Climbing To New Heights

I saw this wonderful video on Facebook a few weeks ago. Someone had strung up a pulley system in their area and provided a step ladder. Then they had hung buckets up on the pulleys and left blocks out.  It was magical watching the video and all of the learning taking place. (I have not been able to find the inspiring video if I can locate it I will put a link to it in this blog post.)  It inspired me to try and replicate the opportunity in my class.

I am very blessed that the Center I work at, Love To Grow On, and our administration support risky play as a part of our center's philosophy.  I am also blessed that our parents embrace the activities we provide their children and trust us to provide them in a safe and nurturing environment.  So when I entered the classroom with rope, buckets and a ladder no one batted an eye and the kids knew we were going to do something exciting.
I left the items near the circle time area and listened to the conversations.  After breakfast we met for our morning meeting and discussed the items brought in.
"That is a ladder, my dad has one."

"We have one too!"
"You climb a ladder to reach things, or do things up high."
"You need to climb careful or you can fall.  My dad was not careful and he fell.  He was ok, but mom was mad."
Because the ladder was the main topic of conversation I put the buckets and rope aside and let them climb the ladder.  We discussed how both sides could be climbed and we decided that 4 could be on the ladder at a time.  That morning they all took turns scaling the ladder and exploring the room from new heights.
"I can see the ground outside when I climb the ladder and look outside!"
"I am as tall as Ms. Helen!"
"If I stand here I am taller than Ms. Helen."
"The ladder is shakey as you go higher."
"Come here and look down on the room, the legos look smaller up here."

This lead to constructing a simple pulley system where they could raise and lower buckets by the way they placed items into the buckets. The ladder was used to reach the higher bucket and to redistribute the items in the buckets to allow them to move up and down. The team work and problem-solving skills used were fascinating to watch in this project. It has been going on for almost three weeks now as they test out a variety of items in the buckets.
"The one with stuff in it goes down. It must be heavy."
"The empty one is lighter because it goes up."
"Four big blocks is the same as 6 bean bags."
"What do you mean?"
"Neither bucket goes up when you have 6 bean bags and 4 of these blocks."

An extension to this activity was to add art to it. We have been creating a large group mural on the wall using the ladder to reach the upper part of our canvas.
This has been a good way to add a new perspective to using paint and chalk. They are doing art standing on a ladder, keeping their balance, drawing on a vertical surface, and viewing the room from a different perspective.

I encourage you to give this a try, even if you only add a low steps tool to your environment.

Learning Through Play

Please click on this link to see play based learning in action.

Love To Grow On Engineers 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EoGTfsppUVq3eou92

Play is a crucial part of childhood and learning, yet it often gets looked at as unimportant and an useless, waste of time. Many adults think learning takes place in the confines of sitting in a group setting, criss-crossed legs, listening quietly to the teacher prattle on about some subject or idea; and not necessarily anything the children are remotely interested in.  It can be followed up with worksheets, busy work and project art all deemed curriculum. This learning style is actually an academic  style more appropriate for older elementary school students. Kindergarten and First grade students should still be experiencing learning through play and Second grade through  Sixth grades should still be getting more physical movement and play in their day, than is currently allotted.

Play-based learning is defined as young learners constructing

knowledge as they explore, experiment , discover and solve problems in a playful and unique ways. Development is linked to play and viewed as a pattern of continuous,  interrelated changes that begins at birth and continue through life span whilst learning is a change in behaviour. In the early years it is through experience in play that learning occurs. (1)

I am blessed to teach at a center where play-based learning and the Reggio Emilia Approach are embraced.   At Love To Grow On children are viewed as capable learners and play is an key part of learning. Here is a peek at two of our recent play-based learning experiences my class had the chance to explore.

A real life experience with Chutes and Ladders.

So much is going on here.
Physical- balance, spatial awareness,  self-confidence,  body awareness & muscle memory are being created.
Social- turn taking, self-regulation,  Problem-solving & conflict resolution.
Language & Literacy- Describing what is or will happen, looking At things from a different perspective,  communication skills & sharing ideas.
Math & Science- making hypotheses, trial and error, comparing velocity and distance.
So much more is learned in this play than would ever be learned While sitting at a table doing a work sheet and much more will be remembered, learning through play.

Pulleys

Exploring pulleys opens the door to engineering. From this exploration children learn about gravity, weight, measurement, and cause and effect. They experience physics at work. They discover the impact they can have on their environment. They propose ideas and explore their hypotheses.
Learning through play is far more impactful, and last life long. Worksheets and rote learning leads to frustration, especially in young ages  (2 years to 8 years) and does not carry the same long-lasting foundation for more learning. 

It was fun presenting a provocation none of these children had encountered before.  Their excitement on the first day was fun as they cheered each friend on as they picked a bucket to add marbles too. Their chant for which bucket they were routing for was replaced with pleading, debate, and discussion as they realized one bucket was slowly raising towards the ceiling. The roar of success was fun when one bucket soared up and the other bucket plummeted towards the ground.

