Got Spontaneity?

Do you ever have a moment of spontaneous geniousness?

Not sure what I mean?

Keep reading.

This was the scene that greeted my crew on a cold Monday morning in January:

Each of those dots has a number on it.  Yes, it is a giant dot-to-dot.  (click here for other giant dot-to-dot ideas) 

I found it interesting how each child felt the need to make sure that I knew someone had put numbers on the floor!  But other then that, not much more was said.   And so, I waited...patiently.....quietly.



Erik was the first to play with the dots...jumping one to the next, correcting other children when they jumped in the wrong order. Sharing what we know to be true is very empowering for a young child. Learning from peers is very effective to. Usually, my younger crew members are simply striving to be just like the older ones on a daily basis!

About an hour into our morning, while the children were deep in their play someone, out of the blue said "Nita!  I KNOW!  It's one of those unicorn things that swim"

"Huh?!" 

It took me a while to figure out that he was talking about what the dot-to-dot could be (I LOVE that about plopping a giant dot-to-dot.  The creativity and visual skills the children need to have to mentally connect the dots, then try to guess what it could be, uses some advance thinking skills!)

More guesses came at random times throughout the morning as the children were emerged in their play:
"I know...it's a submarine!"
"I think it's a monster hand."
"It could be a mitten!"

At last, the curiosity got the best of them. 
"Can we connect the dots and find out what it is?!"

OF COURSE!!  I thought you'd NEVER ask!  (Keeping quiet and waiting for that moment is sometimes so challenging.  There was no sense in rushing them, there was plenty of learning occuring in their own play...but, I was getting anxious for them to discover what the dot-to-dot was!!)  Since the children have done numerous giant dot-to-dots at my house, they knew exactly how this was done.  If this is the first time you try this with your crew, I suggest holding out on the tools needed and let some creative brainstorming happen!  (see the link mentioned above for details about the first giant dot-to-dot with the kids in my program).

As the dots were being connected, impressive vocabulary was being shared "OH!  It's a curve", "OH!  I know...a seahorse is what I meant...it's a seahorse", "No...it's monster hands", "It can't be monster hands...there aren't any fingers",  "there's a thumb", "I think it's an animal with a really long neck" "That wouldn't be a very long neck though" ... on and on the chatter went and ideas being shared freely and safely!  I am so thankful that the environment I have created allows for fearlessly sharing new ideas and thoughts.

In due time......the dots were all connected!

It was not a "unicorn that swims" (aka:  a seahorse) nor was it a submarine.  It was.....a mitten!!

 We quickly sat down to enjoy the book, "The Mitten" by Jan Brett. 

This story leads itself to many discussions. 

WHY did grandma worry that Nicki would lose his WHITE mitten in the WHITE snow?
WHAT happens to the mitten when animals crawl inside?
WHAT else can stretch like a mitten?

By the time we were finished I realized that I had forgotten to buy some stretchy mittens like I had PLANNED on doing.  So instead of seeing how many toys we could fit into a mitten, we sat there a second when all of the sudden, it hit me......... a BALLOON!  We could see how many toys we can fit in a balloon!!

Of course the boys and girls thought that was an awesome idea, and they quickly went to work gathering toys they thought would fit.  We started with the smallest first (their idea, since that's how the book goes).

After each item was added (teamwork between myself and the children) I blew up the balloon.  The children were enthralled with the changes that happened.

The first time I blew up the balloon, and then let go of it, it flew across the room.  The second time, it dropped to the ground, then zoomed across the carpet.  By the third toy, it was no longer able to scoot at all, but it did a fair share of flopping.

The fun thing about spontaneity is I was learning and discovering for the first time too!  This was SO exciting for everyone involved!!

 As the ballon became fuller and fuller, we had to choose more wisely.  We couldn't put toys inside that were sharp, for they would certainly put a hole in the balloon.

