Transition Troubles

Every community of little learners has a couple of Herbie Blockbuilders who find it very difficult to move from one room to another, one activity to another, or one center to another. I call these guys Herbie Blockbuilders. Herbie is a kid who never leaves the Construction Center. Know your Herbies and prepare yourself, the environment, and Herb. Ask yourself: Is it Him? Is it Me? and What Do I Do?

Is it Him? – Yes, most of time it is. Herbie refuses to move for a number of reasons. He is comfortable. He is enjoying his strengths. He may be in a stage of obsessiveness ( Two) or he may even have some symptoms of OCD, but this is not your job to diagnose. He may be reluctant to leave his work for fear of it being taken, removed, or changed. Any of these may be what’s happening, but no matter what his reason,

HERBIE IS NOT ‘JUST STUBBORN’, so please do not label him that or call him that!

Is it Me or the Environment? – Could be, if your schedule is so tight that Herbie doesn’t have the time he needs to feel ready to move; if your day to too packed with ‘extra’ classes in other locations (Art, Music, Second Language, etc.); or if your expectations for Herbie’s attention span are not on target. Normal birth to 8 year-old attention spans can be from 30 seconds to five minutes per year of age, but some children can focus for a very long time if their needs are being satisfied.

What Do I Do? – Know who your Herbie is and immunize by giving him warnings that he has 5, 4, 3, 2, and then 1 minute to move. Use a timer or the clock (that great inanimate object meanie that we use by saying, “Oh, Herb. So sorry. The clock says it’s time for. . .”) Give him some ownership and decision-making options by telling him he may choose to move by himself, or you will be glad to help him (taking his hand and moving him along). Give him a job!!! “We cannot go to the playground without our Line Leader, Door Holder, Light Checker, etc.”

We want Herbie to experience a variety of learning opportunities, so the best and most appropriate and intelligent way to do this is to bring the learning to Herbie whenever practical. Vary the materials and tools in the area he is ‘stuck’ in. Use his interest and strength in Construction to introduce literacy (put books in the Blocks); math (count, measure, sort, and compare the Blocks); science (weigh, study the texture, put the construction materials in various media like water, sand, beans, and mud); and social studies (constructing bridges, tunnels, buildings and environments alone or in group projects).

Try never to demean Herbie’s learning style. See his ability to focus as a strength to be used to build need.

 

Trying to do a series of blogs giving suggestions to teachers who have questions about particular behaviors and situations. Here’s one on the Don’t Want To’s. Next time we’ll talk about the Herbie Blockbuilders and the Wanna’ Go Homers.

Every day there are children who are not eager participants in the wonderfulness you have planned for them. It seems no matter how creative your inviting provocations and learning experiences, how much fun other children are having, or how much you know these children would enjoy joining in, they simply won’t budge.

These discerning little people come in three different categories, but we have to ask ourselves the same question about all of them: Is it him? Is it me and/or the environment I’ve created? What can I do for this child?

For the Don’t Want To’s:

Is it Him? – Most of the time it is just this child and not your classroom aura. He may be going through a perfectly normal stage of separation anxiety or discomfort (18 mos., two and a half, three and a half, or 5 years). He may have had a bad preschool, daycare, or nursery experience in the past. His personal preference for handling life may be to wait until he is thoroughly comfortable before jumping in – this is part of his personality – what we all get from both our genetics and our environment. He may be naturally hesitant.

NOT SHY!!! Please do not label him “shy”. Do not call him “shy” or “stubborn” or any of those things. NOT FAIR and NOT RIGHT!

Is it Me or the Environment? – Usually not, but there are children who are legitimately fearful of crowds, noise, and over stimulation. There are also children who are put off by the ‘teacher rush’ – a well-meaning adult who rushes and gushes with a flowery sing-song voice thinking it will encourage an uninterested child to participate.

What Can I Do? – Gently take his hand and walk this child around the room so he can see what might appeal to him. Observe his face for signs of interest. Try not to compare him to the others by saying, “See? Look at Herbie! He loves the blocks”, but simply state the facts. “Herbie is building a castle. Annie is working with clay.” Always have some quiet one-man/one-puzzle type activity for children like this. Talk to his parents to see what catches his attention at home and see if he’d like something similar.

Be patient. Some of us are divers and some of us like to put a toe in the water first.

When one or two children refuse to: participate, transition to another activity, follow directions, fuss, complain, or tantrum, we look at the children individually to figure out what the problem is and how to resolve it (see “What Do I Do When. . . ?”).

But, when half or more of your children display these behaviors, on a weekly or daily basis, Captain, My Captain, It’s You.

What Do I Do? – Take a good look at the three aspects of your classroom environment.

Physical Environment

• Cleanliness – organized chaos is fine; chaotic organization is not
• Good Lighting, Air & Temperature – physically comfortable?
• Space – too many kids for a too tight space? 35 square ft. per child!
• Safety – arrangement of furniture; traffic patterns; too much stuff?

