"Weaving is too hard"

One of my goals of Materials Playgroup is to introduce materials to children and watch them create. I had grand plans for weaving and built a loom just for the children. I quickly realized that although the children had used ribbon in the past, weaving was a little too high above their zone of proximal development. What is the zone of proximal development? It is a concept developed by the social constructivist Lev Vygotsky and relates to the difference between what a child can accomplish without any help and what he or she can do with assistance. The children are still gaining the small motor development to be able to complete the task so even with a little guidance they struggled with using different kinds of ribbon to weave on the loom. I view the children as so capable and competent that I sometimes forget that certain experiences need more than just competence and interest but also the physical development to complement the other skills children already have. It became very clear (I already had the notion during their first experience) to me during Friday's playgroup that it might be better to wait on weaving for a bit when Sebastien gathered all the ribbon from the weaving area, put it in a bucket, placed it on the table and said, "weaving is too hard".

The loom will not disappear in the play space but will be placed on the wall at the children's level and I will continue to leave items next to the loom for exploration. I do want to reflect the experience back to the children by viewing photos of themselves and placing the photos near the loom to see if they are inspired to continue trying to weave.

A New Space

Since the children were 7 months old we've been meeting in my loft apartment to have playgroup. When searching to buy our first home I dreamed I would find a separate space that I could dedicate to my son, his friends, and my continued professional development. A place filled with wonder, joy, laughter, discovery, and beauty. We did find such a house and the space that was to become the playroom became a dream actualized. A space to let my creative design juices flow.

Being that this was the children's first time together in the new space I knew that the environment would take center stage. The children need time to reacquaint themselves with the space, find familiar items, and explore new ones. I did set the easels up with different writing utensils but for the most part I just sat back and watched the children explore, giving me an insight into what works, what needs to be changed or added, and where the children's interests lie. We also had two additional friends join us during the Friday session, Sebastien's cousins Addy (3 years old) and Byron (almost 10 months old). The multiage group highlighted how the space can engage children at different developmental levels.

The schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy believe that the environment in which the children spend their time discovering and learning is the "third teacher". In essence the environment is as important as the teachers themselves. The way items are displayed, where they are in proximeity to other toys or tools, how the spaces connect from one to another all influence how a child interacts with his or her surroundings. The intention is to "create communication, as well as exchanges among people and interaction between people and things in a network of possible connections and constructions" (Gandini, Hundred Languages of Children p.163) The environment should be a protagonist in discovery, leading children down new paths of exploration and providing materials to allow for deeper study and understanding about their theories of the world. The environment should also reflect children's current and growing knowledge through documentation.

The housekeeping/dress-up area was a place I wanted to expand on and provide more opportunities for pretend play, The kitchen is tucked in an alcove and the kitchen items are all displayed so that that the kitchen can actually be used without searching for food items or utensils. I also made dress-up items more visible and accessible by hanging them on hooks.

The structure serves several purposes. It is an extension of the idea of bringing the outside in. Living in San Francisco the weather can be unpredictable (especially in our new neighborhood) so I wanted the children to have a place where active play can take place. The rug is meant to look like grass, the crash pads under the climbing area are brown like dirt and the sun light fixture add to the illusion of being outside. I've also placed a crystal that shoots rainbows into the room when the light hits it in this area. I do know the value of the actual outdoors and plan to provide an environment rich with experiences that reflect the surrounding area. When we begin construction on our outdoor space I hope to use tree trunks, rocks, sand and other natural materials to create spaces for children to explore. I want them to feel like they are in a forest exploring. This is phase 2 of the new house project!

The structure is also a place for experimentation. Ropes, balls, cars, all make there way up and down the area either through the slide or pulley (not pictured, added recently). The lower area also provides a small space where children can be in pairs or alone. It also lends itself to dramatic play as the door window serves as a pass through for items being served.

The book and puzzle area also connects to the block/car/manipulatives area. Children can also access the structure area through the tunnel. This area then becomes be a little more closed in and private and yet still having sight and access to other areas of the room. On the back side of the bookshelf live the musical instruments. The large posts in the room are covered with padding and brown fabric with the intention of making them into trees someday.

The art area has been expanded to include three vertical easels, a table and materials that can both be seen and accessed easily by the children. Adjacent to the art area is the sensory bin area with close access to outside and also the welcoming area for kids and parents to place shoes, coats, bags, etc.

