Oh no! The Quartz children have turned into human marbles! Last week we enjoyed rolling the marbles down our tables so much, that we decided to roll and slide ourselves down the tables. What a great opportunity to expand and explore how we can move our bodies on these make-shift slides. All we had to do was to remove one set of legs from the tables and raise up the other set of legs. We observed the children’s risk taking increase as they started to slide down head first and then eventually negotiate a way to walk up the table to the top. The children demonstrated social skills as they needed to take turns at the top and help each other up from the carpet after landing in a heap. There was plenty of laughter, joy in accomplishment and pride. We are definitely ready to take on bigger and better inclines.
What is it about pushing chairs around the room that makes it so much fun? This is a question that the educators asked themselves this week. We wanted to give the children an alternative to chairs, so we brought in boxes to see if they were as appealing as chairs. The boxes were a big hit! Entire afternoons were filled with box pushing. We noticed all sorts of play unfolding. The boxes became cars and trucks. They became functional construction vehicles that were loaded up with blocks and dumped out at the opposite end of the room. Large buildings were then constructed on top of tables.
In the hallway, the boxes helped develop the children’s body awareness. If I use a box to lean on, can I run faster than normal? When I crash my box into the wall or another box, does my body keep moving, or am I able to stop my body from falling into the box? We also noticed that by maneuvering the boxes in the hallway, the children were exposed to spacial awareness and the effects of momentum. They were able to drive their cars around corners and around other people’s moving vehicles. Could this play perhaps qualify as “driver readiness” training? In about 12 years from now, we might find out.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Kerry, Bekah, and Erin
