sprout, put down roots, and grow up, up, up into tall trees, which made more coconuts...
The whole group sitting at the table, stomping their feet loudly and laughing, having a grand time.
Isn't that what preschool's for? See you soon!