Each time we added something new, I thought for sure there was no way we would get it to fit -- BUT, through teamwork, we prevailed!!  I stretched open the balloon, while little hands stuffed it full!

 

 

After the 6th item was added, we decided it was time to find out one more thing:  what will happen when we POP the balloon?!!!!  Since I was experiencing this for the first time as well, I was equally excited for the results!

The children LOVED to see the contents of the balloon when I would hold it up to the light.

 

 After a brief reminder that the only scary part about popping a balloon is the sound that it makes, and taking extra safety precautions just in case everything really flew far (hands over heads).  We counted to three and then.......POP!!!! 

Undoubtedly, the two best parts of the story, "The Mitten" imagining all those animals squeezing themselves into a mitten...and then, the bear's great big sneeze that causes everyone to out of the mitten.  Well...the results of popping the balloon were similar!  All of the contents flew and scattered about.  It was a most grand moment!!

I guarantee we will be doing this again....and again....and again....and, yes...again!!!

Got spontaneity?
When is the last time you let spontaneity happen, and the experience was as exciting for you as it was for the children in your program? 

Sometimes we get so stuck in our plans, that we by-pass spontaneity in order to put a check mark beside a core standard.   Set down the checklist and your plans, and take advantage of the moment.  Be spontaneous!

Time Launches Learning

It's winter here in sunny South Dakota.  We have nothing but TIME on our side, so choosing a quality plop, then giving children the TIME they need to launch their own learning is the key to winter survival!  Also...out of 100 children surveyed...100 said it is their preferred method of learning!! :) 

(side note:  I did not actually survey any children...this would require paperwork, and time away from play...I am severely allergic to both)

Time launches curiosity and provides ownership of discoveries.
It requires GREAT effort and TIME....but letting children own discoveries is worth the effort it takes to be quiet and resist the urge to SHOW.

What was it?  No one knew for sure, and...I wasn't about to tell them!

 I am a firm believer in giving children ownership of discovery.  This sometimes requires GREAT restraint on my part (trust me, my mouth prefers to be talking and my hands love to show)...but I have learned that the results of letting children own discoveries  are ALWAYS worth it!

Time launches vocabulary.

After much debate, it was determined that the purpose of this strange contraption was to launch things.  Already the vocabulary benefits of plopping something unknown into a young child's environment were apparent. 

"Look!  It moves!"
"Whoa!  It's stretchy!"
"It's so smooth"
"Hey!  I think its for launching stuff!"
"YES!  You are right!  It's a "canipult"!"

After a quick look around the room, a ball was grabbed and the launching began!

It didn't take long for us to realize that the balls seemed to fly a bit too easily, and a bit too far and hard.  So, we quickly did a search for softer items to launch.  We agreed that the "Stuff Approved for Launching" or S.A.F.L's would be fluffy pom poms (not the cheerleader type), foam blocks and three lucky stuffed mice (I am certain I saw a look of fear in these little bugger's eyes as I snagged them from their safe haven in the coveted "Nita's Closet" :)

Time launches opportunity to fail and succeed. 
Great skill is required to have a successful launch.  Failure happens, but launching is motivating, and so perseverance happens too.  Giving children TIME to learn through trial and error as well as ALLOWING them to fail are vital to a child's development.  If we never permit children to fail, how will they ever learn to handle failure in the future?  Let's face it, failing is inevitable.   Resist the urge to help and show....let failure happen.

Time allows trust to happen.
The catapult is scary at first.  It is noisy, and until the children were confident in what they knew about the catapulting process, all were a bit nervous each time someone executed a launch.

Time launches practice.
Notice Jack's eyes?  They are practicing for reading someday. 
Tracking the launched object with his eyes is preparing Jack for reading.  He is also comprehending distance and watching to see if his object flies as far as other objects have hurled through space.  He is also prepared to step aside for the next child to have a turn, even though he would LOVE to continue launching the S.A.F.L himself!