Today I presented bigger buckets and different items to place in the buckets. I set the ladder to the side but allowed the buckets to hang low enough the ladder was not necessary. We discussed what we had learned the day before.
"The heavy bucket goes down."
"The empty bucket goes up."
"Why does the empty bucket go up?" I asked.
"Because it is not as heavy, it is lighter."
With both buckets in easy reach blocks were added to each bucket equally. The buckets did not move.
"What is happening?" I asked.
"Nothing."
"Why?"
"Because one is not heavy."
"So how can you fix that?"
A flurry of discussion and then the solution to move blocks from one bucket to the other. As the one bucket moved out of reach the ladder was dragged over to make it easier to pluck out a block and move it to the other bucket.
It was fun to watch the cooperation and conversations taking place. They continued on with this activity all day long.

(1)(Taken from  Play-based learning Ebbeck, Marjory, Yim, Hoi Yin Bonnie and Lee, Lai Wan Maria 2013, Play-based learning. In Pendergast, Donna and Garvis, Susanne (ed), Teaching early years : curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, N. S. W., pp.185-200.   http://dro.deakin.edu.au/view/DU:30052049 )

Leprechaun Laughter

What do you do to enjoy children's laughter and embrace their excitement?

St. Patrick's Day always fills my class's mind with Leprechauns and the mischief they cause.  Usually it is one day of chaos and fun that builds all day long. 

The room is constantly but back into place only to turn around or come back to the room to find some disruption has happened again.  Some times it is a path of glitter, other times it is toys dumped or put in wrong spots.  I have as much fun trying not to be caught as they do discovering the next bit of mischief.

This year I had an idea to make small, paper, Leprechauns and hide them around the room.  I started this 2 weeks ago.  The joy it has brought to our day is fun.  The hiding places have gotten harder and the Leprechauns have moved from the classroom to around the building.  We place them in a glass jar, but those little Leprechauns get out when we are not looking and need to be rounded up again.

This carried over to the homes.  One family made their own Leprechauns to hide at
home, several others came in and asked me where I got them from.  I gave them a copy of the ones I had drawn.  Then I sent home a template that so anyone who wanted to carry the excitement on at home.  I quietly passed it to parents so they were not pressured from their children to participate.

We have had to set some guidelines as the play goes on.


All leprechauns go into the cage.

The first person who finds the Leprechaun is the one who gets it to put in the cage, unless they are finding lots then they get to pick a friend who gets to put the Leprechaun in its cage.

I am the teacher, I must behave like the adult.  If it is getting to chaotic, I slow down the hiding and let the room calm down again.  I do NOT reprimand them for being excited at a game I started. Nor do I take they game away.  Use it as a learning tool to teach self-control, turn taking, cooperative play and empathy.

Have fun with your kids.
Build memories and relationships that will last.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you.

I Am More than Just a Preschool Teacher

I am more than a preschool teacher! I am an early childhood educator.

I definitely am not a babysitter. I have never sat on a kid, (well I have in fun) and I strive to not to sit on their desires to learn, explore, grow and impact the world around them.

I am not a daycare provider. God provides the days, I pray I use them wisely to impact the young minds and lives entrusted to my care.

But I want to tell you what I am.

I am a confidant.  I am told special secrets, hurts and joys.  I am given the gift of trust that I am interested in everything they have to say.

I am a nurse.  I fix small and big cuts. Attend to children who are ill and can heal just about anything with ice an ice pack.

I am a counselor. I listen to fears, walk beside a child or parent having an anxiety attack. I give tools for developing communication skills and I prescribe hugs.

I am a psychologist. I examine behaviors and actions and try to understand them.  I then put my knowledge and experience to work creating solutions and new situations to help the child grow.

I am a veterinarian. I care for classroom pets, medicate ill pets and sometimes when the pet does not survive (like our goldfish, Heartbeat, whom died during our NAEYC visit) I am an undertaker and Pastor.

I am a plumber. I unclog sinks and toilets.  I take apart traps and clean them out.  I stop leaks and repair faucets.

I am a waitperson. I serve meals, clean up after meals and smile even when my customers are messy, fussy and forget the tip.  My tips all come in hugs, kisses and handmade pictures.  You can't put them in the bank, but no money could replace their value.

I am a janitor. I clean up messes, wash out toilets and sinks, sweep and mop floors, wash toys, and do laundry.

I am an entrepreneur. I develop ways to create funds to aid my class.

I am a magician. I create things out of very little or nothing when the budget is tight or nonexistent.

I am an artist.  I teach all types of media and teach children to recognize beauty around them and use their art as their voice.

I am a musician. I sing song, perform for the audience, teach music theory and conduct the choir.

I am a scientist, mathematician, home economics teacher and language specialist.

But most of all I am BLESSED.  I get to spend the most important years of a child's life teaching them, watching them grow and leaving a little piece of me in their hearts. 

I AM PROUD TO BE AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR!