"Materials are truly important in the moment they become a language that is owned by the children and not just a technique that has to be learned or used in only one way. Materials should become languages to give voice to children's thoughts, mental images, and sense of possibility about entering into relationships with the other children. Through materials, children have a chance to collaborate, cooperate, and exchange knowledge with each other" (Bambini, pg. 64)
Besides Sebastien, the other children in the group took some time to warm up to the clay and even then they weren't too sure about it. When it was first put out for the children you can see Sebastien trying to get the other children's attention to come over to the clay.
It really took me getting into the clay myself to draw the children closer to the clay. This made it more difficult to document their experiences since my hands were covered in clay. However, once the children engaged more with the clay I was able to step back and observe their interactions with the clay more thoroughly. I was particularly struck by the introduction of a tool by Xavier, which becomes a sought after object and then adds a new layer to the experience allowing the children to explore the clay in a different way.
Max ran through a multitude of ways to explore the clay. Watch as hepinches, scrapes, pats, tastes, scratches, grabs, shakes and tries to wipe the clay. He even gives up a ball to get both hands into the clay.
Although the clay doesn't quite have the wow factor that painting does, I feel like this first encounter was appropriate for the children and I have a few thoughts on how to change up the clay to highlight it's presence and entice children to interact more with it.
The Rope Bin was inspired by two events. The first being Sebastien loves when I wrap gifts and this is because the bin full of wrapping accessories, bows, ribbon, string, tissue paper, etc. is left open for him to explore while I quickly try and wrap a gift. He will pull out, drag about, and swing around any of the ribbon, yarn, or string that is in there. During our most recent gift wrapping session he pulled out a long piece of purple rope ribbon and began dragging it around the house and putting it in his boat as well as other containers. I decided to let it say out of the bin to just see what he would do with it. Well, it became a popular item which tipped me off that these types of materials might take over the discovery bin after we move on from the balls. The second inspiration came from watching Sebastien pull around his caterpillar on a string. He loved having it follow him around and he was so happy to look back and see that it was there.
I scoured the house for any rope/ribbon like material to add to the bin. I also bought some climbing rope of different sizes and lengths. Within in the bin there were also a few balls of yarn. I also made sure there were some short, long, and every length in between items in the bin. In the end it is full of things to pull, drag, wrap, swing, shake, and bite.
Ready to move on from painting for a little bit, I was excited to introduce clay to the children. I presented the clay in one large twenty-five pound block on the floor. I expected the size and three dimensional shape to attract the children to this strange object so I opted to keep the it in a large block and not break it into small sections. I expected the children to pinch, poke, pat, taste, scratch, grab, try to push and dig into the clay. I also had hoped they would bring objects over to the clay to see how the clay would respond to an object being pushed into it.
I like introducing clay to children before the traditional playdough because playdough is very easy to mold and clay needs to be worked a bit more. However, the easily moldable playdough is not as responsive to sculpting and creating something that can be structurally sound. Playdough crumbles easily when dry and does not show intricate finger markings or lines made to create details on a sculpture. Since clay is not as easy to mold if it is introduced after playdough children sometimes get frustrated that the clay doesn't mold as easily and therefore continue to prefer playdough even though playdough is not as conducive to expressing ideas and languages when children are older. Clay is also a medium that, as children grow into adults, can still be used as a creative medium.
Another fun day of painting. Xavier joined us on this particular Friday as well as Kaia's dad, Erik. My elusive painter Kaia again skirted the edges and found her mother's lap and the water bottle comforting as she watched Sebastien, Xavier, and Bryce paint. Her little feet (pictured below) managed to show the paint she acquired as she walked by the painting.
Sebastien, Xavier, and Bryce continue their exploration of painting by using techniques that they have practiced in the past. Bryce gets his feet and legs into motion as he tries to maneuver around a tempera cake. He also gets musical with the painting containers.
Xavier continues his purposeful marks on the canvas. He really concentrates on getting the paint on the canvas and brush even with a lot of activity around him, he is really focused.
Sebastien practices his stacking of the containers and tempera cakes as he did the week before.
As an educator "sharing" is a word that makes me cringe when referenced to young children. As a parent, I want my son to be generous, kind, respectful of others and respected by others. I want adults and children to see his intentions as honorable and from a thoughtful place and yes, to someday to have the ability to share. Not share in the traditional sense of giving up something to another but share his enthusiasm, experiences, and curiosity about the world and then negotiate and problem solve when conflicts arise. For a young child sharing is probably the hardest thing to do when it is imposed on them because another child wants something they have. However, when sharing is on the child's terms he/she is more than willing to offer an item.