Time encourages innovation. 
It took about 45 minutes of launching one object at a time before Erik placed a handful of pom poms onto the launching pad.  WOW!  The results were amazing!  To you and I , this is a no-brainer...of course launching multiple items would be far more awe-inspiring..but to a young child, this moment was thrilling and boosted pride!

Time launches scenarios and story telling. 
About 15 minutes into the launching fun, stories were being told, and "objects" were no longer being just randomly launched with no purpose.  Sound effects were added and children were getting lost in their imaginations.

Time launches problems.  Problems launch problem solvers.
When several children are launching stuff around the room, there is eventually going to be a problem (no more SAFL to launch because all the stuff is on the floor!).  Solving problems empowers young children and gives them the confidence they need to tackle other challenging tasks like reading and writing.  Just as important as owning discoveries, let children solve problems too.  Encourage them to use tools, ask for what they need and work together.

Time launches creative organization.
Chins come in handy to free up hands to help a friend.

Time launches our inner scientist.
Children are natural scientists.  Never satisfied with the results of one try.  They test results and theories again...and again...and again.  It was determined that the pool noodles were not very flight friendly!

Time launches cause and effect.
  Erik had devised some form of technique for each object that was launched.  The foam blocks flew better from half way down, while the mice flew the best being launched from the lowest point possible!

Time launches bravery.
Some children need to observe for quite a while and weigh out the options in their own mind.  Without time, little Trillian would have never had the opportunity to say "I DID IT!!" 

This fantastic morning was inhanced with a  MYSTERY WORD. The key requirement of a mystery word is that it be PERTINENT in the lives of the young children in your program. Today, right now....LAUNCH was a very pertinent word that had the potential for LOTS of meaningful, hands-on learning!

During all that child-led exploration of the catapult, the children were also finding the letters for the days' mystery word (recall:  "launch").  I am proud to say they figured out what the word was.  Did they sound it out?  Not totally.  What they did was gathered clues.  They knew the mystery word began with the letter "L" and enough of the children know the sound "L" makes.  They also knew we had been spending the morning launching stuff.  They put those clues together and were over the top excited to tell me that the mystery word was "LAUNCH!!!"

Brainstorming and "show and pride" began as we explored OTHER methods of launching.

We were launching the SAFL (stuff approved for launching) in DIFFERENT ways!

1.  We launched with our feet!

2.  We launched with our shirts!

Time provides opportunities for cleverness.
Again, time gave the children the opporunity to color outside the lines and try new things.  Gavin cleverly put more then one item in his shirt to launch.

Time launches motivation.
The results of Gavin's cleverness motivated the children to help him set up for another launch!  My  crew know the benefits of working together ( a life-long skill)

Time is rewarding!
Time and teamwork created this VERY exciting moment!

3.  We launched with a bedroom sheet!

Time allows children to organize themselves.
It is a grand thing to watch children organize themselves into one cohesive force.

Give children TIME.  The content of this blog occured over a 3 hour period -- plenty of TIME was given for all sorts of learning to be launched!!

Do you think the children in your program would benefit from the addition of a catapult?  If so....you can purchase them from Jeff A. Johnson at Explorations Early Learning.  Jeff handcrafts each one especially to be used for lots and lots of play!  Here is the link:  I WANT A CATAPULT!! enter the code:  "Denita Sent Me" for a 15% discount!!

Give the children in your program time to launch their own learning!!  PLAY COUNTS!!!

It's Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

It is much quicker for me to Facebook during the Holidays --- please follow "Play Counts" on Facebook for several daily updates as to what exciting Christmasy things we are doing!

Lots of ideas that can be translated into other times of the year as well!!

Hope you are having a magical holiday season filled with imaginations and creativity (with LOTS of learning hidden in the middle!!)

Merry Christmas!

