What Happens When You're Not Looking

It is easy to slide into routines of the day and never really notice what, exactly, the children are doing when so engrossed with the various trays and play centers of our classroom. Yes, they are playing safely and being kind to those around them, but the specific actions they are taking on a given material can be overlooked if we do not take care to notice them.

For instance, we play with play-do every day. If a child is playing with play-do and somebody were to ask me what they are doing, I might answer, "they're playing with play-do." However, this doesn't actually answer the question.

Let's take a look at the above photo from Kitah Alef Bet, taken early this morning. Really look. When this child was presented with the golf tees, I stuck them in the mound of play-do, point-first, and left her to explore them on her own.

When I turned back to her three minutes later, the play-do and golf tees had been transformed into this design. I inferred that she had pinched off small pieces of the play-do, and arranged them in a line. Next, she took the golf tees and placed them top-first into the play-do, creating this repeating pattern. Doing, not what was shown to her, but trying something different because she was curious.

This is not "mindless play." These are deliberate choices made by a child when presented with engaging materials.

Each day is filled with countless moments like these. Seemingly small, but filled with the proof of learning and growth, and all we have to do is look.