Wednesday Group - Collage

The Wednesday Group was small and intimate again, with just Theo and Sebastien. I continued with the contact paper and same materials I presented last week. I did add a new item into the mix, small cut out photos of all the children who attend playgroup. This really caught the attention of Theo. He would look at each photo with intensity and concentration. Sebastien was more intrigued with identifying his friends. The following video is longer than I normally post but stick with it. There is a wonderful interchange between Theo and Sebastien's exploration of the materials. Watch as Sebastien's initial discovery of the photos prompts interest from Theo. Then Theo is still intrigued by the stickiness of the contact paper which leads to Sebastien testing the contact paper as well. The back and forth of one making a discovery and then the other making a similar discovery allows Sebastien and Theo to exchange ideas and their understanding of the material with one another. Theo also finds out that once you stick the photos down they are not that easy to get back. Once he gets up the photo in question Sebastien says, "stick" as if to remind him it's sticky.

Friday Group - Reacquainting and Collage

With four toddlers playgroup felt like it was back in full swing. Each child approached and experienced the contact paper and materials that stick on it differently. Four different perspectives experiencing the same materials and yet all getting what each needs to fully understand the materials. I can't wait to see how their experiences evolve as we spend more time with the collage materials. Theo concentrated on the stickiness of the contact paper and although he did briefly explore the other materials he kept coming back to feel the "sticky" paper.

Sebastien continued his exploration of sticking items to the contact paper. He was more purposeful in his placement of the paper cut outs and mylar during this playgroup.

Kaia wasn't too sure of the contact paper so she concentrated on the collage materials. If you watch the very beginning of the above video again, you'll see Kaia collecting the tissue paper pieces and giving them to her mother. When she did touch the contact paper she would make an unsure face and go back to the other materials. In the following video, Kaia returns to the table to discover the cellophane which she again shares with her mother. Kasey names the material for her as she expresses some intrigue with it. Kaia is expressing herself verbally with such astute understanding of the world. This makes her exploration more transparent in it's intention. As she tries to remove another piece of cellophane from the contact paper it rips creating a little piece which she gives to her mother. Again, Kasey observes and states what Kaia has done, "did you get a little piece?". Kaia goes back to get the rest and when she does she states "big piece". Wow! Not only does she understand the concept of opposites but that subtracting a small piece from a whole piece leaves one with a bigger piece.

In true Bryce fashion he came to the contact paper after he had explored the rest of the room and like Kaia, he focused his attention on the collage items. The cellophane and paper cut outs were of particular interest. Bryce took the time to get to know the materials more closely by not only touching but by pulling and dropping them as well.

Wednesday Group - Reacquainting and Collage

Knowing it had been a month and a half since the children have been at playgroup I thought it would be nice to return to some familiar materials and begin to use them in new ways. When the children were about 8 months old we explored contact paper sticky side up. At that time the experience was more geared toward understanding the material with one's whole body. During this next 5 week session we will be exploring collage first through using contact paper and later through glue. I presented the children with some materials to stick on the contact paper that were familiar (cellophane, strips of ribbon and mylar) and a few new materials (tissue paper and pre-cut paper shapes). I displayed the materials in clear containers with them each grouped together by type of material.

With the addition of some fun, new Christmas gifts I thought the environment might engage the children's interest more than the collage experience. This was the case for Max, while Sebastien, who lives in the playgroup space, spent some time working with the collage materials. Sebastien also made an surprising connection while sticking the materials on the contact paper. In the beginning he was content to stick the different materials down, even practicing the word "stick" with each piece of mylar he put on the contact paper.

After a few minutes, it was like a light bulb went off and he walked, very purposefully, over to his easel which is also magnetic. He then picked out one of his magnets, brought it over to the contact paper and stuck it down. He did this several times. Of all the items in his play space to choose from I wonder why he chose the magnets? Did he make the connection that magnets also stick to certain surfaces?

The exploding language development and daily development of new skills makes working with toddlers fascinating. One of the skills toddlers are developing is the art of negotiation. In the next video clip you will see Sebastien ask Max to push him in the stroller simply by saying Max's name and patting the handle of the stroller. Max isn't so sure so he offers him a ball. Then Max gets a chance to explore the stroller by himself. A little while later he does give Sebastien a short ride but Max decides he wants a turn of his own.

Gift Making

Painting usually occurs on one large canvas and is a collective effort. This creates a wonderful sense of community but sometimes it is nice to have an individual representation of your own. During the two December sessions I provided the families with the opportunity to paint on surfaces that they would like to take home. With the holidays fast approaching these little treasures would make wonderful gifts.. For the Wednesday Group I presented the painting a little different. Knowing that Caleb is really into trains I used a flat try full of paint with a few trains. This really grabbed his attention and connected something familiar (trains) with something he is still unsure of (paint). The other children enjoyed them as well. The Friday Group was enhanced by Kaia's presence and she found the glitter gold paint particularly interesting. I just thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from the last two weeks.

How many boys can fit on one step?