STEM GAMES and STRATEGIES for CHILDREN

THINKING LIKE DaVINCI

Hello and welcome to today's blog. For those who haven't met me, I'm Enrique, the founder of the F.A.M.E. Foundation and a performing artist who's passion includes working directly with preschool children, their teachers and parents.

Recently, I presented at the state conference for Science teachers in Arizona with one of our partnering organizations, Arts Integration Solutions.  In the room were preK, elementary, middle and high school teachers.  What I shared with them, I'm now sharing with you.

SCIENCE!  ENGINEERING!  MATH!  Oh My!!!

Have you ever thought it would be so cool to help young children think scientifically, explore the world of engineering, and to have a desire to play with math?  I used to think about it that way and then I found ways of actually doing it!  The key is engaging children's desire to MOVE!

STEP 1

NOTE: Let each step happen over a period of time.  Perhaps over a day or two, a week or even more.  Rushing through these steps doesn't create as much depth of learning.

Show the children an image like the one below and ask them... 

WHAT DO THEY SEE?  Honor all the things they see and help them recognize:

• lines
• curves
• shapes

In a group on a carpeted area ask your children to become... 

a LINE!

• Ask them if they can make different kinds of lines.
• When the lines begin to move, and they will, playfully ask them to HOLD THE ENERGY of a LINE!
• If you've built enough community and trust in your classroom, ask the children to create lines in small groups of 3 or 4 children

STEP 2

Show the children an image like the one below and ask them...

WHAT DO THEY SEE?  Honor the various responses you receive and help them recognize:

• lines
• curves
• shapes

In a group ask the children to become... CURVES!

• Ask them to become curves in different ways, using different parts of their body.
• When the curves begin to move, and they will, playfully ask them to HOLD THE ENERGY of a CURVE!
• If you've built enough community and trust in your classroom, ask the children to create curves in small groups of 3 or 4 children

STEP 3

Show the children an image like the one below and ask them...

WHAT DO THEY SEE?  Honor the various responses you receive and help them recognize:

• lines
• curves
• shapes

In a group ask the children to become... SHAPES, like squares, circles and triangles!

• Ask them to become shapes in different ways, using different parts of their body.
• When the shapes begin to move, and they might, playfully ask them to HOLD THE ENERGY of their SHAPE!
• If you've built enough community and trust in your classroom, ask the children to create shapes in small groups of 3 or 4 children

STEP 4

In a group ask the children to become... SHAPES that MOVE!

Try this both individually and in groups.

Guide the children in exploring:

• What they call turning or spinning and an engineer or scientist might call "Rotate."
• What they call getting bigger and what the world of science may call "Expand."

In case you're being asked to connect your work with children to the early learning standards, here's some helpful information.  It is possible to do that and still honor the sense of organic play which we all know is not only appropriate, but also needed in our world of education.

Cheers!

Enrique

Academic Connections:

STEM Standards of Practice

Interpret and Communicate Information from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

• Apply appropriate domain-specific vocabulary when communicating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics content.

National Engineering Standards

• Students will understand that structures have more than one process, and more than one part.

• Students will be able to design an object (system) to meet specific needs (ways in which object can move and function).

Arts standard(s):

National Arts Education Association (The Kennedy Center)

Dance, Grade K - 4 (also applicable to PreK)

Standard 1 - students will be able to identify and demonstrate movement elements.

National Arts Education Association (The Kennedy Center)

Dance, Grade K - 4 (also applicable to PreK)

Standard 2 - students will understand choreographic principles, processes, and structures

Ready for kindergarten: author notes

With the start of school for most of the "big kids" right around the corner, it is not unusual for parents of children entering their prekindergarten year to go ahead and start thinking now what they will need to do to make sure their child is ready for kindergarten...

In this post, Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed., the author of Ready for Kindergarten! answers a few questions commonly asked when discussing her book so you can see how her book can be just the resource you need to get your child off to a great start in kindergarten when the first day of school comes back around next year!

Who is Ready for Kindergarten! written for?

Ready for Kindergarten! was written primarily for parents of preschool age children as a source of support for things they can do at home to help their child prepare for kindergarten. It is filled with simple tips that include a broad range of developmental and academic areas of readiness.  

Is your book a good resource for preschool and prekindergarten age teachers?