Zadie offers Xavier the paint brush she is using.
Zadie offers a ball to Max & Xavier
Kaia offers a container to her mom while Sebastien wants his papa to taste a container.
These photos illustrate a very young child's desire to share their experiences and explorations with another person. This is the beginning of developing the ability to share. As parents, facilitating, modeling, and reciprocating sharing with our own child is the best way to help them to naturally want to share as they grow older. Yet, society expects parents to MAKE their children share.
Sharing as a concept that is difficult even for some adults. There are two definitions of sharing. The first is togiveaportionof(something)toanotherorothers.In most situations, a child is playing with a toy and another child indicates that they want the toy so the parent says something like "share your toys" and expects the child to do so. How can one child give a portion of the toy to another child? They can't. The child has to GIVE UP the toy they are using to the other child.
How often as adults do we GIVE UP something to another adult while in the midst of using it. Take for example, I'm writing my shopping list and my husband comes in and wants the pen I'm using. I ask him to wait until I'm done (otherwise I'll completely forget what we need). He huffs and puffs and insists he needs that pen. I can't break the pen in half so we can both use it. I can offer another pen which he may or may not take. Just then an older, wiser and bigger adult walks in and insists that I give my pen to my husband but I am still in in the midst of a thought. Do they then take the pen out of my hand and give it to my husband? If we witnessed this situation we see how disrespectful the older, wiser, bigger adult is being.
This is why in most situations children can't share a toy, it's just not possible. A child who is using a toy is in the midst of learning, exploring, discovering and is interrupted when sharing occurs. When we ask children to share we are not honoring their ideas and thoughts in the moment with that particular item. Now children can take turns, offer to swap for a different toy, or find a similar toy with the help of a more capable adult but very rarely can young children share. Sharing food is more likely to happen as there is usually more than one of the same item. Lately, we've all eaten the mushy cheerio our child has offered to share with us.
Now let's examine the second definition of sharing -touse,occupy, orenjoy(something)jointlywithanotherorothers. Now this thought is great when children begin to actually move into cooperative play and that happens usually between two and three years of age. Yet, the child-initiated sharing in the photos above is this kind of sharing. The sharing that exudes warmth and tenderness, excitement and joy. If we begin to look at children as small citizens with rights that are the same as ours then sharing becomes a term that no longer defines their behavior but one that limits it. I would have loved to have heard the mother at the playground say "I see you're using the truck and that little boy came over and he wants to use it, can we see if he would like a different toy?" Instead I hear "you need to learn to share" while making the child give up the toy.
One thing studying the Reggio Approach has taught me is that respecting young children leads to respectful young children. One thing parenting has taught me is that it takes mindful and continual practice to respect a child who communicates not yet in words but in sounds, actions, and sometimes tears.
Watch as Zadie shares with Max's mom a few balls from the ball bin. Pay close attention to Max as he watches Zadie and then offers her back one of the balls that his mom rolls near him. It is subtle but profound in his intention, it is as if he was saying "Mom, Zadie was using that ball". Now Zadie doesn't see his offering but the intention is in the spirit of sharing.
Painting continues to evolve as the children make new discoveries and expand their ever growing knowledge of painting. Sebastien stacks and arranges the tempera cakes in their containers for the first time.
A short time later he transforms from The Joker (see picture above) to The Hulk as he figures out he can manipulate the canvas.
Bryce takes a completely different view of painting and also finds the painting utensils to be very musical.
Another item that has become in high demand is the spray bottle. Both Kaia and Bryce get a hold of it. It can turn tempera painting into watercolor painting if we're not careful.
This week Kaia skirted the edges of the painting experience, observing, touching a little bit, again offering to her mother. She is a precise and quick explorer when it comes to painting, getting what she wants from the material and then moving on. She still is very unsure of this painting idea. She's a puzzle when it comes to painting and I haven't yet put together all the pieces.
This week marks the return of the Thursday Group to Painting. Zadie and Xavier were the first to dive into the painting. Watch as Xavier knows exactly what to do with the brush and involves Zadie in his exploration.
The children are all actively taking more notice of the paint. Observing, how it feels on their bodies, how it looks on each other's bodies, on the canvas, and on the plastic tarp.
