Water Play - Sink or Float?

The next five playgroup sessions will all have water as a common element. Each one will have a different spin using the water as a basis for interaction. This first session I filled the sensory bin with different types of balls, some of which sank in the water, while others floated at the top. A few types of balls even surprised me and just hovered at the surface. Water is a liquid material that can be explored in a multitude of ways - dumping, pouring, splashing, transferring, rippling, and slurping (just to name a few).

The Rope Bin

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.

Introducing Clay

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.

Friday Group - Drawing with Beeswax Crayons

After returning from a four week break I decided to introduce drawing with Stockmar beeswax crayons to get everyone reacquainted with the environment. I prefer these crayons because they are very responsive to children's movements so even the slightest pressure on paper creates a mark. I presented the children (just Kaia & Sebastien during this session) with both traditional shaped crayons (minus the paper wrapping) and rectangular block crayons. Both variations allow children to find many different ways to make a mark. From the ages 6-12 months most children explore crayons/writing utensils orally. At this oral stage of exploration, I like to simply point out when the children make a mark on the paper thus drawing their attention to what the material's purpose and how they influence it.

Since the group is becoming more mobile I also included a sensory bin (clear storage bin) full of fabric, ribbon and containers. Knowing Sebastien and Kaia both are really interested in doing laundry (basically taking clothes in and out of the laundry bin or drawers) I thought this would be very engaging.

Pom-Poms

Taking a step back from the painting, I decided to return to textiles with a twist. I presented the children with a large bin full of fluffy pom-poms and different containers. With the contact paper the children were able to experience putting down and taking off and in this experience the children could manipulate a material by putting in and taking out. I provided a variety of containers that displayed different shapes, sizes, materials of construction therefore, presenting varying challenges. This allowed the children to use the pom poms in new ways. The pom poms were also round like a ball and soft. This made for easy manipulation into mouths, containers, or the air.

Painting with Tempera Cakes

Why Tempera Cakes

As our time with exploring textiles finished, I thought a lot about what next? Clay, drawing, paint? With all the children still so oral in their explorations I felt that paint would be an appropriate next step as it has high visual impact whether applied on a canvas, a little body or in a mouth. I decided to begin by using Tempera Cakes which are solid concentrated versions of liquid tempera paint. What is so nice about tempera cakes is that you spray these with water and then paint so the color can be very vibrant and dark or wash into lighter hues. In this form the paint also dries quickly and you can continue to moisten them as the children continue to show interest. This can also sometimes result in the paint becoming a liquid form which can be splashed! Part of the draw to using tempera cakes is that there are 3 different items the children can manipulate; the cake itself, the container that holds the cake (washed single serving applesauce container), and the shaving brush. Each item in and of itself can make marks and spread paint.

Presentation of Materials

I presented the children with one canvas in the middle of the floor with a moistened tempera cake in a container and a brush with paint already on it. They could then choose how they would use the materials. I began our painting experience with the color black because it has maximum contrast and visual interest when used. By only presenting one color at a time children can focus on 1 visual variable at time. You can easily see the hand print left in the canvas or fabric imprint left from a little knee crawling across the canvas. I also chose to have the children work around one canvas to promote interactions and a sense of community knowing that the much of the exploration would only accidently end up on the canvas. The children's exploration of the materials would be the main attraction not getting the paint on the canvas.

Contact Paper

Contact paper is a medium I have used often with infants and toddlers. When placed sticky side up it allows for many different types of explorations. As children become more mobile they discover the sensation of sticking to something and when they get older the contact paper becomes an excellent medium for collage. It takes away the need for glue which can be overwhelming for a young child and yet still gives the child the freedom to stick an item down and then take it back up again if they want.

I placed the contact paper, sticky side up, on a large clear storage container lid. I purposely chose a surface that was low to the ground and could be placed on the carpet so the children could really move all around on it.

I also thought that having something big enough for several children to be around together would promote more interactions with the material and each other. Under the contact paper I placed a picture of each child in the group to entice the children to touch the contact paper. This really drew the children further to make full contact with the material.

The familiar cellophane and fabric materials were also carried over into this experience so that the children would have a chance to try manipulating them in a new way, either to pull them off or stick them down. Both on Thursday & Friday only one other child was able to join Sebastien at the playgroup but the intimate setting allowed for the children to make deeper connections to each other and the materials.

Textiles

For our second playgroup session I chose textiles as the objects to explore. With fabric, ribbon, yarn and the scratchy side of velcro I was able to present the babies with many different textures to touch, taste, see and hear. Each child could discover the properties of soft, silky, bumpy, smooth, and all the variations in between. On the backside of three pieces of fabric I sewed cellophane to add both an element of surprise and familiarity from the previous experience. My vision for this experience was to have cascading fabric descend into a mountain of textures in the middle of the children and the babies would "dive" (not actually dive but lean into) the fabric and roll in it and fling it in the air, like a child finding a big pile of fresh laundry and just can't help jumping into it. I realized very quickly with the Thursday group that the cascading and mountain of fabric was a little overwhelming and there were too many pieces to choose from. With the Friday group I put out a smaller amount of options which seemed to help the children focus their exploration.

The fabric exploration was, in general, not as flashy of an experience for the children, differing in it's initial impact. The cellophane had that "wow" factor and the fabric had a scavenger feel to it, where the children had to search for a piece that interested them. The fabric allowed for a different type of interaction, one where feeling differences brought more exploration through touch and taste. Also the varying colors allowed children to be specific in their search for a material. Both the Thursday and Friday groups really enjoyed finding the fabric with cellophane and even the two children who came for the first time and had never played with the cellophane were intrigued by the material.

Why a materials playgroup?

Materials are just one of the many tools children have to express their ideas. In the Reggio Approach there is a strong belief that children have hundreds of ways of expressing themselves. It is our job (as educators, parents, humans) to give children opportunities to become familiar with varying types of materials that allow each child to discover new ways of communicating and expressing ideas, theories, and feelings. Very early on children begin to manipulate materials/toys in an attempt to convey meaning. Take for example a young baby using a piece of fabric to play peek-a-boo. The fabric becomes a language to play with the idea of separating and rejoining. Then there is the child who uses food to paint all over his or her highchair tray, thus expressing interest in texture or signaling the meal is over. These are just a few examples of how materials become modes of expression.



I am particularly interested in the art of presenting children with provocations using different art materials ranging from fabric to clay to paint to wire (just a few of my favorite materials). By forming a playgroup I could focus on exploring materials and the interactions between the babies and their parents. Sessions together would begin with materials as the backdrop to getting to know the environment and each other. Babies could explore the materials at their own pace and interact with the material if they choose or any of the other items available. Each session would build on previous experiences . By continuing to offer materials that we explore in previous sessions the children will have time to explore materials to their fullest and then be able to access the material for deeper explorations as they grow and change.

Hundred Langugages of Children

No way. The hundred is there.

The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marvelling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.
And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.

Loris Malaguzzi
(translated by Lella Gandini)