By Jeanne Zuech, Head Teacher
A 3-year-old boy was in the block area, quietly observing other children, but not building. He seemed to be glancing at blocks—two thin arcs—that another child had left on the carpet. Suddenly, the boy walked over and knelt by the arcs. He turned one arc upside-down, and as it rocked slightly he attempted to balance the second arc on top. He tried to create this full circle shape several times, but each effort was offset just enough to slip apart. Then, oh-so-gently, he mastered how to align the arc edges as his hands slowly let go. He sat back and smiled at his own accomplishment, paused, then moved on to play somewhere else.
Over the course of many months this past year, the East PM teachers examined “relationships” the children built in the classroom and outside. We specifically noted connections children made with materials such as blocks, water and paint. The team used the oxforddictionaries.com North American English definition of relationship—the way in which two or more concepts, objects, or people are connected, or the state of being connected—as our anchor. Teachers took detailed notes and photographs of the children’s extraordinary connections as they played and made sense of their world. Teachers studied this documentation and decided which stories best showcased relationships to display on our classroom communication board. The display board served as an invitation for children, parents and visitors to learn more about how children establish relationships with materials. In turn, the display board afforded new connections between the children and their own stories hanging on the walls.
At Bing, children can move freely inside and outside the classroom. When the team documented children's engagement with water, we looked closer at two stories that honored children’s freedom of choice and freedom of movement at Bing: a puddle and a complex water system.
Four-year-old Kayla had a brief but seemingly powerful relationship with a puddle near the patio one afternoon. She sat in front of the shallow puddle for a few minutes, at times gently touching the water with her finger, and at other times swaying a stick back and forth through the puddle. A basketball game carried on right behind her, block builders worked to the left of her, children pushed carts in the grass beyond her: She took no notice. All the while, Kayla was completely focused, having her quiet relationship with the puddle, even when the rest of the world was busy all around her.
A child creates water ripples with one finger.
Four-year-old Nolan worked at the water table for an extensive period of time. He experimented with tools in different ways to allow water to flow from varying heights and positions. At one point, he held a small container of water above his head in one hand and poured it into a tube held by his other hand. The tube was connected to an upside-down funnel that was placed atop an upright funnel. A tube leading from beneath the funnels would, potentially, allow the water to flow into the water table. Of course, in the end, it doesn't matter if the water flowed all the way. It does matter that this boy invented a five-part water system and was determined to test it out. Nolan demonstrated how materials are used in relationship to each other for a specific experiment.
A child tests a five-part water flow system.
The East PM teachers also documented some interesting activities at the painting easels. Daily, the easels offer opportunities for creative representation and expression. Two stories unfolded that showcased surprising engagements with paper and paint: One child created a Roman shield, and another child held the easel paper up in her own way.
At Bing, each classroom has a design table where diverse materials are available on open shelves nearby for child-invented designs or art. The shelves are stocked with paper, recyclables, staplers, tape, pencils and more. One afternoon, 5-year-old Walker had a plan as soon as he arrived at the table, stating, “I want to make a Roman shield.” He thought out loud, “Hmm, I need red. Those papers [strips of paper on the shelves] are too small. Hmmmm.” He glanced over at the easel that is right next to the art table and announced, “That is the size I need.” He painted the entire easel paper red, left it on the easel and returned to the design table, where he began to snip away at light-colored paper. Piece by piece, Walker brought the papers back to the now red sheet of paper on the easel and applied the light-colored paper in the center of what was now becoming his shield. To create his Roman emblem, Walker centered two large half-circle papers, then he carefully positioned three smaller rectangular shapes. He used the paint as the adhesive for the emblem and completed his shield. Later, after his work dried, Walker removed it from the easel, attached a paper loop to the back of it for his arm to go through, and headed outside to put the shield to use.
On a different day, 4-year-old Maya began her easel painting with one paintbrush at a time, going up and down, again and again, on her paper. At one point, she opened the two clips at the top of the easel so she could paint the paper they had covered—blue paint on the left, brown paint on the right. Without missing a beat, she placed her left hand in the center of the paper—fingers fanned out—to hold her canvas in place, then continued her work, never asking for help.
