About Me

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Early childhood education has been my life for over 40 years. I have taught all age groups from infants to 5-year-olds. I was a director for five years in the 1980s, but I returned to the classroom 22 years ago. My passion is watching the ways children explore and discover their world. In the classroom, everything starts with the reciprocal relationships between adults and children and between the children themselves. With that in mind, I plan and set up activities. But that is just the beginning. What actually happens is a flow that includes my efforts to invite, respond and support children's interface with those activities and with others in the room. Oh yeh, and along the way, the children change the activities to suit their own inventiveness and creativity. Now the processes become reciprocal with the children doing the inviting, responding and supporting. Young children are the best learners and teachers. I am truly fortunate to be a part of their journey.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

SENSORY IS SOCIAL

Most of the posts on this blog are about apparatus that are built for the sensory table. Lately I have been writing a lot about Box Towers, the latest of which is a Dinosaur Tower.

Though I write a lot about the physical operations the children come up with as they explore the apparatus, there is much more happening in other areas of development such as social development.   To illustrate this point, here is a simple story told in pictures and words that happened recently at this apparatus.  To understand the story, you need to know there are holes on opposite sides of the tall tower.

A playful gesture

Reciprocated

Creates a play connection

That is recreated anew in another part of the room.

THE END
(but not really)  
Posted by Tom Bedard at 3/22/2014

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