BIG BOX

I am in the process of finalizing my presentation on sand and water tables for the National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC) Annual Conference next week in Washington D.C.  Because it takes me a long time to do an original post, I am looking over previous posts and am reposting some that may have gotten less attention than others. This third repost was from September two years ago, although the actual apparatus was built more than five years ago.  I like big boxes and I like to figure out ways to attach them to the sensory table.  This particular version created two very different spaces at the table and allowed me to talk about the spaces and how children dialogued with those spaces.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

BIG BOX

A big box by itself always offers hours of fun for young children.  When I come across a big box, I like to bring it into school and attach it to the sensory table.  A few years ago, we bought a big TV.   It was not a flat screen, so it came in a big box.  So what did I do? I brought the box to school and attached it to the sensory table.

I attached it by cutting a rectangular flap on the side of the box adjacent to the table.  The top and two sides of the flap were completely cut through, but I only scored the bottom so I could fold it over and tape it to the lip of the table.  Since the lip was two inches wide, I actually scored it twice, once at the box and once where I wanted the flap to bend over the lip.

The reason it is taped is to keep it attached to the table so the children do not pull it away from the table. The hole is suppose to be a connection between the box and the table.

In addition, I cut big holes on three sides of the box not facing the table.

(If you look inside the box, you can see that all the loose flaps are taped down.  That gives the box a little extra strength and does not allow the medium to get under the inside flaps.)

This apparatus creates two separate spaces.  The spaces are very different.  The space in and around the table itself is very open and bright.  The space created by the box is closed with less light.  They are, however, connected by a window that I thought would create action between the two spaces.

This apparatus was set up in my classroom over three years ago.  I thought the window would connect play, but as I look over my documentation, I do not have any pictures of the window as a catalyst for play between the two spaces.  Neither do I have a recollection of much exploration through the window.  As you can see in the picture below, two children are playing in the two different spaces totally oblivious to each other.

Maybe the window was too small or maybe the spaces were insular enough that there was litlle play between them.  I have attached other big boxes to the sensory table and cut a larger hole between the box and the table that has resulted in much more interaction between the two spaces. Here a big box setup that fostered play between the box and the table.

Both spaces for this apparatus, though, were attractive for the the children.

Some played in the table.

Some played in the box.

Because I used farm animals and animal bedding, much of the play was similar.  There was a lot of scooping of bedding into the containers, putting the animals in the containers, and feeding the animals.

At the table

And in the box

Though the play was similar, I think the experience of space was different.  Children get a different sense of space when they are standing at the table than when they are kneeling on the floor and putting their hands, arms, head, and torso into the box.  An apparatus like this is teaching children about space because they experience space with their bodies.  And learning about space is fundamental to later academics subjects such as geometry.

Speaking of space, you cannot forget about the space on top of the box.  In the picture below, you can see a child sweeping animal bedding from the top of the box.

This picture actually shows all the different levels and spaces being used at one time in and around the table and apparatus: two girls are sweeping the floor (lowest level, flat/open space); two boys are in the box (a little higher lever, three-dimensional/closed space); one girl is playing in the table (the next highest level, three-dimensional/open space); and one boy is sweeping the top of the box(highest level, flat/open space).

Children naturally explore levels and spaces.  The more you provide, the more they will explore and discover.   

P.S.  If you are going to the NAEYC national conference in Washington DC in next week, I am presenting on sand and water tables.  The session is on Saturday morning from 8:00-9:30, so we will see who are the early birds.   In the process of preparing for the conference, I am putting together a three-ring binder of some of the apparatus that do not fit into the presentation, including some of the newest apparatus.  Any readers of the blog who want to see more examples that do not fit in the presentation, contact me to find a time to meet and chat.  Please contact me through my email: tpbedard@msn.com

CARDBOARD CHUTES-CLOSED EDITION

Thursday, January 20, 2011

CARDBOARD CHUTES - CLOSED VERSION

I am in the process of finalizing my presentation for the National Association of Young Children Annual Conference for the third week in November.  Because it takes me a long time to finish an original post, I am looking over previous posts and will repost some that may have gotten less attention than others since I began writing over three years ago.  This second repost is from January 2011 and features an apparatus that I have since forgotten about.  Since finding it anew, I will reconstruct it sometime this school year because of the types of play and exploration it fosters. This post also covers more in-depth the building process.