My book is an excellent resource for preschool and prekindergarten age teachers to have on hand as a refresher of the kinds of things they can be doing in the classroom as well as a valuable resource to share with parents. Many teachers highlight specific topics or passages in the book to share with parents at parent/teacher meetings or conferences.

My child already knows how to write his name and can even read simple books, so what else is there to worry about?

Keep in mind that you aren't just sending your child's brain to kindergarten but you are sending your whole child which includes the top of his head all the way down to the tips of his fingers and toes. Kindergarten readiness includes social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development which can sound complex but in my book, I have simplified the information so that it is not overwhelming but still comprehensively covers all areas of development.

My child is in preschool so isn't getting my child ready for kindergarten the teacher's job?

As good as your child's teacher may be, the reality is your child's teacher only has a limited amount of time to give your child all the experiences, support, and information he will benefit from in preparing for kindergarten.  Your child spends far more time at home than in preschool and you (as the parent) are the greatest influence on your child's interests, abilities, skills, attitudes, and overall readiness for kindergarten. As you invest time now in supporting and enhancing what your child is learning in preschool, you will be developing the critical practice of being an involved parent in your child's education both now and in the years to come...

Will your book give me step-by-step instructions on how to prepare my child for kindergarten?

As much as I wish there were a secret step-by-step recipe for kindergarten readiness, it is important to know that every child is unique in their abilities, interests, personality, skills, and development. Sure, there are some similarities among preschool age children but to prepare your child for a truly successful experience in kindergarten, it is important to tap into the unique individual your child is. So to answer this question; this book covers a broad range of skills that your child will need in clearly defined categories and subtopics. Your child will be developing many of the skill areas simultaneously rather than one step at a time and Ready for Kindergarten! focuses on the amazing, real, and broad range of growth and development that will be taking place throughout the time leading up to kindergarten.

How can I find out more about your book?

Ready for Kindergarten! is available through many online bookstores such as Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. If you view the book through the online distributors you will see that they have posted an amazing amount of details about what is included in my book. You can see the book along with many more details on Amazon by clicking the photo below...

 

Click here to see the book on Amazon!

You can also visit me over at Teach Preschool to learn a little bit more about my book!

Why did you write this book?

I have over 30 years of experience as an early childhood educator and so when Adams Media contacted me to put together a book for parents, I was excited about the challenge of taking all those years of experience of working with preschool and prekindergarten age children and putting them in one comprehensive but simple-to-follow book.

What would be the most important message you hope your book conveys to parents as they help their child prepare for success in kindergarten?

I will have to give you two....

1. That the most important gift you can give your child is a love for learning and the confidence to try.
2. To remember that your prekindergarten or preschool age child isn't in kindergarten yet so celebrate your child's progress by meeting him where he is at and save the kindergarten experience for kindergarten!

Visit Deborah on Teach Preschool!

Visit Deborah on Teach Preschool on Facebook!

"W" Sitting Alternatives: Needs + Rationale

What is “W” sitting?

Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

Gibbs Consulting, Inc.

“W” sitting occurs when children sit on the floor with their legs bent in the shape of a “W”. Observe your students today and see how they sit on the floor at school and home. Do they sit in the “W” position?

            

Why do children “W” sit?

Children may develop a habit for “W” sitting as a way to establish increased stability in their bodies when they cannot assume and maintain the criss-cross (tailor) sitting position. Unfortunately, “W” sitting compromises knee and hip joint positioning, inhibits trunk stability needed for sitting, and may impact the development of proficient hand skills. 

What should teachers and parents do when a child is a “W” sitter?

Teachers and parents should gently, but firmly discourage “W” sitting. I recommend allowing a variety of sitting positions especially if kiddos are struggling or have pain sitting in the criss-cross position. All of the following positions support healthy joint development and learning.

Recommended Sitting Positions:

1.      Long Sit (legs straight out in front of torso)

2.      Side Sit (legs bent and tucked to one side)

3.      Lying on Tummy (propped up on elbows) 

            
4.      Lying on Back (propped up on elbows)

5.      Sitting on a small to medium-sized ball with feet connected firmly with the ground is a fun way to sit and gain coordination at the same time.

We should expect young children to move in and out of positions when sitting on the floor - that is natural and the way kids stay alert and learn to manage their bodies in space. Just as one size does NOT fit all, one sitting position will never accommodate the sitting needs of all children. Young children learn best when their bodies are safely and comfortably positioned. When you support a variety of appropriate sitting positions, you are setting all children up for success!

Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

Write Out of the Box

Note-from-the-editor: This is very significant insight and often "unknown" by parents. Would you please help pass the word by 'pinning' from this post? Your pin is the most direct way to circulate this information to a wider group. Please share directly with those that you have the opportunity to impact. Thanks for your support of behalf of developing children everywhere. ~~ Debbie 

New Year Plans, Opportunities and Cyber Store

HAPPY NEW YEAR INDEED!!!!

TIME TO CELEBRATE! 

A new year gets underway in earnest today, refilling everyone's resolve to start fresh, making commitments to better choices, greater organization and new launches! 

CHEERS!!

I have a HUGE announcement to make!

Today marks a big-start indeed! 

Let the old waves roll out to sea and a whole new blank slate appear ~~ fresh + available for opportunity. 

From the very beginning of the inception of this blog, my driving enthusiasm was to bring excellence in the field to greater visibility, offering support and encouragement in the process. We make continual progress on that front by increasing readership here and inviting an ever wider slate of authors to contribute. 

Today marks a new day indeed! DRUMROLL>>>>>>>
PreK+K Sharing has now launched our own dot com for resources. We have our very own sweet, super cyber-store! We have just this morning cut the cyber-ribbon and opened our............. 

EARLY EDUCATION EMPORIUM

EEE is a gathering spot under one big polka-dotted umbrella for resources of all sorts! Books in every format and focus: professional, picture and e-style, CDs, DVDs, parent support materials, and digital products are already gathered together for your centralized shopping. 

Our authors here at the collaborative blog and some of our bestest friends have worked together to open up shop under one cooperative umbrella. By working together we plan to shine light on each other's projects and products and gain greater visibility for all in the process. EXCELLENCE! That's what its been about from the very beginning. 

As I type we already have our first dozen early adopter shop keepers and over 40 products gathered under one roof: EEE!!! I'm betting that by the end of the day we have oodles more, with new additions arriving day-by-day all week long. 

There are numerous surprises up our sleeve for door prizes for our early customers. What do you suppose will happen with our 13th sale in the year 2013? What if YOU are LUCKY number #2013 to make a purchase? I know you'll be happy if we contact you with the news that you are the fortunate one to support the excellent endeavors of your peers!! There are give-aways, thank-yous, surprises and rewards up our sleeves. 

What can you do to help? 

• Come over to the EEE and take a look around!
• Come back often to see what's been added.
• Shop to your hearts content ~~ we're built to accept credit cards.
• Tell your friends!
• Consider opening your own emporium-shop under our umbrella! (Special incentive plan offered NOW! Get up to 6 months of listings for FREE! Free to have your own shop set up thru June 30th.)
• Pin our umbrella image above to your fave-o board. I wonder what the 113th pinner will receive? 
• Tweet the news. Send it out in Google +, Sulia.... Use hashtag #EarlyEducationEmporium for a chance to win!
• You get the idea: BANG THE DRUM!! JOIN THE PARTY!!

Getting Organized for the New Year? Look no further!!

***If you came over today in search of organization ideas, we have them from many perspectives. Our #5th read article of all time was FILLED with links to organizational ideas, click here to see all of those ideas. Deanna Jump's sense of humor is chronicled here as she battles back the stuff that makes for shrieking into a system for success. Kaci Hoffer has a year's worth of insight there. Pam Bergman shares her secrets for keeping all of those felt storyboard pieces just where you need them at this click. 

***If you're determined to start the new year thinking on health issues and searching for insight into the epidemic on childhood obesity, I gathered statistics and resources in this article exactly a year ago. If you need a coach to outline your own personal health goals, seek out our own Dr. Ellaine Miller's insight here and there. Or look to Rachel Suppala's journey to health in this personal article.  




***This has been a BIG year for me on so many levels. In addition to now holding the keys to the front door of our EEE, just a couple of weeks ago I cemented my own professional milestone by delivering my first NATIONAL keynote. Yes. Debbie did Dallas. I spoke for the Annual Parent Institute for the National Head Start Association. 

Heart-felt Empowerment for Goal Reaching

If you're looking for an article on making your dreams come true, particularly when they seem to be taking for-ev-er to materialize, you'll wanna take a look at my insight, over at RainbowsWithinReach. It's a heart-felt letter of encouragement. I've been told its appropriate to have a tissue near-by, particularly if you've ever dealt with the "MeanGirlsClub." 

