Preschool Discoveries

    Children are sponges; you put something in front of them and they immediately start soaking up information.  From birth, children are taking in new things, everything is a new discovery.
     At first, infants do not understand that there is a relationship between cause and effect, but through many experiments they begin to realize that their actions may cause other actions.  By the time they are at preschool age, they are really starting to understand and experiment with different cause and effect theories.

Here D. watches as C. hammers balls.  When the ball is hammered hard enough, another ball pops up and rolls into the old space.

These children are enjoying the product of a cause and effect project.  They watched as unpopped popcorn was added to the popper, then heated and popped into a delicious snack. 

These children added baking soda to their paint, then when it was dry they sprayed it with vinegar.  They are transfixed by the fizzing reaction these two ingredients have!

   Another way of discovering the world is through the use of tools.  When children are very young their tool may be a cry to get what they want.  As the child realizes the power and effectiveness of tools they become more sophisticated with their use as they interact with the world.

D. realizes that hitting the drum with a mallet will make a more pleasing sound than just hitting it with her hand 

Z. uses a spoon to eat her pudding

Everyday practice helps N. get her food to her mouth in a  more effective way than just using her fingers

A. uses a dull knife to cut her banana into easier to eat pieces.

C. uses a straw to blow bubbles in different liquids, soapy water was the most interesting to him

    Understanding space is a concept that must be explored if a child is going to successfully navigate in the world, this includes balance, perspective, gravity and distance.

L. figures out how to get his legs from one side of the block to the other while leaving his hands where they are

A. bear walks across the parallel bars

L. balances from one side of the plank to the other side with ease

G. has to figure out how to get the balloon he just threw out of his own reach

    Developing these discoveries is what our days consist of.  We provide materials to support the curiosity and wonder these children experience daily.  Through baking, building, moving, reading, and countless other ways of discovering how the world works, children understand the world they live in and how to enjoy it.

Personal space

     Here in preschool children are learning and practicing all sorts of new things, including writing names, measuring ingredients for baking projects, and doing puzzles.  All these things are important to learn as they carefully attune fine motor skills, help to read and follow instructions, and show how to be successful in things we attempt.  There is another skill that is also being cultivated at this age, it is how to get along in a large social group.

These children are both doing the same basic thing but their space is defined by what they are sitting on.

     These children will grow up to have many relationships, personal and professional, and the practice for these relationships starts now.  This shows up in many different ways -- sharing a toy, taking a turn on the slide, deciding who gets to pour the flour into the bowl -- but it also manifests in navigating situations in which the child has had enough and needs to be alone.  Often times this can show up as a blow up of frustration, which can lead to hitting or pushing.

One child shows off what she has been working on to her sister, each has chosen her own spot to sit.

     My goal is to help them navigate these interactions successfully with words and gentle actions.  This week we have been practicing the idea of  "personal space." I explained to the children that everybody has a bubble around them, and that is their space. Bubbles are delicate so we have to be gentle with them just as we need to be gentle with people's personal space.  They can allow people into their space, but people should ask to hug or hold hands; it should not be assumed that it is free for anyone.  So when someone starts encroaching on their space, they let them know by telling them "That's my space!"  Personal space is not only our bodies but our cubbies as well, so we keep hands off each others cubbies too.  Children are not born with the ability to clearly verbally communicate and so giving them words to express what they are feeling will help them to let the world around them know what is going on in their heads. This benefits both them and those around them.

These children are comfortable enough to be in each other's space.