If you look at the DIMENSIONS in the right-hand column of this blog, the first Cardboard Chute apparatus falls under the dimensions of incline and open.  The cardboard chutes in this post are also on an incline, but closed.  Since this actually takes some putting together, this post talks about building the apparatus.  The next post will talk about types of play and exploration fostered by this apparatus.

For this apparatus, I used three boxes.  The first box---the support box---was approximately the width of the table on one of its sides.  It was also both narrow and tall on its other two sides. Since it was the width of the table and fit snugly inside the table, it was easy to tape securely into the table.  The narrowness made it possible for the chutes to pass through it.  The height allowed the chutes to be set on an incline.  Two other boxes constituted the chutes.   One of the chutes in the picture above is a box that held window blinds and the second chute is a box that held an artificial Christmas tree.  I cut out both ends of each box.  Without those ends, the chutes collapse easily.   When they are embedded in the support box, though, they are quite stable.

Here are three boxes I used to make closed chutes three years ago.

In this version, the support box is as wide as the table and actually sits on the lip of the table.  A cardboard tube has been added so the flow of material can go two ways.  With the chutes only going one direction, the play and exploration sometimes stops when most of the material has been emptied from the table.   

To make the holes for the chutes, I first trace an end of the "chute" box onto the support box near what will be the top.

If I were just to cut the square, though, the chute would end up to be horizontal, not on an incline, in the support box.

I don't want that, so I add an inch or two to the original trace on the top to be able to orient the chute on a slant.

Two inches is a lot to add to the original trace. The more you add, the steeper the slant. (This almost sounds like a geometry lesson for a teacher.) 

By the way, I hardly ever measure. Once I have done one side, I move to the other side.  I trace the chute on the other side; I usually place the top of the trace on the second side about where the bottom of the trace is on the first side.  I then add an inch or two to the bottom.

When the holes are cut, I insert the chutes through both holes.

After inserting the chutes, I tape all around them with duct tape to keep them from sliding up or down in the support box.  If I have cut the hole a little too big for the chute, the taping covers up extra spaces. Taping is another process for which I do not measure.  I like to use duct tape that tears easily.  I will tear off a piece that is longer than the juncture I want to tape.  I use my fingers to push it into place.

Once the tape is pressed in place, I cut any extra that is hanging past the corner.  One section is pressed flat against the box and the other is folded over and down.   

When I have taped all the chutes in place, I tape the apparatus to the table.  I orient it so the higher end of the chute is above the table and the lower end extends over the table and directs the material into a tub on the floor next to the table.

OK kids, it is now yours to explore!

If you are counting, there are eight children around this table playing on several different levels afforded by the apparatus.


P.S.  If you are going to the NAEYC national conference in Washington DC in November, I am presenting on sand and water tables.  The session is on Saturday morning from 8:00-9:30, so we will see who are the early birds.   In the process of preparing for the conference, I am putting together a three-ring binder of some of the apparatus that do not fit into the presentation, including some of the newest apparatus.  Any readers of the blog who want to chat and see some examples that do not fit into the presentation, I would love to find a time to meet.  Please contact me through my email: tpbedard@msn.com

PROFILE PICTURE

I am in the process of finalizing my presentation for the National Association of Young Children Annual Conference for the third week in November.  Because it takes me a long time to finish an original post, I am looking over previous posts and will repost some that may have gotten less attention than others since I began writing over three years ago.  This first repost speaks to what I think is the foundation of all that happens in the classroom.   That foundation is building relationships.   If we take the time to notice the children for who they are---not for what they do or can do---the relationship building process happens at a deep level because we---and especially children---are hardwired to look for and develop mutually respectful relationships.


I would like to explain the picture I chose for my profile.  The picture does not speak directly to sand and water tables, but rather my view of children.  That in turn, influences my practice which includes building apparatus for the sensory table.

This picture was taken in 2008 in a park in Los Banos, Peru.  Los Banos is famous in Peru for the thermal baths used by the Incas and is next to the city of Cajamarca in the Northern Highlands of Peru.  My daughter was living and working there at the time, so I went to visit her.  My daughter worked for DiscoverHope, a non-profit organization that gives mircroloans to women.  This particular day I had gone along with my daughter as she met with some of the women.  As she was talking with one of the women in the park, I noticed the woman's two children playing.  Before long, they were bringing me flowers.

What story does this picture tell?