The middle of the room is the block/car/manipulatives area. All areas flow in and out of this area as well as all items can flow in and out of this area. The swing is another aspect of bringing the outside in but also transforms into a bed for a baby or animal. The swing also provides a calming place to take a minute to relax.

I always feel drawn to spaces that are beautiful, welcoming, and comfortable not only for children but for parents as well. When I visited the schools in Reggio back in the spring of 2004, I was struck by the visibility and transparency of the environments. The idea of seeing through and beyond. Letting materials, light, and ideas flow from one space to another. Also the idea of bringing the outdoors inside. I'm still working on bringing more natural materials into the space in meaningful ways but the entire inspiration for the space was to make it feel like the children are outside. Even when items were displayed far above the reach of children the italians would say "they have necks" they can look and let us know what they need but they need to be able to see what is possible.

All areas in the space are works in progress and as time goes on things will be added, moved, and expanded to meet the children's changing needs, ideas, and theories. Designing spaces for young children takes time and I was purposeful in the design of the space, bringing together theory and my knowledge about the children to create a space to be enjoyed by both the young and old!

Group Dynamics

The materials presented during play-group provide the backdrop for interactions among the children that are the building blocks of social and emotional development. Sometimes what one child is doing attracts another to come closer and try out a material. A child's ability to draw another child into an experience is what makes for deeper interactions and explorations by the children. As Max and Sebastien explore the pencils and markers, Theo is walking by. One excited "ohhh" by Sebastien and he pauses to come get a marker for himself. The mark that Theo makes is eventually labeled by Sebastien as a football. This is the first time that Sebastien looks at a mark and names it.

A little while later. Amy and Annelise make separate drawings of balls to draw the boys back to the drawing and away from the fact that they want to use the same ball. Fast forward to the next session and watch as Max makes a mark and then labels it a basketball. Is he remembering the incident? I find is so interesting that he uses the orange pastel to make his "basketball".


Play group is also a time to test out social norms. Sebastien and Kaia practice when to say "thank you" which in their minds is what you say after you hand someone something.



The materials also provide many opportunities for children to negotiate with one another. Watch as Kaia and Sebastien have two different ideas about what to do with the chalk and pastels.

Supporting Children's Art Explorations

What is the adult's role when children are drawing? As children begin to create and talk more, the time spent drawing increases. During this time the adult can feel somewhat useless as the child may be in his or her own world and yet still want your presence nearby. This is the perfect opportunity to start "labeling" what you see your child doing and giving him or her the vocabulary associated with drawing.

I like to begin with "I see you..." or another statement that focuses on the child's actions.

-focus on color "I see you used red, blue, and green".

-notice shapes (circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle) "It looks like you made a circle shape".

-focus on direction (back and forth, up and down, side to side, round and round) "You're moving the pencil up and down".

-look at lines (straight, spiral, swirled, zig-zag, bumpy) "You drew a line that swirls around and around".

-notice pressure used (hard, soft) "I see you pressed really hard and made a dark mark".

-observe speed "I see you moved the pen really fast".

All this observing and labeling then becomes useful later when children begin to ask for help with drawing. They will have this glossary of words they can use as their drawing becomes representational. So when your child asks "can you draw a tree for me" you can answer "let's work together to draw one. What shape is a tree (you may have to look at a tree with your child)? What lines do we need to connect to make the tree? What colors should we use (it's okay to draw a purple tree)?" And so on... this puts the child back in the position of feeling they are capable, competent and can draw anything. It also puts you in the position of assisting through observation and empowering the child by using his or her own knowledge to solve a problem.

Sebastien has internalized the motion of drawing fast.

He is also working on the motion of round and round. Watch as Max then tries out round and round for himself.

Wednesday and Friday Group - Drawing

"Scribbles are the building blocks of children's art. From the moment the child discovers what it looks like and feels like to put these lines down on paper, he has found something he will never lose, he has found art." - Rhoda Kellogg

To start our exploration of drawing utensils I wanted to bring back the beeswax crayons as a familiar material before moving on to pens, pencils, chalk, and pastels. The Wednesday group was only mildly interested in the crayons. Some children's explorations were so brief that I didn't even catch any video of them. I pondered this as I planned for the Friday groups exploration and after bouncing a few ideas off another parent decided to include pens with the crayons to see if the Friday group would spend more time scribbling. The new element of the pens did bring a new excitement to the exploration. I was thrilled to see both the pens and crayons being explored equally.

