A shift in how we approach tidy up

Tomorrow I will be sharing my class experiences with how we handle "clean up" in class. As part of ongoing training, the staff are asked to undertake research. THe task? A "no compulsory gathering time", week organised by leadership in our school. Prior to the commencement,  my partner and I reflected on "clean up" a lot. Clean up was closely tied to gathering times, as we found that without our usual transition gathering (children came together to sit on the mat prior to outdoor play time, lunch and home time), the class was not getting tidied up in time for the transition to the new space.

A certain reading from “Play is the Thing” about figure/ground relationships got me thinking. We decided to approach tidying from an entirely new angle. Comparisons in the table below.

Interestingly, the week prior to the discussion we had written in our planning and class goals that we wanted to “implement” some kind of roster for clean up. So clean up was on our list of things to work on. Everything happened in a very serendipitous, and timely manner.

Old Way	New Way
Play time was often very ‘messy’ and chaotic.	Play time is quieter and children seem more engaged. I believe this is due to the fact that the teachers are creatively providing provocations and invitations, not just at the start, and tidying is making the figure/ground relationships clear.
Teacher supervised clean up. Doled out praise or negative reinforcement (being honest here) to those supposedly doing or not doing the right thing. This is against both mine and Ivy’s belief in how we speak to children.	Teacher models not only clean up at the end, but models keeping materials tidy during play. Some materials are tidied without mentioning anything to children, others we ask if anyone would like to help.
An example of the less respectful language of the past, spoken loudly above a chaotic whole class cleaning up time:   “Who was playing with the circus toy? T , I think I remember you playing with it. It is your job to clean it up.” T hides in the reading area as soon as I turn my back to supervise another mess and child. “T, I am not happy about this, it’s your job blah blah blah!” T heads to the bathroom to escape.  Clearly he was overwhelmed and was not given enough support to face the tidy of the toys.	An example of the more respectful language emerging now, spoken gently during play: Teacher:  “Hey T, do you think you are done playing with the circus toys?”  T : “Yes” Teacher: “Would you like to tidy that up on your own or would you like some help from me?”
Approach to tidying: child is responsible for own mess, while we were supervisors of the classroom.	Approach to tidying: child is viewed as fully capable of learning to manage and be responsible, yet, we  are respecting their role as the player, and remembering our role as supporter of the play. Being busily immersed in play means they may not have time to think about tidying up! There will be a time and a place to help teach them about tidying, but not EVERY TIME.
A huge mess was left at the end of the session taking 20 minutes or more to tidy.	The class is “played in” yet tidy at the transition times, taking a few minutes to pack away a few things.
Teachers and children would find themselves becoming frustrated and resentful of the children who, during clean up time, wouldn’t clean up.	We understand how overwhelming a huge mess can be to anyone! We avoid the old scenario entirely.
By the end of the tidy up, we were all exhausted cranky.	Now we are NOT.
A gathering time was the only way to avoid chaos. Children who were overwhelmed and uninterested in the clean up began unpacking the materials and playthings we had just packed away. Gathering time brought children away from the classroom. It was crowd control.	No need to gather. Now our transitions are very smooth, we gently remind children that it is almost lunch time, they even can get involved in preparing tables wiping tables setting bowls and spoons, etc.
Everyone had to finish everything they were doing.	Some children are busy on projects.  If they wish they can continue working on things well into lunch time. Usually they are too hungry and when they see peers going to sit down to eat, will put their work away anyway.
Transition was very unnatural. Food was introduced, in an unnatural way on the mat with the whole class there.	Movement to lunch is now very organic as children just observe Class helper preparing buffet so they begin to wash hands automatically. It is much more like at home. They talk about what food they can see/smell. We talk about the food in a more natural conversational way.

Stop Motion Animation Done At Long Last

Animation by the children of 4V
Cant wait to see it on the big screen!!

 

Keep in mind the children were part of this EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

We Are Great Arters!

I eat my words of the previous post in which I proclaim teachers will be painting the children's set for the  graduation show...Today, the provocation I prepared in the late hours of yesterday afternoon really ignited the class.

Using their photographs they took at a trip to a botanic garden, I set up the tables with paint pallettes and special fabric paints.

I cleared a wall by shifting furniture (here in Hong Kong we have little space), and pinned a long piece of unbleached cotton fabric to the wall.

Above is an image of colours I helped the children prepare. Mixing colours to match a 'real' object has never been attempted by children in my class before. I assisted them a little by showing them how to paint a small brush stroke on the photograph to compare.

Above us a flower drawn by a child who always inteprets things differently!

The class was divided for about an hour and a half. The boys were on one side finishing a construction from the previous day (the truck made from milk cartons!) and building with blocks. The girls (bar one or two engaged in role play) were painting the fabric.

 Above is an example of a child who worked very hard to match the flowers to the actual colours.

I began to outline some of the faint flowers with black 'puff paint'. A child took the opportunity to begin sticking beads to the very sticky paint. The idea caught on fast and the art work quickly became a vibrant mixed media piece!

A Friendly Reminder

I checked out a post by Teacher Tom on Sunday night. It was a typical insightful and reflective post that reminds all that, essentially, the CHILDREN are at the centre of learning! Here is the link! http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/doodling.html?m=1

Anyway, this message is particularly relevant to me right now. Graduation in June, children have written an adaptation of a story book, (Bear Hunt) and we are busily trying to support their proposed performance.

