What Happens When We Begin With The Child?

 Discovering a Grasshopper on the Roof

Recently at a local early childhood conference, Heather Marshall and Danielle Ficili presented an Introduction to Emergent Curriculum Workshop to their peers.  The room was packed with early care teachers eager to learn about our child-led and teacher-framed model of respecting children’s ideas, interests, questions, and lines of inquiry.   Heather and Danielle offered rich examples of the purposeful work of our McKendree children, bringing to life the philosophies touted by important theorists: Dewey, Piaget and Vygotsky.  They described the principles and practices that support child-centered curriculum:

• Observe the children
• Provision the environment
• Sustain the play
• Enrich the play
• Represent and re-represent the experience

These principles become evident as one tours our center.  In the hallways and classrooms there are photos and narratives (documentation) that “tell the story” of children’s learning.  Investigations sometimes begin slowly and emerge as children explore – for example:  the months’ long Worm Project in the Discoverers Class. Other times, projects begin serendipitously – for example, the Researchers’ new investigation on insects was spurred by the discovery of a beautiful grasshopper on the roof last week.

Often the project topic is not the real story; themes — about movement, power, sensory exploration, transformation, and other developmental schemas (those repetitive patterns and urges in children’s play) — become the driving force in the changing curriculum.  The recent explosion of interest in “sticky things” in the Explorers class is a great illustration of the transforming schema. Young children in the sensorimotor phase of learning are creating cognitive structures by exploring, discovering new textures, and acquiring new language to describe these new experiences.

Currently, you will find the Constructivitists (our Pre-K Class) researching Zen Gardens.  The children in the Investigators Class are building an interest in dinosaurs — not as a subject of study but more as a representation of “powerful and strong” animals.  And, even the older babies are actively engaged in exploration of paint and water.  These rich experiences are part of a curriculum designed especially for the children, by the children themselves.

By Cindy Ligon, Director

Recently, a mom of a three year old came to me in a bit of a panic.  “My son is obsessed with guns and yesterday he played, ‘shooting police,’” she confided.  Obviously unnerved by the theme of her child’s play, she wanted to know how we were guiding and responding to this sort of play at the center.

So, what is the best reaction?  A zero tolerance approach banning all weapon play?  A modified approach, allowing some gun play with rules and restrictions (“no shooting at people”, or “ask before you take aim.”), or an approach that allows and supports this type of play as a natural part of childhood?  To re-evaluate our position (we have always had a loose no gun-play policy), I went first to the experts – our team of early childhood educators who spend forty plus hours a week observing and interacting with young children.

I started by asking the teachers, “Why is it so appealing and of interest to children, especially to boys?” We acknowledged that weapon play is a common theme in childhood play that seems to satisfy their needs to feel strong, powerful, and in control.  We discussed the social aspect of the game – good guys vs. bad guys, the roles that can evolve as children try to determine what is good and what is bad (evil), and the fun of games that involve pursuit and capture.  We also examined the draw of “projection with power” and how there was a naturally occurring impulse to throw things (especially for boys).  All in all, we shared over fifty years’ worth of collective observations that concluded:  children (boys) like gun play.  But, we still felt uneasy.  Some of the teachers felt downright disturbed with the prospect of supporting violent play in their classrooms.

Next, we turned to the limited research on the topic.  Some studies indicated that where gun play is permitted, it tended to spike then taper off in popularity.  Another study affirmed that “aggressive”, or rough and tumble play where gun play is sometimes permitted, is linked to increased social competencies.  But still, we felt uneasy and conflicted.

After many discussions and shared emails detailing research and hypotheses, we huddled for a nap-time meeting and rather quickly agreed that we just were not comfortable openly allowing weapon play at McKendree.  However, we also agreed that we had to respect the children’s needs for power-related play through intentional activities and experiences.  We brainstormed ways to use children’s literature, The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland is a great example, to create games of chase and pursuit, and good vs. evil.  We compiled a list of topics rich with schematic play opportunities for children – giants, super heroes, magic, community helpers, and Disney characters and story lines – and vowed to thoughtfully explore these more often.  We also shared ideas for incorporating more “projection with power” experiences so as not to squelch children’s energy or impulses but to direct and channel them into positive directions.  For example, we might ask, “How about we line up some cans and knock them down with tennis balls?’, “Let’s get a hoola hoop and shoot balls through it.” Or,   “Who is up for a game of basket ball (using a laundry basket and soft balls)?”