-Denita

Plopping 101

Due to recent requests to explain what I mean when I use the term "plop",  I have decided to write up this little tutorial:

 I am a defender of play and a professional brain developer.  I am also a self-declared "plopper".  Through my 14 years of operating a family childcare business, I have had the privilege of observing children, ages 2-6, make sense of this wonderful world we live in. I have also discovered the art and value of the "plop".

A plop, by my own, self-made definition is (insert vision of me putting on instant, IQ-boosting spectacles and clearing my throat): 

Plop (noun):

      Anything that is placed in a child’s environment with zero adult direction, demonstration or expectation.  The child is given the freedom of time, technique, task and team.  The adult quietly observes and gives opportunities for children to try, fail, succeed, explore and ask for what they need.

I use to have a love affair with planning. I can't tell you how much I loved filling planners with activities, songs, games, and materials that I KNEW young children would greatly enjoy.  I knew how long they would want to do each thing.  I knew that they would want to learn about dinosaurs for two weeks in March.  I loved planning for months in advance and looking at all the learning that was going to happen.  I loved marking off my little check list of all the early learning guidelines that we were going to meet.  Bottom line,   I. LOVED. BEING. IN. CONTROL.

I learned a lot during those years of being in control, leading young children.  Those years of being afraid to trust children to lead me.  Those years when children asked me what we were going to do every single day, unable to lead themselves.

Here is a small list of what I learned during "those" years:

1)  When one forces children to do something, one is going to have discipline issues.

2)  I took it personally when "my crew" didn't like MY hard work and planning, and found myself making them do my "great" ideas anyway because I just KNEW they would see the light.(see #1 for why this is a problem)

3)  Children have their own ideas of what they would like to do, and those ideas are usually far better than those of a controlling adult.

4)  When children are followers instead of leaders too much, they lose confidence in their own ideas.

5)  Sometimes, MOST times....better, random and spontaneous things happen, that plans can't possibly be made for, that are way better then any plan ever could be.

6)  When wonderfully spontaneous things happen enough, one accepts the fact that over-planning and leading is not such a good way to accomplish early learning goals......(insert LIGHTBULB!).

These lessons are what led me to being a "plopper".  I loved to plan, but I had realized the negative side of being too rigid and too planned.   So...I began planning a plop.  It was the perfect marriage between my love of planning, and giving children open-ended opportunities to be in charge of their own learning.

Below is a list of random facts and thoughts about plopping.  Each item links to a previously written blog post

A plop allows for open ended exploration  By quietly placing something that creates curiosity in a child's environment, without ANY direction...the possibilities are literally endless and wide open!

A plop can be, and usually is something VERY simple  When plopping, don't forget the SIMPLE. Do not overthink the "plop".  Many people have told me that they are not clever enough to come up with a new plop everyday.  1) A plop does not need to be clever, leave the job of "clever" to your littles. 2) You don't need a new plop everyday...no schedule needs to be followed when plopping. Some plops last for weeks in my program. Some flop, but I keep them in the environment, and my littles find a purpose for it days later...or, sometimes never.  Sometimes I add to a current plop. There truly is no right or wrong way to plop...other then to give directions and demonstration and attach adult expectations to the plop.

Following children can lead to more plops!  When the environment children are in causes them to wonder...they become the leader in the plopping game!  Observe your children, listen to their cues, listen to the conversations.  Grab a word they are using and add a mystery word to deepen the learning!

A plop can lead to children asking for what they need (YES!)  Some plops require more....give children the opportunity to ask for what more they need.

How can you plop?  There are many ways to plop. You can plop before the children arrive by either having the plop be very obvious, or be sneaky, and hide the plop amongst the other toys in the environment.  You can plop while the children are playing, simply set a plop on a table, or on the floor, then step back and await it's discovery.  You can plop as a group.  This technique is one I use when there are safety concerns to discuss with the plop.

  

A plop can inspire IMAGINATIONS  Open ended, simple, wonder-causing plops inspire imaginations EVERY SINGLE TIME!  Imaginations are needed for SOLVING PROBLEMS!

