Loud Doll Play

Dolls in bunk beds

The other day in my church kindergarten class, I said something that I haven't said before. At least I cannot remember saying it before.

"Boys, the doll play is too loud."

A group of boys were playing with the dolls in lots of different ways. And things kept getting louder and louder until it was too loud.

As I reflected later and laughed at saying this, I realized that this statement reflects a lot of our expectations in the classroom.

1. Materials should be flexible and able to be used in different ways. The dolls have been used in lots of ways before. But these boys were exploring different ways to use the dolls. After all, we don't often have the dolls sleeping in bunk beds.

2. Imagination and new ideas (the kids' usually but mine sometimes) are crucial in learning. I walked over to the play at one moment. The plastic placemats were folded and lying on the table. The boys were pushing the dolls' faces into the placemats. "Tell me what is happening," I said (extremely curious and a little concerned). "The babies are eating cheese," they explained.

3. Choice is important. The boys dominated play with the dolls on this particular day. Other times, the girls are using the dolls and boys are elsewhere. Sometimes boys and girls work together. Other times they are completely separate (at their own choice). Some children play independently; others are moving to wherever a group congregates. Interest and preference leads kids to choose what to do.

4. Who you are doesn't limit what you can do. Boys and girls all use dolls, tools, cars, pencils, books, paint, and puzzles equally. All the kids move to dramatic play activities, art activities, construction activities.

5. Each person is responsible for his or her actions. I don't mind loud. I don't mind messy. But if a child snips paper and creates a lot of scraps, that child is responsible for cleaning up those scraps. If play gets too loud, the kids are responsible for adjusting play or changing play to modify the sound level (and not disturb others in and outside the classroom).

The doll play settled down. Still a little rowdy. Still a little loud (but not too loud). And, eventually, quieted to reading books together.

Reading together

That's why I love being in an early childhood classroom. Things are fluid. Things are always moving. And I am always learning new ways to use familiar stuff.

Sometimes I think I learn as much (or more) than they do.

"That's a Girl Thing"

This week I put out some rhythm instruments and streamers with the CD player. My wife contributed the ribbon streamers from her choir cabinet. I thought we'd have some fun moving and playing music.

Two boys were playing some instruments, talking about what the different things on the table.

"That's a girl thing," one boy said, indicating the streamers.

I was surprised at the comment about the streamers. I didn't say anything about it; in fact, I'm not sure they even knew I overheard their comments.

A few minutes later, I moved closer to the table and we talked about what they were doing. They wanted to change in the music currently playing on the CD. (It wasn't fast enough for them.) After a few technical comments about the player, we turned back to the other items on the table.

I watched and comments on the instruments they were using. I indicated the streamers. "You know what these are?" I asked. "These are streamers that you can move to the music."

"What?" Both boys were immediately interested.

"You can hold the ring and wave them to the music," I said. "You can wave them fast or slow. You can match the music."

Someone elsewhere in the room called my name and I stepped back from the table with the music. One boy picked up the ribbons and tested them out. Then each boy had one in each hand, waving them frantically.

They waved the streamers for a little bit and then moved back to investigating the instruments.

I don't really know what prompted the girl comment. Now, I'll admit that the rings were sparkly and some of the ribbon was shiny. But I never said anything about something being "boy" or "girl" things. In fact, I usually don't hear anything like that about materials in our room. We had tools out in the room, too, and nobody said anything about those being "boy things." (Exception: pink paper or markers - those are always commented on as girl things. Sometimes I use a pink marker to disprove the whole girl-centric comments about pink.)

We're going to use those streamers a few more times. And I'm sure - boy or girl - each child is going to have fun waving them.

Full Body Stamping

Recently we were stamping on the art table. I watched C as he worked with his stamps.

He reached over across the table to the green stamp pad.

And then reached across to stamp on his paper.

I watched him to it over and over.

"You can move your paper closer the stamp pad," I said. "Or move the stamp pad closer to you."

"No, that's okay," he said.

I think he liked the movement as much as the stamping. Maybe because he's a boy and needs that movement element. Maybe he just needed to stretch his body. Whatever the reason, full body stamping seemed like great fun.

Sometimes you just need to use your whole body in learning.

"Let's Make It As Dirty As Possible"

It seems I keep getting reminded about boys and teaching them. (For some past blog posts about this, check these: Boys Will Be....; Expecting Them to Be Boys; All Twisted Up.)