But if what you REALLY need for tomorrow are some ideas for winter-time projects, I just gathered together one of my famous seasonal RoundUPs over at my place. You're just a click away. There are five different winter bulletin boards awaiting your selection.
 
Dreams really do come to fruition. It takes willingness. It takes time. It takes perseverance. It takes baby steps. I can't wait for the 2014 report, twelve months hence. How many store-fronts will be under our polka-dot umbrella by that point in time? How many products? We should start a poll now!!! Thanks for being part of it all. Thanks for your support and encouragement. Leaving a comment of congratulations, might just enter you into one of our 13 contests. Go ahead. Help us spread the word! 

-- Debbie --

P.S. Forever and for always the link to our Emporium will be that tab on the far right, at the top of the blog!

This article is the very first to be added to Denise's very first Show & Tell Tuesday!

Perspective: a KEY in guiding our children

PERSPECTIVE, RISK and EMBODIMENT

Happy November from Enrique!

When Galileo figured out that earth was not at the center of our universe, it was a shift in perspective that led him to that discovery.  When we think about many of the important discoveries in our world, perspective is an important part of that journey.  When we observe children, if we can observe them with a child-like sense of wonder, we can use questions to frame what they are either already doing and/or guide them in new discoveries of their own.  BUT FIRST... we need to remember how to play, learn, and live like children ourselves.  Enjoy this first video of adult early childhood educators modeling exactly that as they shift their perspective related to becoming curves with their bodies.

This second video is an example of adult learners taking the lines and curves they've been making and becoming academic vocabulary such as:

• Rotate
• Expand
• Intersect
• Contract
• and more!

Think "Using play and our bodies to connect to academic learning (Common Core English Language, STEM) and social-emotional growth simultaneously!

The previous videos and the following images of adult educators becoming lines, curves and shapes with their bodies is a form of developmentally appropriate and play-based engineering games for preschool and kinder-age children.  This Arts Integration strategy that has been used with thousands of young children.  

What do you see in these images?  Curves, Lines, Shapes?  How many things can we make with our body.  The Art of Embodiment; creating that which we are learning about with our body.

In addition to the shapes, educators at the 2012 Evolved Learning Retreat worked in small breakout groups and began to add engineering vocabulary to their shapes.  Can you imagine how they might have been moving? 

Perhaps some were rotating?  Others elongating?  Some expanding?  So many options and so many potential answers and the use of both linear and abstract thought, all in a play-based approach!

From 2001 - 2004, the F.A.M.E. Foundation conducted research by observing young children.  The results were incredible.  If you want to see those results, you can find them in the book "Living Like a Child."

What emotion(s) would be associated with the images of these adults as they were "playing with purpose?"  Why is it important for adults to reach inside and connect with their inner child?

This strategy and others have been researched and elevate children's ability to:

• Think Critically

and simultaneously

• Be Creative

Critical Thinking and Creativity can and must CO-EXIST!

Another way of saying this is:

Rigor and Joy can and must CO-EXIST!

This Arts Integration strategy is very simple and very flexible.  Make it your own!  One way of approaching it is as follows:

1. Over time introduce the idea of "Embodiment" to children.  Become straight lines and curved lines with your bodies.  They already love to use their bodies.  All we need to do is guide with questions and/or suggestions.  Have them become lines and curves individually at first.  Once a sense of safety and community has been built, have them make lines and and curves in small groups of 2 and/or 3.

Note: Is this risky?  Yes, but risk in appropriate ways leads to meaningful learning.  The risk is that children will become so excited that their energy may be unleashed in uncontrolled ways!  Try using the following statement when that happens... "Hold Your Energy!"  This is something I learned from International Mime Artist Rick Wamer.  It's very different from saying "Stop."  Also, saying those words in a "commanding or controlling" voice, doesn't work very well.  Use a playful voice and children play along.  I've used this all over the country and in Latin America for the last decade and it's amazing how well it works.

2. Once children's knowledge of becoming lines and curves is grounded, have them become shapes and/or object they know and recognize (Squares, Circles, etc.).

3. Introduce vocabulary by having them become those words (rotate, invert, expand, etc.).  This may seem like a stretch, but if you have them become the word and/or model it for them, they pick it up very quickly and love it.  We don't want our children to have our vocabulary.  We want them to have a vocabulary that surpasses ours!

You can take this to many other places, but this is a great first step in the direction of connecting children's learning to PERSPECTIVE!  It also addresses many other academic areas of learning and when they're working in groups, social-emotional development.

Enjoy and remember to Learn, Live, and Love like a Child!

Cheers!

Enrique

Founder and Director, F.A.M.E. Foundation

Film Composer

Producer of "A Cowboy Operetta"

Teaching Children to Draw

Hello Pk+K Sharing blogging friends! My name is April Larremore but in the blogging world you may know me better as “Chalk Talk”.  I’m thrilled to have been asked to stop by as a guest blogger today.

 

Wanting to stay in line with the “artsy” feel of Hello Pk+K Sharing, I decided to share my thoughts on the importance of teaching young children how to draw. 

So... with crayons, markers, and paints in hand, keep reading as I share about ways to get your kids talking, drawing, and writing in the early childhood classroom.

 

Typically drawing is not honored or valued in the same way that the written word is. This was true in my own kindergarten classroom up until several years ago when I began to see the connection between the details students included in their drawings and the amount of detail they included in their writing. As I began to invest small pockets of instructional time teaching my students how to draw, it was exciting to see how children who were adding more detail to their drawings were also adding more details and information in their writing. Believing that for young children drawing is writing I realized the importance of providing my students with the information they needed to draw well, just as I was doing with my writing instruction.

In their book, Talking, Drawing, and Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers, Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe write “Because drawing is writing for young children, providing opportunities and guidance in drawing helps children to learn to use one’s eyes to see more intensely. And in that intense looking they have the opportunity to come to know something better and thus to represent it on paper the best that they can, at first through their drawings and over time through their words.”

Believing that this is true, I started to spend more time teaching my students how to draw while also pointing out the illustrations and details in our class read-alouds.

Here are the steps I took to teach my kids how to draw with detail:

At the beginning of the school year, I guided students step-by-step through all of their drawings. In order to learn to do something well you have to do it a lot, so we didn’t just draw faces, we drew lots of faces. We didn’t just draw ourselves, we drew ourselves often, and we didn’t just draw other people we practiced it daily.

I provided my students with lots of time and opportunities for drawing throughout the day and across the curriculum. We drew in response to read-alouds, for graphs and thinking maps, and when making class books.

I started by having children draw about what they know well-themselves. We drew self-portraits at least one time every day in the first couple of months of the school year. I directed students through their drawings one-step-at-time and I taught them how to use basic 2-D shapes to draw themselves. 

  

At first, I gave students small sheets of white or manila paper. Early on I did not want students to focus on the background, setting, or other characters so I made the paper smaller. Over time, I increased the size of the paper and moved my students into adding background elements to their pictures.

When drawing, I started with the child’s head and worked my way down always modeling for students what to draw and where to place that body part on their paper. For example, I drew my head then had the kids draw their head.

I taught my students to draw body parts based on basic shapes. For example: head (circle), shirt and pants (rectangles), neck (rectangle), shoes and hands (ovals), skirts (triangles), arms (rectangles), etc.

Once I saw students could draw themselves well and with lots of detail, we started to draw other people, animals, and buildings. We practiced drawing characters in a variety of ways such as from the side, from the back, and in action. We also practiced drawing people with different facial expressions and displaying different emotions.

As my students’ drawing skills grew, I moved away from the step-by-step model and begin to provide them with quick pencil sketches for them to look at. I no longer had students all draw the same picture at the same time. They decided what they wanted in their picture and if they were unsure how to draw it, they asked for a sketch. My sketches were black and white line drawings made from shapes that I quickly drew on pieces of scratch paper.  

Once we moved to drawing backgrounds in our pictures, I taught my students that they needed to be specific in the information they included in their picture- that good drawings and good writing are built on accurate pieces of information. For example: rainbows, hearts, and flowers do not belong in drawings about a trip to the zoo, a birthday party, or a family holiday celebration.

As my students drew, I assessed their drawings to see what they needed to help make their drawings better. Then I created mini-drawing lessons around these findings. I used read-alouds to teach students about the craft of drawing.

My students started the year drawing basic people like the one on the left and ended the year drawing detailed people, characters, settings, and animals like the picture on the right.

 

I got students talking about their drawings through whole group discussion, partner talking, and share time. This is an important piece of the drawing process. Talking and sharing honors who they are, helps children learn from each other, acknowledges that talking plays and important role in drawing and writing, and helps children to learn the element of the craft before actually putting it on paper.