Sebastien makes an interesting discovery. He comes to the painting a little later than the rest as he was finishing up his nap and he finds the materials have already been in use. He notices a round blue spot on the plastic tarp and tries to grab it, thinking it is a tempera cake. He then locates an actual tempera cake in a container. After feeling it, he returns to feel the spot on the plastic tarp. He finally decides which is the real thing. It doesn't take him long but it amazes me how little brains figure out the world.
MUSICAL MAX
One thing I know about Max is that he can make sound with any item. He will find the ball that makes a loud boom or the pot that makes a great ting on the wood floor. In Max's previous painting experiences I always thought that when he picked up the container holding the tempera cake and dropped it on the floor, he was trying to get it out of the container. Amy, his mom, said something during group that made me rethink this idea. I don't remember her exact words but what I interpreted was that Max explores many materials through sound. Could throwing down the containers be Max's attempt to discover through his hearing? The following are two pictures remind me that touch and taste are not the only senses at work while painting.
Max attempts to bang the tempera cake against the shelf but couldn't get the right angle (his fingers were in the way).
So instead he bangs the tempera cake with the ball. Now this made a sound.
We've returned to painting. I was excited to continue painting and see how the children would experience being reintroduced to the material. Kaia engaged with the paint for the longest period of time yet. In her previous experiences she would usually taste the paint, not like it, and then make her way into her mother's lap where she would stay until she moved on from painting. This time she really wanted to share the experience with her mother, offering her the cup and the tempera cake.
This is a big step for Kaia and her mom too, as Kasey doesn't really like personally getting messy but really wants Kaia to enjoy painting.
Sebastien and Bryce explored the paint as they had in the past, discovering the cup, the tempera cake, the brush, and the colored water that would drip out. You'll see in the following video clip Bryce exploring the different components of the experience and also, most interestingly, observing Sebastien with such intensity that you can't help be in awe of children's capacity to learn from one another.
The last time Sebastien painted he was trying to put the brush in the container and then on the canvas, which he observes me do when I first place the cups of paint on the canvas. This time he spent much of his time trying it again. He's really trying to connect getting paint on the brush and then on the canvas. You can see in the video, at one point he picks up an empty cup and gets paint on it. The puzzle pieces of painting are starting to fall into place for him.
Four children, four different ways of exploring drawing and crayons.
Kaia and Sebastien explore the sensory bin full of balls. Kaia carefully inspects the different types of balls while exhuberant Sebastien gets right in the midst of it all. It's so interesting that even with all of Sebastien's movement and excitement it doesn't deter Kaia from her exploration.
The challenge the containers add to the sensory bin allow the children to set the pace of their exploration. They can just explore the balls (which can take awhile with all the different varieties) or be tempted to try to pull out or put in a ball.
Bryce finds the different balls feel really good on his teeth (well almost all the balls).
Theo works on getting a ball out.
I couldn't resist, it's the illusive boat. Theo really wants to crawl inside. He certainly commands the attention of the other children.
It's been amazing to watch the children really explore the environment and make new discoveries. This week I again offered the beeswax crayons and changed up the sensory bin by placing many different types of balls in to explore. What I am finding most satisfying is the children are choosing to be closer together as they explore and are beginning to interact more with one another. At one point Sebastien, Zadie, and Xavier were all "hiding" behind the peek-a-boo curtain having a great time together (Max just couldn't tear himself away from the sensory bin!). Here's a brief snippet of their joyous encounter.
There are so many discoveries that the children are making that it is hard to keep up. Max explored every ball and container with such depth and careful inspection.
He even discovered that the wooden balls made a very gratifying sound on the floor.
Every child at some point during the group session made his or her way over to the drawing area. Sebastien has been observing Xavier's writing skills because this was the first time he held and made purposeful marks with the crayons.
Xavier practiced his drawing motion and not just with the crayons.
Adding containers to the ball sensory bin gives the experience another dimension to explore. Watch as Sebastien fills and then dumps a container while Zadie deals with a wooden ball which isn't so easy to pick up.
Later Zadie tries to extract a ball from a container.
In the spirit of togetherness I had to include this last video. The "boat" is of particular interest to a few of the children. Sebastien especially likes it when others want to join him in or around the boat. As Xavier explores the boat and has a lot to tell everyone about it, Sebastien's excitement is uncontainable. He's just not quite sure what to do with himself.