Three boys were at the easel, using the dry erase markers. One thing about boys - they build ideas off of each other. These three were having a good time drawing and erasing. Then one of them said, "Let's make it as dirty as possible." And then they went to work.

They each took off the lids of several markers and began to draw and scribble.

Of course, I saw this as a cool idea. (I'm not sure Cindy would have approved, but she was out.)

They enjoyed making the easel "dirty" and then erasing it. Then they started again.

I did feel that we all needed Cindy there to tell us when it was enough. They did get a little rowdy with it. But the markers all ended up with lids on them.

Well, at least most of them.

Boys Will Be....

It seems that posts and stories are popping up all over the Internet about gender, boys, girls, learning, and so forth. This week Not Just Cute addressed the issue of boys and girls. I've blogged some about it myself. (Look here and here for a couple of recent posts.)

I think it's important for boys and girls to have opportunities to explore and try out a variety of activities. Boys and girls use tools and build with blocks. Boys and girls cook and pretend. Boys and girls drive cars and create with art materials. All of these allow kids to broaden their understanding of the world and try lots of different things to discover what they like to do. I strive to put aside any preconceived ideas about what boys and girls should do.

This week I was reminded about it again. We had lots of baby care items out for the dolls. Only boys played in that center. (The girls were busy elsewhere.) Several boys fed, bathed, dressed, and even walked the dolls. We even had a two-handed push to get a pacifier into a baby's mouth. (That's a boy's way of handling the situation.)

I've never understood why people want to discourage boys (or girls) from particular activities. Boys need to explore family relationships.

After all, many of them will be fathers one day. And some of them may even grow up to teach preschoolers (like Greg) or kindergartners (like Matt)!

All Twisted Up

I've been thinking more about boys...and what happened this week in my classroom.

I put out the game mat with letters H, E, L, P. We're still talking about families and discussing how to help in our families. I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in playing this game. Sometimes there's not much interest in this type of activity.

I was wrong. The boys really enjoyed getting all twisted up. In the beginning I pulled slips out of the bag and called out hand or foot and the letter.

After a while, I moved away (to attend to some other things in the room) and the boys continued to play on their own.

They enjoyed it so much and I tried to think about why. Here are some of my ideas.

• They enjoyed the physical activity that was required. Stretching, bumping, moving.
• They enjoyed challenge of stretching, reaching, and moving to the "right" place.
• They enjoyed the problem-solving. (Where is the letter E? How can I get my foot on it?)
• They enjoyed the loudness of it. We laughed and called out letters. We strained and groaned. 
• They enjoyed the "unstructure" of it. Yes, the game had some rules. But, when someone fell, he would join back in. If one got too stretched out, he would adjust and start again. 
• Even though they were thinking and problem solving, they were having fun. Fun is okay even if you are learning or thinking.

Girls were welcome to join us, but not one did. Even when the boys moved to other things, no girl played the game. 

The draw of this game makes me think about other things in my room. How can I include physical activity? How can I create challenges and problems to solve? How can I allow some loudness and unstructure? How can I keep the fun? Hmm. More thinking to come.

Expecting Them to Be Boys

A few weeks ago, on Look at My Happy Rainbow, Mr. A. talked about boys and school. If you didn't read his post and watch the posted video, I recommend you go check it out. (In fact, I'd recommend that you read his blog regularly.)

It often seems that when I see/read/learn/hear something new, I get confronted with that same issue in my classroom. This week, we did activities focused on families. In blocks we used our great "doll house" with furniture. (It's from Kaplan but now is now available. Sorry.)

Boys converged on the materials, assembled the walls, and began to fill the house the furniture. I'm a big advocate of open-ended activities and allowing kids to choose how the activity flows, so the furniture placement is...well...interesting.

Checking the instructions - to make sure it's "right"
(literacy?)

Couch and chairs across from the toilet and sink - Hmmm.

Then I came along later and found that the people were now all on top of the furniture.

Boys came back to the activity later and I hear some "disturbing" conversation:

"The baby is roasting." "He's in the oven." "It's toasty warm."

"The boy's head is in the toilet." (Yes, there's a toilet with this furniture set.)

"Look at what she is doing. Look at what he's doing."

"Now the baby is sleeping in the toilet."

I heard some giggling. And the conversation ratcheted up a little louder.

How did I respond? "The oven doesn't seem like a safe place to sleep." "Poor baby." "Wow, that looks hard to do." "His head in the toilet is silly." "It would be warm if you were in an oven."

