partnership with parents

Last week, it was lucky to have a Mum come in to show the kindy children how to make natural food coloring. The Mum believes in healthy lifestyle, and she treasured the opportunity to share what she is. She used a juicer to extract the juice from silver beet, beetroot, pumpkin, blueberry and carrot for the colors of green, red, yellow, purple and orange. It was just that simple!  And then, the children brushed the juice on a piece of bread dough and baked it for tea. The colour looked vibrant and lovely. However, if the color is to be used for icing, the juice needed to be reduced by boiling it for a while. I'll certainly tried this idea soon.

The children obviously were learning through observation, experimentation and hands on participation. Some helped to peel the onion, cut up beetroot and silver beet, or put the cut vegetables into the juicer. They were actively involved using their senses. They tasted and smelled the juice and bread; and they were vowed by the colors of the bread.

I noticed that the Mum really enjoyed the activity herself. She offered to come more often, acknowledging that contributing her time to her son's education is very important to her. It is a delight to have her as she is able to share her expertise, knowledge and experiences. As a Mum, she is good at reminding the children to take turns, explaining in a way young children are able to understand, and listening patiently to children's comments and remarks. She is definitely a pleasure to work with. Parents definitely have a lot to offer. I just wonder whether there are any other parents who are also passionate to be part of the programme but shy to put up their hands?

using recycling materials for art

I am asked to look after the recycling area for the kindergarten for a month. Our kindy has a strong focus on the issues of environmental conservation and care. We have a well established resource bench keeping recycling materials for children to use as collage. The materials are carefully sorted in glass jars according to their colors, offering possibilities and inspiring creativity. Open-ended materials allow children choices and independence, which are crucial in stimulating genuine creativity. I believe in offering open-ended materials in the art area, as making something out of such materials requires and builds flexibility, and it develops the ability to focus while the product may remain unknown. Art making then produces a greater sense of competence in children.

So I have been thinking, “What can I do to further extend learning in this area?” “How can I encourage/motivate the children to go further?” “What new materials can I introduce?”
After I have done some research and observation, I am convinced that the  area is working well. What I can do to bring the learning to the next level could probably be topping up the materials and tidying up the area with the children, just that simple! 

Cathy Weisman Topal,  coauthor with Lella Gandini of Beautiful Stuff (1999), points out that children develop power when they build individual relationships with materials. When children have the chance to notice, collect, and sort materials, and when teachers respond to their ideas, the children become artists, designers, and engineers. When children are simply given materials to use without the chance to explore and understand them, the materials do not become part of the their world.

Let me also quote an example from Weisman Topal :
When a child says, “Oh, I need some of that red netting from onions,” he demonstrates that he has experience, knowledge, and a relationship with the material, a connection. It is not somebody else’s discovery; it is the child’s. Whenever a child makes the discovery, it’s exciting, it’s fun. The child is the researcher and the inventor; this builds confidence.

I am hopeful that with guidance from teachers in the exploration of materials, our kindy children are able to accomplish more. I will keep posting...

In the meantime, check out my favourite ECE New Zealand website and get inspiration from Lisa Terreni, a practising artist and an ECE lecturer.

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children with special needs

We have a beautiful girl at the kindy who has Down Syndrome. She always puts things in her mouth, play dough, toys and even clay. She simply cannot not help herself, but children around her keep reminding her not to. They have been walking her to bathroom to wash her hands and then help her take out her lunch box. They are so friendly and caring that the teachers sometimes need to remind them that the girl with Down Syndrome is competent to do most things. Just don't mothering her!  I am so glad to have her because she brings out the sensitive and caring sides of other children. Yesterday, it was amazing to watch a little Korean boy using his limited English as well as body language to show the girl with Down Syndrome where and how to put away coloring pencils.

The teachers have been learning the sign language to communicate better and effectively with her. We found the sign language quite self explanatory, and it appeals to all children visually.  I'm thinking how the sign language can be incorporated into the program...

celebrate cultural diversity

One day, a child found a Japanese Kimono at the dress up corner and asked me what country it was from. I explained that it was from Japan, just like another girl at kindy. I told her the Japanese girl was born in New Zealand, and her parents travelled from Japan to live in New Zealand. That child thought for a moment and said her father loved to travel too. Her Dad had travelled all around the world to look for her Mum, until he found her at the Ise of Man. What a romantic story!

At mat-time, I shared the conversation with all the children and read a book about Japan. Before they go home, I told them and their parents I was glad that we all came to the same kindy even some of us might be from a faraway country. Cultural diversity certainly enrich our kindy programme.

Children's artisitic intuition - Living art

Children at my kindergarten have been wrapping and tying wool around the branches of a couple of trees. Originally, the idea was to create a trap to catch some insects. Gradually, the 'trap' has grown in size, and the structure looks stunning, in particular, with a variety of colors of wool being used.  I heard that children started to talk about the choice of color. 'We're making it look pretty!' one girl explained. Obviously, artistic element is her consideration.

Can I say the 'trap' has become a piece of art? The process is certainly creative, as the children have to think about what color to choose, how to weave a piece of wool in and out, under or over the structure.
It seems the trap has evolved into an art sculpture....it makes me wonder how do we define art.

Looking back, the role of the teacher/adult has been providing time, space and materials. The children have full ownership of the creative process. Most importantly, the 'trap'/ sculpture is a piece of collective art work. Art is usually assumed to be a form of indiviudal expression. As such, teachers often put a collection of individual artwork together or alongside each other, rather than encouraging children to create in collaboration.
what do you think?

Cooking with young children - food for thought

We all know baking embodies a lot of learning. However, the ingredients choice may present some difficulties. Cakes and biscuits are now considered as unhealthy food by some people. Apart from the sugar and fat content, food coloring also has been a concern. A family at my kindergarten leads a natural lifestyle, totally free of artificial coloring and food additives. I am well aware of that too. However, when I decided to bake a rainbow cake with bold food coloring, the family showed concern. She unwillingly let her child have a tiny piece of cake, expressing that she had no choice under the circumstances. Previously, I thought it should be ok as food coloring was something I do not use often. Also, I gave out the cake at home time, when parents could say no to the cake.

That evening, I kept thinking about the concern of that mother. I have been thinking should I do more to promote healthy eating, as an early childhood teacher? Have we done enough to stress about cake and biscuit are treat? Is food coloring so evil? How much do I know about food additive?

I decided that family's wishes and views do matter. I would like her to know I do care and do listen. So, the next day, I baked with children again. Back to the basic cupcake recipe. No frills, no additive.

Cooking with children - its food technology

Yes, 'technology' is a big word to use. But it's the truth. I made ice blocks with children, challenging them to guess how long it would take for the runny juice to turn into chilly ice blocks. Some children made a wild guess of an hour or a few minutes. The ones who, probably, had previous experiences said it would take ages, and they made sure I would put the ice block tray in the coldest part of the fridge, i.e. the freezer. Making food does involve science concepts like the forms of liquid and solid; the use of technology, which is the freezer to create a freezing cold environment to create the solid hard ice blocks; and scientific methods, namely, making hypothesis, testing it out, observing results and modifying the theory accordingly.

The most popular cooking activity with children is baking. Children will witness the properties of ingredients changing during the baking process. The cake rises (hopefully), the butter melts, the sugar dissolves...Even simple thing like using a pizza oven and waffle maker would bring joy and make meaningful learning happen.

Enjoy cooking with children!

P.S. children develop social skills, literacy and numeracy knowledge during interaction with adults and peers when cooking. But there is something to be aware of. Read this ECRP article for insights.