Take Apart (part one)

One thing I've learned about preschool children over the course of the last 10 years of teaching, is that they enjoy using "real" tools. Although "enjoy" isn't really the right word to describe it. I believe that for them using tools gives a sense of empowerment. When they are entrusted with these "grown-up" tools and given the time and space to use them in a variety of ways it sends a message. The children know that they are capable and respected as people who can contribute in a meaninful, purposeful way. They take on a look of determination.

When we took apart an old computer the other day, the children instantly formed a team of collaborators. Before the side was even off of the tower, the children were negotiating, trading tools, offering and accepting advice, squealing with delight at each success (both of their own and their peers) and learning from various mistakes (This wrench isn't helping much, I need a screwdriver...oh that one is the wrong shape...but this one is too small...).

In Teacher Tom's blog (I love his blog by the way) he says:

"Humans are driven to use tools to imprint their vision on the world. Almost everything we make or do involves, at some level, a tool, the mastery of which requires practice. In preschool, we need ample opportunity to sort of mess around with a wide variety of tools like wire, scissors, hole punches, hammers, paint brushes, saws, glue guns, pencils, screwdrivers, knives, and paper clips. We need to get our hands on brooms, clothes pins, drills, shovels, rulers, pulleys, trowels, staplers, and rakes. As humans we have being alone and we have talking face-to-face; for everything else we use tools."

 Feel free to check out his Power Tool Painting blog post over here : http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/power-tool-painting.html

 

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try" ~unknown

Of course safety is a concern with any person using tools (child or adult). This is why I kept my group size small (4 to 5 kids), used constant supervision, and everyone who participated used safety goggles and had the option to wear work gloves if they wished.

Two year old M showing me the piece he worked on getting out of the computer.

You can see where the group broke off into smaller teams as the computer was now in several pieces. The children formed these teams effortlessly. I, as the teacher, did not offer any suggestion to do so. I merely sat back as an observer, photographer, and note taker.

Only rarely did I need to interject at all. Sometimes when things were getting really exciting, I would remind them that this project is called "Take apart, not break apart." and they knew exactly what I meant by that. Two of the older boys (5 year olds) explained that when tiny screws are hiding somewhere you have to unscrew them first and it will come apart much easier.

 

When the children felt that they took the computer apart as much as they could, they asked to reuse the parts from this "old-fashioned computer" (they lovingly referred to it as) to create a new invention. The children and I share a passion for recreating new things out of old, cast off materials.

 

Stay tuned for part two!

 

 

Revisiting Characters in a New "Language"

One of my favorite activities to do with children involves encouraging them to recreate and revisit something they've created in another/different form (e.g. making something out of clay that they've drawn, or painting a picture of a recently built block structure). As the Reggio Emilia approach teaches us, children express themselves in "the hundred languages". 

Below is an example of taking a character from a book and revisiting her in a new "language". The 4 year old child who sewed this character had recently cut her own hair. Perhaps she identified with the sad face going along with the crazy hair, or maybe she just really enjoys this part of the book. When I invited her to do some sewing with me up in our sewing loft, she grabbed this book, flipped right to this page and said, "I want to sew that one!" I observed (and verbalized back to her) that she chose fabrics that closely resembled the colors chosen by the illustrator of the book. She also made the decision to stuff her sewing so that it would be "big and fluffy" like in the picture.

Hello...is this thing on? Well, let's get started then!

The invitation- I set up some random lego-type pieces at the back table in our "studio" (inspired by Reggio Emilia's use of an atelier). These were a donation from a family who had "too many legos" and thought we could use them in a new way (of course we can!). I explained to the children that these pieces don't all connect easily as they came from various sets, but I offered the idea that if they want the pieces to fit in a certain way, we could use the hot glue gun to secure them.  I requested that the children draw a sketch (before, during, or after they had the chance to glue) of their new creation. 

I enjoyed observing the children as they worked on this project in very different ways. Some children chose to sketch out their ideas first. They wanted to get their plans out on paper as a sort of blue print of what their creation might be.  Others wanted to wait until they were done building so they could draw the image exactly how it turned out in 3D.  Still yet, there were some children who would start sketching, touch and rotate the pieces in their hand, add a little here and there, and then go back to their sketch to add more details. As an observer and documenter I am always interested in the 'how' and 'why' children do what they do. I love offering the children freedom to approach the project in whatever way appeals to them and then sitting back and observing what comes next.

As the children were finishing their projects at different rates, I offered one more provocation. We had been discussing throughout the day that it was national "Put a Poem in your Pocket" day. In going along with the thread of interest from earlier in the day (writing poetry with other teachers, reading various children's poems, clapping out the beats of music with another), I invited the children to create a poem, song, or story to go along with their new creations. Each one of the children was more than happy to tell me his or her poem/story/song and I wrote their words down for them verbatim.

For the children who chose "song" we found it appropriate 

to draw musical notes before and after their words.

Here are the final products on display for parents and friends to appreciate!

The children were invited to make their own decisions on whether to leave their creations on display for a few days or take them home. Just as the children were differing in their approaches to creating their inventions, several decided they needed to take their projects right away to enjoy at home and others wanted to keep theirs on display for other people to admire.

                          

 

Thanks for reading!