Emotional Environment

• You – warm, friendly, smiling, laughing, listening, making eye contact, playing, respectful, know & say their names correctly, respect families & culture
• Your “Rules” – Values of good health & nonviolence; Modeling of behaviors; Appropriate expectations and consequences; Noticing ‘good’ more than ‘bad’ ( see the VMAN system of behavior management in past blogs)
• Your Team – a sense of community (Mrs. B.’s Bees) including parents, children, & you; a warm, polite, professional sharing aura among coworkers; OPEN COMMUNICATION

Educational Environment

• DAP     DAP     DAP     DAP     DAP   in every aspect of work & play with children
• Process Over Product and Pressure – it is ALWAYS the learning process and NEVER the test score, big red X on the worksheet, color-in-the-lines art, “right” answer, or cross-cross applesauce sitting that is important in your classroom
• Practice Over Purchase – it is more important to spend time interacting with your children than spending money on cute, pretty, post-on-Pinterest provocation products
• Is It Fun to Come Here? – and if it’s not always “fun”, is it interesting, stimulating, exciting, safe, and comfortable?
• Work – does every child have a job every day so he feels part of the community?
• Learning Methods – do the children learn by Moving; Exploring with their Senses; Manipulating Materials; Constructing, Destructing & Reconstructing; Role Playing; and Expressing themselves through facial expression & gesture, spoken word, art, music, drama, dictation, and written word (when ready)?
• SARA – are there daily opportunities for child Selection of work/play/materials; a schedule that allows plenty of time for hands-on, gross and fine motor Action; moments and ways to Reflect and recall and reinforce learning; and opportunities for Application of the learning to repeated or brand new use? 

If your physical, emotional, and educational environments are in order, you will have fewer moments of rough waters, more smooth sailing, and you might even find some hidden treasure mongst yer swabbies!

 

 

 

I’ve Got Good News and Bad News – Neither of it New News

First, the good – there is a wonderful, welcome, outstanding trend in Early Education that is definitely not new, but still terrific. It is the return to play-based, child-centered, developmentally appropriate practice; the increase in the number of outdoor and forest schools; the use of ‘loose parts’; and the increase in programs incorporating the excellent aspects of Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, and Inquiry and Challenge-based curricula.

And now the bad – there is this foolish, misguided and just plain wrong philosophy/practice taking place simultaneously in US schools of creating educational goals for learning and behavior that are not in line with what we know to be true about child development; setting young children up for failure by disallowing the very methods they use to achieve high quality learning; and then expecting the children to attain these goals and their teachers to measure their progress by use of standardized tests. 

So, What Do We Do?

First, you must believe, live by, and insist on the philosophy that each child from birth to age 8, be allowed and encouraged to use these six methods of learning on a daily basis:

1. Movement of his body
2. Exploration with his senses
3. Manipulation of a huge variety of raw, natural, and manmade materials
4. Construction, destruction, and reconstruction
5. Role playing through imitation and imagination
6. Self expression through facial expression & gesture, spoken word, art, music, drama, dictation, and written word

All of these are PLAY and all of them result in quality learning!

And Then:

• Set developmentally appropriate educational goals (I call them Strength Expectations)
• Create a physical and emotional environment that encourages play (see 1-6, above)
• Let the children play (see 1-6, above) while you join in to supervise for safety; offer facts or language as needed; and ask open-ended questions like ‘what if’? ‘how did you’? and ‘what do YOU think’?
• Observe the play
• Recognize learning when you see it
• Document the learning by photo, samples of saved work, & notes for a portfolio
• Compare your observations & notes to your stated educational goals (Strength Expectations)

Voila! Learning Measured.

 

Loose Parts

Using Loose Parts as educational material is not new. Preschool teachers have been junkyard scroungers for 50 years. We’ve been collecting potty paper tubes, wood scraps, kitchen utensils, yards of fabric, pieces of plastic, nuts, bolts, leaves, twigs, and ‘stuff’ for use in the classroom for a long, long time.

What is new is the return to the fact that one-use plastic toys and worksheets do not give children the opportunities for choice, creativity, and REAL learning – and that realization IS a great thing.

(REAL learning is learning that contains SARA – Selection, Action, Reflection, and Application. It is child-initiated or child-chosen; it is active; it can be reinforced by reflection through words, drawings, pretend, song, dance, and even print; and it can be applied to ‘old’ and new uses).

Young children learn best by:

• Movement
• Sensory Operations
• Manipulation
• Construction (and destruction)
• Role Play
• Expression

The best way for us to give our children opportunities to use these methods is to offer them open-ended experiences with loose parts – both natural (stones, twigs, leaves, gravels, etc.) and manmade or man-tweaked (blocks, beads, nuts, bolts, keys/locks, food containers/lids, and the like).

As they move, feel, manipulate, build, pretend, and talk, draw, and write about their play with loose parts, the children will develop the skills of intelligence, language-literacy, math, science, social studies, fine motor, and social-emotional wholeness they need for success in school and in life.

Finding Loose Parts – Though nuts are great examples of Loose Parts, you don’t have to go nuts collecting Loose Parts. You do not have to go to the store and buy stuff to use as loose parts. You do not have to go on Pinterest and see ‘pretty’ arrangements of loose parts. Here’s an easier way: ask your parents to save ‘stuff’ – give them a list; take your kids outside and watch as they collect stuff that interests THEM; make sure your loose parts are safe for the children; and use your store-bought materials (legos, duplos, Lincoln logs, counters, blocks, & builders – all those “manipulatives” you’ve already got – and let the children use them as loose parts with open-ended, creative, wacky, ugly, ORIGINAL intention.

Loosen Up!