It began when the children noticed that I was watching them.  Children are always looking to make connections and form relationships.  They reciprocated immediately.  It was then my turn to reciprocate.  (By the way, often times it works in reverse: a child will initiate and I will reciprocate.)   Notice two things in the picture.  First, I am down on their level.  To truly understand a child's perspective, you have to be able to get down on her level.  A colleague once related a story of a little girl who kept telling the teacher to look at the bunny in the snow.  The teacher could not see it no matter how hard she looked.  The child was insistent and finally the teacher got down on the child's level.  It was only then she saw what the child saw: the snow had drifted into the shape of a rabbit.   Second, we are focused on each other.  Our actions are our shared language even without words.  This is doubly true in this instance because my Spanish was only a few words more than their English, which was nonexistent.  There was no script to our interactions, so we made it up as we went along.   We were living in the moment: both sides initiating and responding; both sides reading each other's cues.

When I build an apparatus for the sensory table, I am using it as a provocation to begin a mutual dialogue with the children.  For any given apparatus, there are no scripted directions to follow.  Children bring their own set of abilities, interests and ideas to the table---literally. When those things are noticed and recognized in the context of our interaction, we build a respectful relationship in which we are learning from and teaching each other.

One last point about what the picture says to me.  The act of giving flowers is an excellent metaphor for the beauty all children have to offer if we are primed to notice their cues, prepared to receive them, and ready to reciprocate in kind.


P.S.  If you are going to the NAEYC national conference in Washington DC in November, I am presenting on sand and water tables.  The session is on Saturday morning from 8:00-9:30, so we will see who are the early birds.   Any readers of the blog who want to chat, I would love to find a time to meet.  Please contact me through my email: tpbedard@msn.com

WELCOMING---A SEQUEL

Last month I wrote a piece about children feeling welcome in the classroom. It was mostly about what we as staff do at school to make families---children and adults---feel welcome in the classroom.  Two weeks ago there was an episode that made me stop and take measure of the ability of children themselves to be an important part of that process.

I have a two-year-old girl who would become very sad when her mother left.  I had her mother stay a little longer and had her come back early the first couple weeks.  When mom left, though, she would cry.  I acknowledged her feelings and I remember holding her up to our window so we could watch the squirrels gathering winter food and then disappearing.  She talked through her tears about the squirrel going in the backyard out of sight.  We would talk about how sad she felt missing her mother.

Last week, there was a turning point.  It began with me asking her to help me wash the cups after snack.

After washing the cups, though, she was sad again.  We went over to the drawing table.  I thought maybe would could draw together.  Before I could even introduce making marks together, another two-year-old from the room came over and reached out to hold her hand.

At this point, it was important for me to take a read as to whether this sad child was open to this overture.  She was so my job became that of observer.

Next, the child who was demonstrating so much empathy gently gave my little friend who was missing her mother a hug.   As you can see from the picture below, it was reciprocal.

Next, the empathetic child gently took the other child's hand and said the magic words: "Do you want to play with me?"  And off they went together to explore what they could do together in the room.  

At this point, my job was done.  And it was done better than I could have done it.  Not only that, it was done by an two-year-old expert that understood the sadness of another in a way that allowed her to make a connection at a mutually understood level. 

Instantly, I became the student of the child who was teaching me something about how to make another child feel welcome.  

The beauty of the moment astounded me.  

Do you have those moments? 

P.S.  If you are going to the NAEYC national conference in Washington DC in November, I am presenting on sand and water tables.  The session is on Saturday morning from 8:00-9:30, so we will see who are the early birds.   Any readers of the blog who want to chat, I would love to find a time to meet.  Please contact me through my email: tpbedard@msn.com

PIPES EMBEDDED IN PLANTER TRAYS

I seem to be on a kick this fall making things using planter trays and tubes.  The big box hardware store had a good sale on planter trays and I recently received a donation of cardboard tubes and several plastic tubes. The first apparatus to come out of these materials was the Cardboard Tubes Embedded in a Cardboard Tube.  The second apparatus to come from these materials is Pipes Embedded in Planter Trays.

This apparatus may look complicated, but it is relatively simple.  There are two 5-foot pieces of 3/4 inch PVC pipe running horizontally through two 29-inch planter trays placed end to end.  The pipes are embedded 1 inch above the bottom of the planter trays and extend past the table out of the trays over tubs on each end. Aquarium caulk is used to seal the holes around the outside of the pipes.  Holes are drilled in the top of the PVC pipes as they traverse the inside of the planter trays.  Here is a top view; it is easier to see all the holes drilled in the top of the pipes.