A plop can be a problem that needs to be solved  Plopping a plop in an inconvenient location, plopping an incomplete plop or the plop itself can create moments for children to be problem solvers. Perhaps a new plop is up on the ceiling.  Let the children figure out a technique to get it down.

There you have it!  The basics of "plopping" -- now, don't just hang around here!  Go plop something!!

About the Author:

Denita Dinger is an internationally-known speaker and author.  

To inquire about booking her for your next conference or training, email her at playcounts.denitadinger@gmail.com.

Visit her Facebook pages:  Play Counts, Kaleidoscope Play School, Camp Empower and Embracing Play Community

Simply....SOCKS!

Socks.  That's right...you read correctly.  Socks.  Who knew there was so much learning in socks?

Simply.  you also read correctly.  This is a very simple idea....so, this is not a post announcing an earth shattering new way for young children to learn.  It is just a reminder that there IS learning in the VERY simple!

Let me set the scene:  The mystery word on this particular day was "mix".  After having fun mixing ourselves and organizing us in different ways (See my Facebook page, "Play Counts" to learn more of our everyday adventures ) we moved on to mixing up socks. 

Simply, Socks #1:  mix and match, find the pairs.   I just mixed up the socks and tossed them all around the room (boy...do the children love it when I do this!!).   When I was finished, the word "Go!" or sometimes the words "Match them!" started the fun!  I have added an element of time to this as well with the use of a stop watch.  It's a nice way to throw some math into the fun:  number recognition, function and measurement.  Each time we see if we can match all of the socks quicker then we did before.

While doing this, a child or two would return to the bucket with a sock on their hand.  This sparked another idea, and a way to use socks to strengthen those all important small motor muscles!

Simply Socks #2:  Once again, I scattered the socks, but the directions changed.   See how many socks you can put on ONE hand!!  Take a look at the pictures below to see the focus, determination, coordination and muscle strength this took:

I love observing children taking part in activities at THEIR level!
  This is 2 yr old Trillian....he is still figuring out all the wonderful things his hands do, and how to make them do said wonderful things. 
Following a child's lead,  and letting them learn through spontaneous moments meets children right where they are!

Ethan is adding his fourth sock.  At this point the process is quite challenging.  Look at his face though....he doesn't show any signs of giving up does he!!?

This was HARD work!  When all the socks were on hands, we counted as each child pulled off the socks one at a time.  Patience, consideration, more small motor work and counting are just a few of the things I observed during this.

The children had anywhere from one sock to four socks on their hand.  I was most impressed.  The natural flow of our morning lead to one more activity.  It's basically the same as what we just did, but using TEAMWORK!  Any time I can get my children to work together, I go for it.  Cooperating and working together is such an important, even priceless life-long skill!

Simply Socks #3:  Working together!  Repeat #2, but work together.  One friend hold open the sock, while the other pushes their hand in.  The photos below show you the benefits of teamwork:

The person holding the sock has to patiently hold the sock open, and still while the person putting their hand into the sock needs to use visual planning and determination.  Both have to remain focused on the task at hand.

In the end, Gavin had ELEVEN socks on his hand!!!  Look at their faces!!!  I believe this picture speaks for itself!  These are two focused children excited and proud to be accomplishing the task at hand!



When all the socks were used up, again....we pulled off the socks one at a time and counted!  It was so exciting to see how many socks we could fit on one hand using teamwork!

 

A few more ideas:

Simply Socks #4:  Put silly socks on over the socks the children brought...practicing makes perfect, and putting socks on our feet is hard work!

 

Simply Socks #5:  Put socks on hands and then pick up items off the floor.  Keep adding a sock to make the task more difficult!

 

Simply Socks #6:   Just "plop" the socks in the environment and see what ideas the children think of!  Their minds are far more creative and uninhibited then ours are!

