Growing up in a home
daycare in the early 90's, my mother always had the silliest, messiest, and
sometimes loudest, hands-on activities. This was very different from some of
the other environments provided for children around this time. Much of the
time, the activities were set up for the children based on what their interests
were that particular day. I can remember one day, my mom wore a tie-dyed shirt
that she had made the weekend before and 3 of the children showed interest in
the colors and patterns. That day, my mom took out all of the big white
t-shirts that my dad didn't wear anymore and all of the materials to create
tie-dyed shirts with us children. Twenty years later, and I will never forget
that learning experience because it was something I was interested in that
moment.
Families would
sometimes cringe when they would arrive early to pick up their child if we were
in the middle of one of these 'outlandish' activities. Seeing play dough
sprawled across the tables (and floors), water and sand being splashed and
mixed in sensory tables, or hearing loud banging from pots and pans sent some
families running for the hills. The cringe factor of families almost always
came from the fear of the children learning a new unacceptable behavior or the
children ruining the house because, let's face it, these activities were always
VERY messy! This is sometimes also the result of society’s impression of what teaching young children should be about. Explaining to families and educators that hands-on, child-centered activities
were going to influence their child's social-emotional skills, physical
development, and understanding of the world around them was sometimes
impossible, especially in the 90's. Today, there are more resources for parents
and educators explaining the importance of child-directed play, but we are
still experiencing the same concerns from families.
A Q&A session with an online author from the National Association for Educating Young Children
(NAEYC) suggests, "One way to help parents appreciate the importance of
play is to encourage them to observe in the classroom and to share anecdotes
with them about the 'academic' learning that happens in play situations"
(Epstein, 2011). Adults have the
opportunity to facilitate activities that children will enjoy when they observe
the interest the child takes in the world around them. Experiences become more
meaningful and new concepts, social rules, and critical thinking can be learned
when adults provide open-ended questions, new vocabulary, and most importantly,
patience and consideration of the child's interest.
Yesterday, Annalit,
Aria, and I decided we would have a day together. I brought with me a huge box
of quartz and other various rocks I had gathered for a previous rocks and
minerals activity for the Space Center. Aria collects seashells, rocks, and
other natural materials from outdoors so I decided I would bring some over for
her and she could help put them back into the wild on a hike. As many of you know, plans
including children almost always change, and Aria was ready for a nap by the
time I came over. When she awoke, we decided that we would stay home and
explore the rocks instead.
If we take a closer
look at the activities that Annalit and I provided, we can observe the different
learning experiences that took place within their home.
Painting Rocks:
Above we can see Aria
working on her self-helps skills as well as her fine motor development. She is
developing her self-help skills when challenging herself to difficult feats as
well as fine motor dexterity when she practices opening and closing the paint
bottles. Here are
some other everyday activities to help influence children's self-help
and fine motor skills.
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| Attempting to fit paintbrushes into paint containers |
Shortly after this
picture was taken, Aria showed frustration when she couldn't fit a large
paintbrush into the opening of a paint container. This would be a perfect
opportunity for adults to ask open-ended questions to get children to
critically think. Annalit asked Aria if she knew why the paintbrush wasn't
fitting into the opening and what we could do to fix this. When Aria still
showed frustration, Annalit took the time to help her find materials to get the
paint from one container into another, using full sentences to explain what she
was doing and why. Annalit is modeling problem solving skills, spatial
reasoning, language development, and self-coping mechanisms for her daughter
when she takes the time to understand, explain, include, and model appropriate
techniques for Aria so that they may diminish uncomfortable situations
appropriately.
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| Aria's switched interest from painting to bubbles |
If the child's interest
changes, don't fret! The interest is more important than the activity. Although
it is important to help challenge children to be persistent when an activity
becomes difficult, an adult can take this opportunity to understand if the
child is having trouble with the activity or if they are just not interested
anymore. Adults show children that they care about their curiosity and interest
when they follow the child's cues instead of taking them away from a new
important learning experience.
Shortly after this photo was taken, Annalit asked Aria if she wanted to wash the rocks with soapy bubbles. Annalit took into consideration Aria's new interest in blowing bubbles and included her previous interest of painting/observing rocks.
Setting up Activities:
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| Aria helping fill water into the table |
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| Providing the soap for the rock bath |
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| Learning the science behind bubbles through guidance and experience |
Children can miss a
multitude of learning experiences when adults set up activities alone. Let’s
take a closer look at what Aria learned when we included her in the process of
setting up the next activity:
1. She learned the steps that go into setting up the
activity when Annalit and I explained everything we needed for the next
activity and we guided her through the steps of setting it up.
2. She worked on her gross motor development when
helping carry large pots of water to the table outside.
3. She worked on learning new scientific concepts
when she was guided through making the bubbles, using her hands to swish
back-and-forth, forcing air into the water to create them.
4. She can learn rules and safety such as where we keep the water (no splashing mommy or Sarah) or why we walk when around water.
We can see that she was enjoying herself as the
bubbles appeared, leaving a potentially lasting memory and new neural
connections.
Washing/Exploring Rocks in Water:
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| Exploring the physical properties of water |
Adding various materials to water such as cups, strainers, rocks, containers, spray bottles, and/or sponges can create opportunity for children to learn about volume, buoyancy, mass, and the dynamics of liquid. This is also a great opportunity for adults to include new vocabulary for children as well as opportunity for dramatic play, fine motor dexterity, and social/emotional development.
Here is a resource with some tips for water play!
"It becomes imperative, now more than ever, to better understand the role of fathers in child development and child outcomes. Generalizing the effects of mother involvement as representative of the effects of overall parent involvement threatens the veracity of the conclusions that can be drawn from such work. This tendency also disregards the growing body of research that demonstrates that fathers uniquely contribute to their children’s development as distinct from the contributions of mothers" (Harris, 2010).
Fathers are just as much a part of the learning process as mothers and when included, fathers can provide an array of learning experiences a mother may not provide. The importance of attachment cannot be stressed enough in the learning process and our parents are our primary attachments from the get go, unless specific circumstances arise.
Aria's father comes home from work to find us playing on the front porch. He takes the time to play with Aria and show interest in what she is learning. Aria can see that her father cares about her curiosity and that he wants to be involved in her world.
As we have read, many windows for development emerged with only a few activities provided. Overall, we can see that learning opportunities are always present and when we take the time to see them as learning opportunities we can help children unfold an understanding of the world around them.
What are your thoughts
and concerns in male involvement, child-centered play, and adult inclusion? Feel
free to leave any comments, questions, and/or concerns!
This is promoting fine motor development when picking up the pieces of paper (which tended to
cling to the table due to static), as well as when he presses the pieces down.