The way this apparatus works is that children pour water into the trays.  As the children pour water into the trays, the bottom fills up.

Once the water reaches the level of the top of the pipes, water drops through the holes in the pipes and  travels to the end of the pipes and flows out.

This is where the fun begins.  Catching the water from the pipes is not as easy at it may seem, though. The water does not flow at great speed out of the pipes.  Unless someone is pouring a lot of water in the trays, the flow is slow and steady.  In the video below, you see a child collecting the water in a bottle.  As the video begins, he is switching hands because it is tiring to hold his arm out straight for long periods of time.  He has to reposition the bottle to make sure the water drops into his bottle.  As the water flow decreases he continually has to reposition the bottle to make sure he catches the water.  Watch.

Catching the Water from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

Can you imagine the persistence it takes the child to fill his bottle this way.  He, of course, is up to the task; just look at his concentration.

Children will always find other ways to to fill their containers.  One group figured out that certain bottles fit nicely over the pipes, so they could fill the bottles hands-free.

Take a look at Axiom #6 and its Corollary in the right-hand column of this blog.  It states that children will redirect or block the flow of the medium whenever possible.

This child has stopped the water with her thumbs. When she pulls her thumbs out, the water gushes out. Her agency has changed the rate of flow.  Should we tell her?

Another child found a second way to stop the water.  She used the basters that fit nicely into the ends of the pipes.  The basters, though, gave rise to another operation.  By squeezing the basters, this child was able to force air and water back out of the holes in the pipe.  Watch.

Basters in the Pipes from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

Children will always approach a new apparatus with a set of basic operations.  For example there is pouring and catching.  Children, as you can see in the above operations, are not limited to those operations, but in dialogue with the space, materials, apparatus and others, bring their full imagination to their work.  I definitely agree with Einstein when he said: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

CARDBOARD TUBE-MORE OPERATIONS

Last week I introduced a new apparatus: Cardboard Tubes Embedded in a Cardboard Tube.

Whenever a new apparatus is introduced or offered as an invitation to play, I usually have some idea how the the children will approach it.  For instance, I knew there would be lots of pouring down the smaller tubes.

Since the apparatus is built so the smaller tubes can be taken out, the children were certainly going to pull the tubes out of the larger tube---and then pour sand through the open holes.

(If you have been reading this blog long enough, you will notice this is a new feature for an apparatus. There may be plenty of loose parts provided on the shelf next to the apparatus, but up to this point there have been no loose parts built into the apparatus itself.  Is this the start of something?)

Since I turn the apparatus over to the children to make it their own, I am extremely curious about the whole host of other operations that are not foreseen.   That curiosity spurs me to step back and observe to see how the children engage in a dialogue with the apparatus, the medium, the provisions and each other.  Below are some examples of that dialogue.

Since funnels are provided, you would expect a child to use a funnel to aid in pouring the sand down the tube.  Would you expect a child to use three?  How does that change the experience from using just one?

Use of the funnel also provided an opportunity for children to work together.  Below one child is pouring sand down the tube with a funnel from the top while the other is catching it on the bottom with a scoop.  Without the funnel, the child at the bottom would want to move because sand would surely fall on him.  It turns out to be a good example of coordination and cooperation.

One child found a different use for a funnel by adding one of the loose pieces of pipe that was provisioned on the shelf next to the table.  He found out he could plug the funnel with the pipe so no sand flowed through the funnel.

When he removed the pipe, the sand naturally filtered through the funnel.  He added another twist to the pouring, though, by pouring sand directly through the pipe straight into the hole of the funnel.  It was more of a challenge to get the sand in the pipe, but any sand that did not go into the pipe was caught by the funnel.  Did he realize he just created a catchment for the sand?

One child even figured out how to fill one of the loose tubes with sand.  As long as the bottom of the tube was buried in the sand, he could pour sand in one end to fill it up.

But what do you do with it once you have filled up the tube?  This boy lifted the tube out of the bin using one hand to hold the sand in from the bottom.  After standing up, he let 'er rip.

Why and how does a child come up with this operation?  He definitely wants to see the sand shoot out the end of the tube, but the result is so short considering how long it took him to fill it.  And he does it again and again.