When gun-play surfaces, we will not have a knee-jerk, corrective response but will instead ignore (if possible) and then purposefully redirect.  We are prepared to tell the children that pretending to hurt others is not safe and is therefore not allowed at our school.  Play is a tool that children use to make sense of their world.  We are committed to helping them to do this work in a safe and peaceful way.  We began with a group discussion (led by Safety Dog, our well respected ambassador of staying safe) and will continue to purposefully provide safe ways for the children to play.

At McKendree Day Care, we go outdoors for an hour each day unless we are experiencing extreme weather –a high heat index, poor air quality,  extreme cold and/or heavy rain or thunderstorms.

Last year we had an amazing 8 inch snowfall. Heavy snow blanketed our rooftop outdoor classroom, offering us hours of magical play.
National and state early childhood best practice standards recommend daily outdoor play for young children, weather permitting.  ECERS-R , the Environment Rating Scale used by TN to measure program quality explains, “Even in climates with more severe weather, children should be dressed properly and allowed to play outdoors unless there is a danger associated with outdoor exposure.”

Rules and regulations are not the only reasons that we value outdoor play during the winter months.  We believe that there are several benefits that accompany this outdoor playtime.

1. Children Can Escape Indoor Germs, Bacteria and Build Stronger Immune Systems

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). “Outdoor play in winter strengthens the immune system by allowing your child an escape from indoor germs and bacteria and helps form a resistance to allergies.”  And, “When children and adults spend a long time together in indoor spaces that are small, overheated and poorly ventilated, germs and illnesses pass easily from one person to another.” Therefore, the commonly held belief that keeping kids out of the cold will keep them healthier is not necessarily true.

2. Opportunities for Better Exercise:

According to the CDC, children should get 60 minutes of exercise every day, and exercising during the winter can be even more beneficial because larger muscles are able to get more use when children move through snow and ice. Increased exercise will help promote a better sleep cycle and can lead to children growing stronger and maintaining a healthy body weight.

3. Promotion of Problem-Solving, Imagination

A winter-scape offers children a new set of challenges to overcome, both physically and cognitively. The mud kitchen may be filled with ice and snow, the frozen garden beds provide a new landscape for play and children are forced to find alternatives to warm weather play.

4. Provides Essential Vitamin D:

According to the National Institute of Health, Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption, prevents rickets in children and prevents bones from becoming too thin or brittle. Sun exposure is an important source of vitamin D and has also been shown to improve mood

Preschoolers celebrate Mr. Vernon’s birthday with cards and gifts!

The center’s custodian, Vernon, celebrated a birthday yesterday.  Upon hearing of his big day, two of the preschool classrooms eagerly offered to make birthday cards. Small groups worked together copying the words, “Happy Birthday Mr. Vernon” on their carefully decorated cards.  Soon we noticed a new project was underway.  Blythe, Eleanor J, and Charlie each began to fill the bottom half of a page with “dots” and the top half with “designs”.  They explained that they were making “laptops” for Vernon. “He works so hard to do cleaning that we want him to have another kind of work, too.”

And so, the cards and laptops were carefully gathered and packaged and left by the janitorial closet for Vernon to discover.  He didn’t see them until he was almost done with his cleaning; he said that when he saw his name scrawled on the giant envelope he thought, “What on earth is this?”

The next morning Vernon dropped by early to say thank you.  “Those cards were the icing on the cake!” he said.  As he thanked a group of children for their thoughtfulness, Drew immediately said, “I am going to make you another card today!” The act of giving unleashes children’s innate sense of charity and compassion.  By giving to others, children receive a huge boost to their own self-esteem. They realize that they can make a difference in someone’s life.  What a gift!