So on Monday, I gathered a group of my young engineering types and handed them the cartons for the wall to create the proposed house for our set. I noticed the wall was looking more like a skyscraper so I reminded them of their "container ship" they previously made with blocks. I left the room to supervise some major noisy, wet play in the outdoor area.

This is what they made. In a group of three:

Wall? Pffffffft!!

A truck carrying containers! It has a face, spare tyres, steps to get up to the cab level, a siren, a driver, a working door with handle. They did it with zero supervision from me! (I only heard a small amount of raised voices from my position outside, but how healthy!) The amount of incredible learning, (design, space, shape, social skills, knowledge of the world, number, language  etc etc), are endless. But that is not the point! The point is, they didn't want to build a wall. They do not have the same desire to have a 'performance' that is 'visually colourful and vibrant' as myself and my partner do. The graduation show is by adults, for adults, and until that changes, teachers will be building their own sets, begging children to slather paint on!

 

Alternatives to Paper Week

Clay seems to be a bit of an unpopular material still. I feel it may be because their work has never been fired yet. Hopefully the pieces I sent to the kiln at secondary school will return soon to give the children more understanding of the potential of clay. I also feel that perhaps in 'clean' Hong Kong, touching such a 'dirty' substance is difficult for some.

 The wire is starting to catch on. I predict the wire will become a popular material this week. The beads helped draw their attention to the wire. It has moved from simple necklaces to something more imaginative...dinosaurs etc.

A camera! This is the front of the box. Incredible!. Will blog more about this piece in part 2 of the story project, coming soon.

This child has a real passion for colours.

Adding lots and lots of water, until it drips all over the floor!

Children bring in flowers each week. It is recorded by the family in a 'diary'. The bottom left pot contains todays flowers. They are made from wire, pipe cleaners, felt. I had to do a lot of demonstration as some children were feeling a bit lost with no paper around. I only spent a 10 minute period with them so I am looking forward to see what can emerge tomorrow!

The Story Project - Part 1

The "story project" can only be very loosely given this title. I tried to think of a better one but...I am stumped. It could probably be better named, "A Journey in Creative Expression".

The problem with a name for our 'projects' or 'indepth investigations' is this. More and more, my 'topics' are less about a concrete theme, and more about an idea. An in depth exploration in an emergent curriculum, that follows the children every step of the way can never really be tied to one set theme. More often than not, a true project that belongs to the children has a motivation that holds it together. The monkey on the roof had a motivation - get the monkey down! The current project however, has no real "carrot" pulling it along other than the teacher's aim to provide the children with support to express themselves and their imaginiations in as many ways as the children choose. It began with books. Book making. So, without further ado, let me begin with the first blog on this wonderful journey with the children.

This exploration of books and the book making process began with a few children who enjoyed making books. The interest spread slowly. In response to the interest in making books, we provided some tools and materials for joining the books. I held a meeting for anyone interested to learn how to use things like split pins, the large stapler, shoe lace thingy (not the technical name) and rings. At this stage, the interest centered around the feel of the book, how the pages could be turned, how less than 3 pieces of A4 pages just didn't cut it! (The mass paper consumption has provoked a possible 'paper free week' - stay tuned).


Below is a picture of me in, "direct instruction" mode! There is a place for teacher directed in a classroom. But this is as far as I go. The instructions I am giving here are directly related to a current interest, the instructions I give are to provide support for the children's need to create and bind books, and finally, audience is participating voluntarily. The most wonderful part is, the children who do participate go on to teach others.

Once again the interest spreads. We gently encourage children to think about the books around them. We hold small meetings to look at the different kinds of books in our classroom. We focus on two main types - fiction and non-fiction. The children are encouraged to bring some of their favorite books from home to help us think about what makes a great story. The children rise to the challenge to create their own ‘content’ for their once empty pages of the books. We now see a rich array of story and information books being created by the young authors and illustrators of 4V. Teacher Tom, http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-we-tell-stories.html helped inspire me with how to go about recording stories. I approached children when their books were done and asked them if I could record the story on the paper for them. Eventually, children understood this process and began approaching me with excitement, asking for their story to be recorded. Some I would print, and let them stick to the pages of their book, others were scribed directly to their page.

 Some children write and enjoyed writing titles and captions.

Some use beautiful random letters to write their story.

 The books the children brought in had the usual restriction placed on them as any toy or item brought to class - no disney, barbie, or anything linked to a television show. Hard for some!

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The teachers wanted to invite the children who were not interested in the books, to participate in the story creation process. After all, books are only one of many ways to tell a story! What other ways can we tell stories? I remembered the felt board from my childhood and the rich story telling that took place with this. A child drew a picture that she wanted to discard. I asked if I could use it by cutting it out and using it as a stencil for the felt. More children were invited and gradually the interest spread and children began to cut out their drawings in order for them to be turned into felt board stories. The felt board is a growing story board, in constant use by individual and small groupings of children.

 

Original drawing. Can't change orientation!

Diplodocus made of felt ready for action.

Diplodocus in action on the felt board.

Girl and mystery character riding a dinosaur.

An entire scene.

Next blog...Part 2 of the story project, stop motion animation and photography takes over.