Since the tubes do come out, they can also be put back into the holes.  If the holes were bigger that would be an easy task, but since they are not, it takes effort to get the smaller tubes back in the larger tube.

Replacing the cardboard tubes from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

Now the apparatus turns out to be a real-life, 3-D puzzle.  Is there any better kind?

One more interesting operation was created by a child as she tried to get sand out of one end of the big tube.  The most intriguing part is at the beginning of the video: the child has figured out by tapping the big tube with her bowl, sand drops down into her bowl.  (She cannot put words to what she is doing, but by knocking the tube with her bowl, she is creating vibrations in the tube that cause the sand to drop from the end of the tube.)  She does not get the results she wants quick enough so she simply starts scraping the sand into her bowl with her little scoop.

Tapping the Tube from Thomas Bedard on Vimeo.

I continually wonder why and how the children fabricate such a myriad of novel operations.   Can this "messing about" be considered real science? 

P.S.  If you are going to the NAEYC national conference in Washington DC in November, I am presenting on sand and water tables.  The session is on Saturday morning from 8:00-9:30, so we will see who are the early birds.  If you have been to my presentations before, it has changed a bit and been updated.  If you cannot make the session or have questions about building in and around the table that will be hard to answer during the formal presentations and would like to chat, please contact me through the blog or directly through email: tpbedard@msn.com   I would also be interested to talk to anyone who has actually been inspired to build apparatuses to find out how it went.  

CARDBOARD TUBES EMBEDDED IN A CARDBOARD TUBE

The story of my most recent apparatus begins last spring during the last week of school.   I was given two gifts: one was a large cardboard tube from a colleague and the other was a small cardboard tube from a five-year-old from one of my classes.  I wrote about the gifts in a post called An Ideal Gift.   As presaged in that post, these gifts produced the spark that led to a new apparatus: Cardboard Tubes Embedded in a Cardboard Tube.

I used a special kind of drill bit to cut the holes in the large cardboard tube.  It is called a hole saw drill bit.

I cut the holes big enough so the smaller cardboard tubes could be put in or taken out.  I did not want them to fall through the holes, though, so I made pins from wooden dowels and inserted them through the narrow tubes to suspend them in the larger tube.

On a whim, I cut the smaller tubes to different lengths.  Part of the reason I did that was an attempt at aesthetics.  Another reason was the thought that maybe we could figure out a way to make music on the apparatus.  One of my colleagues thought the apparatus looked like a pan flute.  

(Before any music can be made on this apparatus I will have to consult Alec, a colleague in Australia, who has a wonderful blog called Child's Play Music.)

The smaller, narrower tubes present challenges and a wide array of opportunities for pouring the sand into the holes.  You can try to pour with a big scoop, but what is the result?

This picture is a good illustration of how an activity like this on an apparatus like this promotes large motor development. For example, there is the strength it takes to lift and pour the sand. There is also good trunk extension as she reaches to pour.  And as she reaches, she has to balance.  And look how she balances: she uses her body to brace herself at her waist against the the table and she uses her left arm---right down to the finger tips---for counter balance.

Of course, you can still use the big scoop and get more sand in the hole, but that takes a little more effort and control.

Contrast this child's large muscle efforts to the previous child's.  She is balancing again with her waist against the table with her left arm as a counter balance.  Since she is trying to pour with more accuracy, though, she has to control her right arm at least two different ways: first she has to pour more slowly and second, and at the same time, she has to hold the scoop so the spout pours directly into the hole.  By the way, imagine the concentration of the the child on the other side of the table as he watches the sand filter through the bottom of the tube.

Because there are a variety of pouring scoops available to the children, some can choose one that allows them to be very accurate in pouring sand into the holes.   

Now we are getting into more fine motor development, not to mention more refined eye-to-hand coordination.

When a child discovers the funnel, it opens up a whole new experience to pouring sand into the small holes.  The child pictured below has chosen to work with the long tube at the end of the apparatus.   He is filling a cup by spooning sand into the tube through the funnel.   

Did you notice that the funnel allows him to pour accurately even above eye level?

There is more to tell about the unique explorations of the children, but I will leave that for another post.  I would like to leave you with a picture that gives you one child's perspective as she catches the sand falling through one of the narrow tubes.  

I can't help but think this apparatus has come full circle.  It was sparked by An Ideal Gift from a child and now it is the spark for a multitude of explorations by other children.