SIDE NOTE:  A plop, by my own, self-made definition is (insert vision of me putting on instant, IQ-boosting spectacles and clearing my throat): an object, book, story, song or mystery word that is quietly placed (aka: plopped) into a child's environment while sharing no (zip, zero, none, notta) pre-conceived adult ideas in order to give ownership of discovery to children. The "plopper" is prepared for what could POSSIBLY happen...but is willing to drop those ideas in order to follow the usually BETTER possibilities a child's mind imagines!

There you have it.  I told you it wasn't an earth shattering post.  I do, however, hope it sparks your imagination, to once again, see the learning in the SIMPLE!

You just can't deny it....PLAY COUNTS!!!

 

 

Ice Ghosts (aka: Frozen Blobs or Frozen Volcanoes)

Sometimes, ideas are sparked from life's most simple moments.

The idea for ice ghosts came from the simple process of cooling off my daughter's breakfast in the freezer.  I stuck her sandwich, wrapped in the paper towel, slightly damp from the steam of cooking, into the freezer.  In minutes, the paper towel had frozen in the position it was in.  "LIGHT BULB"

The idea for "ice ghosts" was born. 

If ghosts are something forbidden in your program, "ice blobs" or "frozen blobs" works too -- OR...for even more fun:  "frozen volcanoes" (read below for more info. on frozen volcanoes)

A WORD IN FAVOR OF GHOSTS:  I know some of you struggle with whether to bring ghosts into the Halloween celebration.  In my opinion, ghosts, when presented in a fun, light hearted way, are just that...FUN!  I use ghosts as a tool for talking about scary things in a fun, light hearted, humorous way.  I also use monsters for the same purpose.  I think facing fears is empowering for children.  Ghosts don't kill, they aren't bloody and they don't hurt people -- yet, they have an aire of spookiness about them that can spark grand conversations and realizations of feelings.  They also help children distinguish between real and make-believe.  In my opinion, they are a "safe scary".

MATERIALS:

• plain white paper towel or plain white washclothes (the wash clothes turn out better...you can purchase a package of 9 for $3 ish at Walmart)
• water
• cups (to form your ghost, blob or volcano on)
• freezer
• little paint brushes (the kind for water color painting)
• colored water (I recommend coloring your water with Liquid Watercolor from Discount School Supply)

DIRECTIONS:

Step 1:  Put the washcloth in a bowl of water

Step 2:  Squeeze the excess water
This is a FANTASTIC workout for those all important hand-writing muscles!

Step 3:  Unfold the washcloth
 Both small motor strength and control of that strength are valuable for handwriting.  When using the paper towel, a child has to control their strength or else the paper towel will tear.  A great lesson in cause and effect and trial and error as well!

Step 4:  Drape the washcloth
A lot of coordination is needed for this step as well!  Lots of vocabularly is used too:  drape, slide, centered, balance etc.

Step 5:  Place your ghosts, blobs or volcanoes (whatever you choose to call them) in the freezer

Step 6:  After your frozen creations have spent the evening in the freezer, remove the cup form, balance it on it's hardened points and paint away!

The children were amazed at how hard that soft washcloth had become!  They also loved feeling the changes as the washcloth thawed.  Exploring physical change helps a child better understand this world we live in.  It is empowering to KNOW THINGS!

As the washcloth thawed, a hole started forming in the center.  When my littles observed this they shouted out "Look Nita!!  It's a volcanoe now!!"  (note for volcanoes:  have baking soda and colored vinegar on hand....scoop some baking soda into that sunken part and let them squirt it with vinegar...watch the erruption!!)

 



The end product:  a thawed, colorful washcloth (don't worry...if you use the Liquid Watercolor from Discount School Supply the color will wash right out so you can do it again!!)

Once again, so much learning in the simple!  The children learned about cause and effect, physical change, new vocabularly words, imaginations were at work, small motor muscles, visual planning, sharing, colaborating (to make new colors), discussing and facing fears (if you go the ghost route)
Simple counts and play counts too!!