Young children's first scribbles seem meaningless and unconnected to most people but it is the action of scribbling that is the foundation of drawing. An important step in children's development of artistic abilities, scribbling is a fascinating method of expression for the young child. It can be explosive or careful, simple or complex, random or purposeful but it is exploration in its highest form. I want to highlight that scribbling is more than what it seems. In the book, The Psychology of Children's Art, Rhoda Kellogg categories 20 different types of scribbles made up of lines that are horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circular, curving, and waving. Along with the many types of scribbles there are also 17 different patterns of where children place their scribbles on a page. A dot can become an eye, a line can be connected to another line to make a shape, and a circle can be the body of a favorite animal. Each mark and the motion that is needed from the hand and arm to make the mark is the practice needed to move to the next stage of drawing, representational art.

Diagonal and Vertical Lines

Theo very lightly moves the crayon toward him and as he does so it moves in a diagonal fashion (just once). Then he gets another crayon and again move it toward his own body making a vertical line and then another vertical line as he moves it away from his body.

Spirals

Caleb makes both large and intricate circular motions with the crayons creating spirals. One of the great qualities about the square beeswax crayons it that there are many different surfaces of the crayons that can be used to make marks and Caleb utilizes them.

Back and Forth

The back and forth motion, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally creates a layered and concentrated section of color. Bryce practices this motion along with some dots.



Kaia and Sebastien also practice the back and forth motion. Kaia actually is layering different colors over one another. Using one color and then going to get another.



Overlapping Circle/Oval
Kaia carefully uses the yellow crayon to draw a large curve that then crosses back over itself making a shape that resembles a fish with a different start and end point but the curved line crosses itself creating an oval or circle shape (sort of like this _). In the background Sebastien is working on his back and forth motions.


Dot and Slash Marks
Sebastien combines a couple of scribbling techniques. He makes short dot/slash marks as well as fast back and forth movements switching colors as he goes.

Properties of Drawing Utensils

Part of the fun of drawing is also getting to know the properties of the materials. Bryce explores how to take off and put back on the pen tops. He also notices that the crayons feel different and have some give to them... they feel really good when one is teething!

Child-Initiated Sharing

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 to give a portion of (something) to another or others. 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 - to use, occupy, or enjoy (something) jointly with another or others. 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.

Friday Group - Painting with Red

When we began painting last week my intention was to paint for several weeks, starting with black and then using the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow). Even though the main mode of exploration for children 8-12 months old is through their senses (and mostly via their mouths) I always want the children to have more than one chance to get to know the properties of a material so they can begin to build their knowledge of what encompasses the material. This idea, however, was called into question as I watched the children engage in the paint for the second time.

When I worked with infants in a school setting we had a special room called the Rainbow room where most artistic explorations took place. This was a place where children could freely come to on their own accord or if brought there by us could leave to play elsewhere if they were not interested in the material. What I discovered about our playgroup is that the materials I present are in the same place where I have all the other toys set up and I usually move all the other toys off to the side of the area so the children have plenty of room to explore the materials presented. When we paint the area is transformed even more by the addition of plastic overlays to protect the carpet. When I present the children with painting although it may be intriguing, it is their only choice. It is also so encompassing that the child cannot easily transition to a new activity because they are covered in paint and usually some cleanup is needed before they are set free to explore elsewhere.

So I am left wondering, how can I structure playgroup so that children can choose to engage in an exploration? While painting might be fun and exciting to some children and they could spend a great deal of time with the material, others may not be so inclined to spend as much time or even choose to come to the material at all. Of course, the one or two minutes one child spends with a material might be all they need get what they need out of the experience. I do look towards the length of time a child engages with a material as a sign of interest and want to follow the children's interest as much as possible. This was the second week Kaia had shown me that maybe I needed to wait until all the children are mobile and can choose to come to the paint because she showed hesitation and uncertainty in the painting experience. Yet in the past she had shown tremendous concentration and interest in other materials I previously presented.

It's not that she doesn't interact with the paint as you can see in the video above, but it is the way in which she seeks her mother and withdraws from the group shortly after she interacts with the paint. Kaia is usually moving everywhere and is especially interested in Sebastien and what he's doing. They tend to play practically on top of one another.

