We Can Fix It!

For quite some time now, one of the most-used materials in our class has been the toolbox and the variety of tools it contains. The hammers are probably the most favored tool, which is not that surprising considering the fact that I've only met a handful of toddlers over the years who don't like to bang. But, this group has really branched out with their use of tools. They can name most of the tools in the toolbox, even those that are not so common. Thankfully my dad was quite handy so I can give them the names and tell them what they are used for if they happen to ask.

I thought that adding tools to the play dough box would be extremely appealing to them. It combined two of their favorite activities into one. But, they weren't nearly as interested as I imagined they would be. They did use them a for a while with the play dough but, they had bigger and better ideas than I could come up with. They were much more interested in using the tools to fix things in the classroom.

Since the tools were in the play dough, I brought out a tool puzzle as a substitute. It wasn't long before N. found the drill in the puzzle, laid himself on the floor and set to work 'fixing' the table.  Some days he spent a good portion of his mornings engaged in activities like this.

Others followed suit and it was pretty common to see someone under the table, a rocking horse flipped upside down or the garage on its side as they set to work 'fixing' all the broken objects they could come up with.

After winter break I decided to introduce a more realistic way to use tools. I purchased a small pack of golf tees to use as nails. I had been saving a printer box since before break, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. Since it is tall, it makes the perfect tool bench. after gathering up the three boys present who were most interested in tools, I showed them how they could use the golf tees as nails on the top of the box. I was a bit surprised at which boy picked it quickly, concentrating as he held his nail in place to get the hole started.

They hammered away for a good portion of the morning before discovering the holes on the sides of the box from the carrying handles. I should have known to tape them shut before starting. Instead, I had to reopen the box at nap to fish out all the hammers and nails. My original plan was to keep this activity just for the older toddlers since the golf tees are fairly sharp. However, a couple of the younger toddlers were interested and they did hammer for a bit. We just made sure we put the nails in before they came over. They were pretty content to just hammer on the box, with or without nails. We even took the box outside today since it was such a nice day. This gave the older group some time to work on it without worrying about the younger children.

Through all this tool play over the last month, we have learned more about the children. We have seen how much time they spend focused on an activity. We have seen children expand their play, adding new elements and depth as the weeks passed.  We have seen children come back to the same activity again and again until they feel they have mastered it and then find a way to take it to new levels of complexity. They have practiced waiting, taking turns and trading tools with friends. I dare to say some negotiating skills were practiced, too. They have spent large chunks of time engaged in the same activity, oblivious to the potential distractions around them.  They have learned some new words and participated in conversation with peers, actually hearing what was said and responding appropriately. They have picked up new ideas by watching a friend and trying to imitate them. All of this learning happened during  free play time, in activities the children selected and carried out on their own, with minimal support from the teachers.

The next challenge is to design a project that lets them really build something. With any luck, there will be an update before the semester is over.

A Magical Day of Play

Today was one of those rare days with toddlers where there were no major melt-downs, tantrums or arguments. Aside from a two-and-half-year-old doing some minor limit testing and a 15-month-old who wanted to wash her hands every 30 seconds, it was a quiet day where the children led pretty much everything. The only question or idea I offered up today was asking one child (the limit tester, actually) if he wanted to do some more gluing like he did yesterday. He had really enjoyed exploring with the glue so he gladly shook his head and said yes. I told him to go get a board from the pile of mat board that a parent had gotten donated for us. He went straight to the board without needing any reminders of where to find one, picked one out saying, "this one," and brought it right to the table to get started. As I looked for a full glue bottle, he took the bag, pulled one out and said, "big one." Generally the children use the smaller glue bottles in my class but I had a feeling I was just going to be re-filling soon so I let him take the big one.

He spent the next 10 minutes with the glue. The idea was to make a nature collage, which he had done the previous day before abandoning it to explore with the glue. He had learned yesterday that if he put glue all over his hands, the paper or items could stick to his hands so I was curious to see what he would do with the glue today. He chose one stick from the sensory table full of nature materials and promptly glued that on his board. He added a few more items but, it was really about the glue today. He discovered that if he held the glue up high and squeezed just a little, it looked like raindrops. The excitement on his face as he made more raindrops was contagious.



One of the girls joined us at the table and followed his idea, for the most part. She glued one stick on, then made a picture with the glue. She eagerly told me about her picture. "You have to go around the bend. This is the mountain and you  have to go through it." Along the way, a pile of 'sneaky mud' showed up ("you don't want to go there, it's slippery") along with a cash register to mark the end point. She told the story several times as she added more glue, barely changing the details.


 


Another boy joined in and didn't even bother with the collage materials. He just wanted to 'queeze' the glue. You can see the focus as he works on squeezing the glue out. He was so engrossed that we brought out the colored and glitter glues we haven't used yet this school year. He spent a good five or so minutes at this activity, which isn't bad for a child who is choosy about art activities.

