C.J.P. Building Group
The building experience in our classroom this week was phenomenal. There were amazing spaces created and rules to go along with them. It's hard to break down this learning moment by moment, so let's look at the skills the children learned as a whole through the process of creating large structures instead.
Social Emotional learning occurred as the children attempted to build something that kept falling down. They were required to regulate their body and their thoughts so that they could stick with their work until they achieved success. In a world so inundated with technology, this skill is even more important. On many tablet games, for example, if a child chooses to turn the screen purple, they click on the purple dot and then click on the space they wish to be purple. The transformation is immediate. When the children were building ships, cars, and houses this week they learned about the process of creation. Having a vision in their head did not immediately transform the space that they were on. They had to try (and try and try) to create their vision in real space and time.
They also created social rules and hierarchies based on who created the structures. Each child had a turn to be "in charge" and listen to someone else's set of rules. When conflict occurred, they had the opportunity to work together and solve the problem.
There were many approaches to learning that occurred in their work as well. Lots of different materials meant that the children sometimes became overwhelmed with choices, but they were able to come up with a plan of action and delve into their work in many meaningful ways. They also showed flexibility. When their attempts to build did not work, they needed to be flexible with their thinking and try something new. They were also required to be flexible when they and their friends disagreed about how to move forward. When one child had a vision that was different from another child's vision, one of them would need to be flexible in order to continue their work.
There was so much language and literacy work happening in their play. They needed to grasp new concepts that they hadn't faced before and learn new vocabulary words along the way. They also needed to understand each other as they described how they wanted to build. Their expressive language, in turn, was also pertinent to the process. If they were building with a friend, they needed to be clear about how they wanted to build so that their friend could help them complete the task.
The children's math and science skills also grew by doing this work. There was a lot of geometry and spacial awareness involved. They learned that if they flipped the tables over, they could create space for different rooms. An example of their use of the scientific method was when they needed to sort and classify objects to see if they would successfully hold up a fabric or a mat that was acting as a roof. The foam blocks would not work, but the wood blocks did work. Why was this true? They learned that an object needed to be heavy in order to hold up the fabric successfully.
Social Emotional learning occurred as the children attempted to build something that kept falling down. They were required to regulate their body and their thoughts so that they could stick with their work until they achieved success. In a world so inundated with technology, this skill is even more important. On many tablet games, for example, if a child chooses to turn the screen purple, they click on the purple dot and then click on the space they wish to be purple. The transformation is immediate. When the children were building ships, cars, and houses this week they learned about the process of creation. Having a vision in their head did not immediately transform the space that they were on. They had to try (and try and try) to create their vision in real space and time.
They also created social rules and hierarchies based on who created the structures. Each child had a turn to be "in charge" and listen to someone else's set of rules. When conflict occurred, they had the opportunity to work together and solve the problem.
There were many approaches to learning that occurred in their work as well. Lots of different materials meant that the children sometimes became overwhelmed with choices, but they were able to come up with a plan of action and delve into their work in many meaningful ways. They also showed flexibility. When their attempts to build did not work, they needed to be flexible with their thinking and try something new. They were also required to be flexible when they and their friends disagreed about how to move forward. When one child had a vision that was different from another child's vision, one of them would need to be flexible in order to continue their work.
There was so much language and literacy work happening in their play. They needed to grasp new concepts that they hadn't faced before and learn new vocabulary words along the way. They also needed to understand each other as they described how they wanted to build. Their expressive language, in turn, was also pertinent to the process. If they were building with a friend, they needed to be clear about how they wanted to build so that their friend could help them complete the task.
The children's math and science skills also grew by doing this work. There was a lot of geometry and spacial awareness involved. They learned that if they flipped the tables over, they could create space for different rooms. An example of their use of the scientific method was when they needed to sort and classify objects to see if they would successfully hold up a fabric or a mat that was acting as a roof. The foam blocks would not work, but the wood blocks did work. Why was this true? They learned that an object needed to be heavy in order to hold up the fabric successfully.
Their dramatic play enhanced their understanding of social studies concepts. Throughout the week, they chose to pretend to be a family. They chose roles and decided where each person would sleep in their structures. They negotiated who got a turn to play each role as well. It was very interesting to watch the children choose roles, because they usually chose a role that was different than the role they actually played in their own family. The children who were the oldest in the family chose to be babies most often and the children who were younger in their family chose more leadership roles like parents or older siblings. They explored the rights and responsibilities of these roles as well. The mommy needed to go to the babies when they cried, but the older sister needed to call for the mommy instead of going directly to comfort the babies herself.
There was also a lot of physical development growth this week. The children moved heavy furniture in our classroom. They also worked together to safely flip furniture over. They used their fine motor skills to clip fabrics onto chairs and tables. They used these skills both as they built new structures and as they cleaned up their work.
There was fine arts learning occurring as well. The children chose to build not just by function, but by style. They created spaces that looked like shapes. They used the fabrics specifically to make their work more beautiful.
The children had a lot of learning to do this week. There was a great deal of negotiation of space involved and they switched up their playmates as well. At one point this week, Ariel F. and Hillel were deeply involved in creating two structures next to each other. At another point, Eliya and Leah worked on creating a thrown for Eliya's animal while Bayla, Lucy, and Oree built a space on the other side of the classroom.
Working like Architects Work
At the table this week we gave the children an opportunity to explore what it's like to be an architect. We provided blueprints of different structures for them to look at as well as graphing paper for them to work with.
Addition Provocation
The children mentioned their interest in addition work last week so at the other end of our table this week we offered an addition activity for them to explore. They created equations at the top of the paper using rocks, and then solved their own equations at the bottom of the page.
No comments:
Post a Comment