While Kaia observed from a safe distance Sebastien and Bryce didn't waste any time exploring the red paint. Sebastien really enjoyed waving the brush but also noticed the red on his fingers and has a little taste. Behind him Bryce diligently works to get the tempera cake up off the plastic and then catches sight of Sebastien's brush waving through the air. Bryce even manages to add some red to our canvas!

Toward the end we could tell the children were beginning to lose interest in the paint and Kaia was still staying very close to her mother. Kasey suggested adding some water and ice on the plastic surface to try and reengage the children but it didn't bring on the splashy excitement we had imagined. It did however get everybody wet and washed off some of the paint.

Friday Group - Contact Paper

With the small size of the Friday Group I thought I take a moment to look closely at the children's explorations in the context of Jean Piaget's stages of cognitive development. From birth until about 18 months children learn about their world through their senses, reflexes, and physical activity. They are in what Piaget calls the sensorimotor stage of development. By manipulating materials children experiment with cause and effect and become more confident in their abilities to discover and make an impact on their surroundings.

Watch in the following video as Sebastien & Kaia work to pull up different materials from the contact paper and also use their mouths to further explore the fabric. They are both very industrious and exert a lot of physical energy in their exploration.

Children begin to categorize and reorganize information in their brains based on what they have discovered with their bodies. Ever wonder why a baby will do an activity over and over and over again? They are using their senses to unravel the mysteries of life that surround them, basically, their brains are encoding physical input from their movements and activity into information they can utilize. This is why they pull up on the unstable basket, drop an item from their high chair, or put every toy in their mouth time after time. In the following video, both Kaia and Sebastien perform actions that we have seen in the previous playgroup sessions. Kaia plays the "where's Kaia" game while Sebastien gives the velcro another taste. I found it interesting that this interaction was both children's first moments with the contact paper and that they replayed previous interactions with the materials.

Thursday Group - Contact Paper

I've had a lot of time to think & review the Thursday Group's exploration of the contact paper since we've been on a two week break and I'm finally getting to my blog entries. What I noticed most clearly about Zadie and Sebastien's interactions with the materials is that Zadie is still learning to trust me & the environment while Sebastien is uninhibited because he's in his own home and I am his mother. With this in the back of my mind as I watch and remember the interactions between Zadie & Sebastien I am drawn to the work Erik Erikson's and his Stages of Psychosocial Development. Erikson believed that for the first year of life children are in the Trust vs. Mistrust stage of development. During this stage babies are developing both the "external belief that significant adults will be present to meet the baby's needs and internal belief that they have power to effect change and cope with a variety of circumstances" (Mooney 2000, p.40). This is extremely important in the child's attachment to primary caregivers as well as in my work with them. My role is to provide a consistent and safe environment in which the children can freely explore and test their own sense of trust.

In the following video you will see Sebastien very enthusiastically engaging with the contact paper and other materials. Zadie, on the other hand, is interested and actively seeking interactions but is unsure of Sebastien's intentions and so she observes and adapts her intentions based on Sebastien.

In the following photos you will see that Zadie finally gets that yellow ribbon she was after and is actually quite excited about it. She then takes the opportunity to interact with Sebastien by giving him a little grab. Zadie then really began to trust herself, and her actions exhibited more persistence in her desires.

Even when the cellophane was hard to get off the contact paper, she kept trying to pull it up. Both her mother and I would offer assistance when needed (placing a new blue piece nearby) to help her achieve her desired task. Thus, building her trust in us to support her during challenging moments. However, she soon went back to trying to get that elusive red piece (which she was half sitting on) off the contact paper by herself. She eventually did get it but we had to subtly give her a little scoot off the cellophane.

Using the Blog with your Child

The purpose of documenting children's explorations is to benefit of both the parent and the child. I encourage families to look at and talk about the children's experiences at the playgroup, not just what I write about but also your own recollections of the time together. The basis for documenting is that the latest brain research talks about 'autobiographical memory' (that is the memory of an episode or experience - think the story of your life as seen in your mind) and that most young children have "childhood amnesia" and are not able to recall the early times in their lives (this goes for most of us). However, these experiences are not lost in the minds of our babies and the research is finding that the more a child sees, is talked to about, and is having similar experiences over and over the more likely they are to remember (encode in their brains) the experience and be able to draw new thoughts, theories, and feelings about and from the experience for future use.