Even the 15-month-old joined in. While squeezing the glue was a bit tough for her, exploring with it and spreading it was not.

Once the glue exploration wrapped up, I noticed two children in the gross motor area pretending it was nap time. One would lie on a row of cardboard brick blocks while the other one rubbed their back, as the teachers do at nap time. They decided they needed a chair so they moved one of the blocks out to be the chair. Over the course of fifteen or more minutes, these children changed roles, taking turns being the napper and the teacher, at least six times. They listened to each other and responded in a genuine to-way conversation.

As this wrapped up, some of the children migrated to the dramatic play area. Someone brought me a bucket full of clothes and announced "make lunch" as he placed the bucket on the table in front of me. He 'cooked' more clothes for the children there, telling us it was how. A few minuted later, this play had evolved into dress up and the three two-year-olds experimented with putting the clothes on. They dressed themselves, trying until they got it. One child discovered that taking his shoes off made it easier to put the shorts on. The other two noticed and followed his example successfully. They cheered each other on and offered both encouragement and help. This took up the rest of the morning. They were so engaged and productive that all the teachers did was watch and offer just minimal support as needed.

Why is this important, you might ask? They weren't learning to name their colors, count, practice their alphabet or any of those other academic schools that come to mind when the word learning is thrown out there. But, research has shown that extended free play helps children develop the important skill of self-regulation. During all this play and exploration, these children had abundant opportunities to practice skills that help develop executive function. They practiced self-control as they squeezed just the right amount of glue and stayed in their roles during pretend play. They communicated with each other and took turns, both in conversation and in play. They solved problems and made new discoveries.  They managed their emotions and didn't give up when things weren't working.

There was so much learning happening that I will probably have to write about it in more detail later. It's days like this that make me remember why I love what I do and remind me just how important the early years are.

Quality vs. Quantity

We have decided at my center to participate in STARS, the state's quality rating system for child care providers. Like most state rating systems, the number of stars we are awarded depends on the score we achieve on the ITERS-R and ECERS-R. As part of the application process, a quality coordinator from the state comes out to a baseline rating in order to identify strengths and areas for improvement and to give the center a general idea of where they stand. Then we write and implement a quality improvement plan to help us get the highest rating possible.

A few weeks ago, we got the report back for my classroom and as my co-teacher and I reviewed it, we were surprised at how low our language scores were. Anyone that has ever set foot in my classroom has heard how much we talk with the children. We talk with them so much that they start carrying on their own, very real, conversations with each other.  I love the time of year when we get to the point that the children don't need us to sustain a conversation. It tells me we have done our job well. After all, these are only two-year-olds.

It was explained to us that we should be saying something to a child approximately every three minutes. While I don't disagree that talking with children is important, I strive toward creating meaningful interactions with the children in my care, based on their needs and interests at that moment. The problem with explaining things in such simple terms is that it can lead to talking just for the sake of meeting that requirement.

I have been in many child care centers as a consultant over the years and have worked in my fair share of them, too. Too often, I hear teachers talking at children simply because they have been told repeatedly that it is important to talk to children to help with language development.  These types of mindless interactions can lead to frustration in children. Sometimes that well-intentioned question is all it takes to interrupt a child's train of thought or derail it altogether. Most adults get irritated when they are in the immersed in a project they are enjoying and someone interrupts them. Why should we expect children to feel any different?

It is less common to meet a toddler teacher that is intentional in their interactions. It is so easy to get wrapped up in getting all the diapers changed or feeding all the children and forget that these are small people we are dealing with, not objects.  These routine activities are great times for one on one interactions. Rather then rushing through the diaper change quickly and with little thought about manipulating the child's body to accomplish the task, why not take the time to talk with the child? Tell them in simple language what you are doing and have them participate. Ask them to lift their legs up or try to pull their own pants up or down.  The more the child is involved and engaged, the more they will trust and respect the caregiver. These are important relationship building activities.

All too often, during play time, I see teachers trying to show a child how to play with a toy rather then letting the child explore.  Or, they are trying to teach the child something, like colors or shapes. They overlook the fact that everything a toddler does is a learning experience.  If we teachers get out their way and let them explore, the possibilities are endless.  But, we know that they do our help and support sometimes as they play.  Teachers can enhance the learning by stepping in to assist if a child seems frustrated or by using mirror talk (narrating what a child is doing). The trick is to wait for the child's cue. When a child looks at you or shows you a toy, that is a wonderful opportunity to add some language or introduce a new word. Then step back and see what happens next. When we constantly bombard them with questions, observations or language just for the sake of talking, they eventually tune us out, become frustrated or lose interest in the activity. By making our interactions meaningful and giving them some space and time, they will learn these things when they are ready. Quality, not quantity.