It's important to let kids be silly or to explore different ideas in a safe environment. Now, truthfully, both boys and girls are silly and may explore some of these ideas. But usually boys are leading the charge. If things get too loud, I encourage them to lower the noise level. If they get a little too "energetic," I'll tell them they need to settle a little bit since we are inside. But I don't stop a little energetic rough play or silly play. My classroom should be a place to explore these ideas and express these feelings. If it is, then my classroom becomes a safe haven to have true honest feelings and conversations. And that's what I want.

A Matter of Aesthetics

My blog friends Sherry and Donna at Irresistible Ideas for Play-Based Learning always inspire and sometimes challenge me. I think the idea that has been most intriguing to me has been their emphasis on creating aesthetically pleasing as well as engaging learning activities and centers. Just peruse their blog and you will see all kinds of ideas for setting up activities in fun, attractive ways.

I've been working on that idea, too. However, my set-ups certainly are not like Sherry and Donna's, at least not yet.

Recently I noticed two girls working in the blocks center. Many times my boys dominate that area but this particular day the boys were elsewhere. These girls began to build - and this is what I observed.

As I thought about it, I realized that these girls were concerned as much about aesthetics - how the creation looked - as construction. They carefully chose all the same colors and arranged them in a particular pattern. After this building was toppled, the girls continued to create patterns and designs among their "buildings." (Sorry, no pictures of that.)

This confirmed to me that young children think about how things look. Sure, I can throw a bunch of stuff in a box and set it on the floor - and my kids would have a ball. But thinking about how things are arranged and stimulating the aesthetic portion of their thinking (learning) can be effective as well. Maybe that helps them think about the world and its arrangement. Maybe it helps them grow in visual discrimination. Maybe it's just emotionally satisfying. Whatever drives it, I need to be aware of it and make sure I'm paying attention to it.

Thanks, Sherry and Donna! You are helping me become a more well-rounded teacher.

Mothers Day

For Mother's Day, we were going to make fancy cards. I went into a local craft store and struck it lucky. I found glittered foam stickers on sale. And self-adhesive gems, too. I bought a lot! Then I found some great butterfly shapes and decided we would make fancy butterfly magnets for moms. 


The kids really enjoyed working with these "new" materials. The butterflies were very fancy and gilttery.


And I received additional confirmation that I am NOT a prophet. I wondered if the activity would be too "girly" for the boys to enjoy. It was for Mom, so girly is expected. But I did wonder if they would just do something quickly and move on to other things. Especially since my boys usually don't spend a lot of time in the art center.


But the boys--the ones that were there--spent the most time with the activity. They were very particular in how they used the materials, placing each item in just the right place. The boys used most of the gems. Such concentration and effort. 

Such wonderful results.

And, of course, it was for MOM! 


(I'm going to quit trying to predict anything.)

Finger Painting

Recently we finger painted. And I noticed something. I think I noticed this particular phenomenon in my classroom because of Teacher Tom's post Boy Art. I've been thinking about how boys and girls work and play in my classroom after reading that post and this led to my observation.

A group of girls painted first. We pushed up sleeves, put on smocks, squeeze paint onto trays, and began to paint. I added colors as requested and soon everyone was painting with varied shades of black. My attention was diverted to another part of the room, and when I tuned back in the girls were chanting, "I'm washing my hands" as they used the finger paint for soap. Now all four girls looked like they were wearing mottled gloves, paint covering all of their hands up to and maybe even a little past the wrists.

When done, the girls moved to the sink to wash hands. That's when I discovered that at least 2 girls got paint on their sleeves (that were still pushed up almost to their shoulders) and covered the front of their smocks with paint, too. When I moved the trays to wash them, the table had paint everywhere. That's when the realization came to me - my girls are messy. Messy and exuberant.

A little later, a group of boys hit the art table to finger paint. They rolled up sleeves, donned smocks, and jumped into with all fingers. The boys got paint only on their palms and fingers (but not the backs of their fingers). One boy kept insisting that I push up his sleeves when they moved a millimeter. When the painting ended, no paint on the table or any smocks. And all the sleeves were pristine. My boys were much more deliberate about how they painted.

It was an interesting observation, a difference from what I usually observe. And a reminder that I don't need to push any particular description on a child based on just demographics. Each child is unique and interesting and his (or her) own person.

And I wouldn't want my kids any other way!


All photos by R. Scott Wiley