High Maintenance Mom

The other night we had a GeoKids room meeting that was one of the best meetings I've attended. It started with a simple request, write down some of your favorite childhood play memories. Take a minute and think about yours. You don't have to write them down, but think about the things you did as a child. My memories involved building forts, jumping in leaves, climbing on anything we could find, and exploring. I found myself remembering more as others' mentioned their favorites activities. Memories of a next-door-neighbor we moved away from when I was six and memories of my new next-door-neighbor, who happens to be due with her first as I write this...

The main point of the exercise was to point out that our most memorable play activities did not involve our parents. The ages of the kids in the room are three to four years old and we were basically told they could now play on their own. As adults, our role is to spend more time observing. We were introduced to some of the hats we wear in the classroom (or on the playground) such as Stage Manager (setting up an activity), Mediator (helping make sure children are listening to each other, but not putting words in their mouths), Recorder (writing down what the kids are saying), Player (occasionally joining their play when invited - for example, pretending to eat the mud pie), or Resource (helping out when asked - it was suggested that we ask, "what part do you need help with"). By observing the play, we can figure out which role is most appropriate.

After discussing our favorite activities and the different hats, we watched movies of the kids. The movies were incredible. In the first a child played with magnets (rods and balls). The child tested the magnetic properties of multiple pieces and then started to build. After some time, the child began making a long chain of alternating rods and balls. It was very easy to see that children naturally explore their surroundings and don't need us to ask, "how long can you make that chain?" or "what happens when you touch the two rods together?". It was also easy to see that our kids were learning. The idea of a play-based preschool made sense (we had also looked at programs where kids traced their letters and had topics of the month).

One of the next videos was of another child flipping pages of a book. Other children were running around but the child continued to flip pages. Eventually, they got up, put the book away, and then took out another book and started again. Somehow watching this child with a room full of adults felt close to meditation. My pace is very different but there was nothing I could do but watch. Over time I began to enjoy watching the page flipping which led to an appreciation the benefits of letting children move at their own pace (not a lesson I have been using tonight, however, and now that I write this I realize how much easier bedtime might have been if I had approached it differently).

In another video we saw several sets of two kids playing. Although the kids were working on the dynamics of playing in pairs, they did not only play with a "best friend". It was exciting to see how the kids interacted without us around.

The last video showed at least seven kids on different types of tricycles. The kids were somehow aware of each other and didn't need us to yell, "look out". Some focused on how fast they could pedal while others rode more slowly focusing on how the tricycles worked.

In addition to seeing how kids learn through play and associating it with our own positive memories we talked about how play is about the process. We also talked about how adult behaviors can interrupt play. We're not supposed to spend the day teaching concepts or rules. Our job is to help our kids find their own motivation by letting them explore on their own. I think many of us left the meeting feeling both empowered and relieved. And to reinforce how worksheets aren't necessary, the kids in the older preschool room are learning to write on their own.