Basically, I used lots of repetition, step-by-step examples, and a gradual release model for teaching drawing in my classroom. Try it out in your own classroom and I think you will be amazed at how well it works. If you have more questions about how I taught drawing or how drawing with details carries over to writing, feel free to email me at april.larremore@gpisd.org.

Happy Drawing!

Chalk Talk

CREATIVITY AND COMMITTEE'S!

WHAT IS A COMMITTEE?

Hello and Happy Spring to everyone!!!

It's Enrique from the F.A.M.E. Foundation saying... Hello! Hola! Neehow! Ciao! and as my elephant puppet likes to say.... Aloha!!!  

Today I'm sharing with you a true story of how preschool children were introduced to the idea of "What is a Committee?"  Not only were they introduced to it, but their parents were used as part of the educational journey.  No surprise that this comes to us from the same center that used the wire to create wire sculptures after exploring with wire to bend, twist, roll and more!  So thank you again to the Sunnyside Head Start Center of Tucson, Arizona!

STEP 1

Children were engaged in authentic dialogue to find out what they knew about committee's.  A brilliant decision to keep the process child centered.  This is both very respectful of what children are capable of and it creates an environment of exploration.

STEP 2

We all know that the home is where education starts.  The teachers at this center then went to the parents of their children and involved them in asking what they knew of committee's.  The parents were asked to share what they knew of this word with their children at home, over a meal or at bedtime.  Below you can see what their responses were like.  By connecting the learning going on in the classroom with the learning going on at home elevates and deepens the experience for the children.  Bravo Sunnyside Head Start Center!

STEP 3

One idea that seemed to surface was that committee's are "People working together" as you see below by one of the responses.

STEP 4

Below are many responses from some of the children showing how their perception of the word committee had changed from the beginning of this process to after they had discussed this at home with their parent(s).

STEP 5

Now that the children had a common understanding of the word "Committee" they were asked to create potential committees.  They were the:

• PAPER Committee
• GARDEN Committee
• BIRTHDAY Committee
• EXERCISE Committee
• BUILDING Committee
• BOOK Committee
• SUN Committee
• UNICORN Committee

The class agreed that they needed to choose four of those eight committee's.  To do this they had to vote.  The children were then asked what they knew of the word "Vote."  Below are some of the responses.  As I discuss in my book "Living Like a Child" we need to use questions to engage critical thinking skills.  This "Committee Journey" is a fantastic example.

The four committee's chosen by the class were the:

• BUILDING Committee
• GARDEN Committee
• BOOK Committee
• BIRTHDAY Committee

Each committee continues to shape the community in their classroom with collaboration and critical thinking.  Simply wonderful!  To engage young children in activities that empower them is one of the key areas for us to evolve as educators of the next generation.  Content is important, but our ability to deliver and connect with others, our ability to discuss and grow as a community is extremely important. This process of "What is a Committee"does exactly that.  Here is a quick peek at each committee.

THE BUILDING COMMITTEE

THE GARDEN COMMITTEE

THE BOOK COMMITTEE

THE BIRTHDAY COMMITTEE

BIRTHDAY COMMITTEE BREAKOUT IDEAS

Once the committee's were formed, each committee asked themselves questions related to "What should our committee work on?"  Below are some of the responses from the Birthday Committee.

BIRTHDAY COMMITTEE OUTCOME!!!

Below is one example of some of the work children on the Birthday Committee decided to do; "to share with their peers the different ways they celebrate their Birthdays."  Enjoy a snapshot of this one child's Birthday!

THE GRAND FINALE!!!

One of the children who was not on the Building Committee asked the teacher if they could be on the Building Committee in addition to the committee they were already on.  The teacher reminded the child that they all chose one committee to be on.  The child was persistent and described how they could really build very well and they they "had to be on the Building Committee."  The teacher and her colleagues thought about this situation and guess what they decided to do? 

They introduced the idea of "What is a petition?"  The child wanting to be on the Building Committee gathered the necessary signatures and is now a member of two committees!

So often adults underestimate children and what they can accomplish and understand.  This center and this educational journey is an example to remind us all of how much depth of learning children are capable of.    

Think of a question you can pose to your children and see where it takes you!!!

Enrique

LIVE LIKE A CHILD