Carpentry Play

The carpentry corner at Playcentre is a very empowering corner for play indeed.

My daughter's creation, "The dolphin diving in the sea"

Full of real tools - saws, hammers, nails, screwdrivers, screws, drills, vice, wood and the complete trust in our little people that they will enjoy the tools in their play.

Our playcentre carpentry corner has had its tools refreshed and the kids know it.  With every tool working as it should the children are relishing each one.

Our role as parent at Playcentre is to provide, observe and extend when and if possible.  With carpentry that can be intimidating for a myriad of adult reasons - safety concerns, limited personal experience even frustration that screws, nails and tools are being tipped out and strewn every where by children!!!

After attending a carpentry play workshop I have had my lenz widened to so many pathways children play through when exploring with this type of play.

My kitchen cupboards and draws are often emptied of cutlery, pots, bowls and tea towels because even with all of the "play" or "toy" equipment provided - you just can't beat the real thing. And why not, it's good enough for Mum and Dad right?  Of course then carpentry tools are viewed by children in the same way.

If you imagine how your baby and toddler play and explore the home kitchen then we can draw comparisons to stages of development in carpentry play :

Experimentation Stage
In the kitchen we might see our children....
                        watching family members,
                                      grabbing for and playing with kitchen utensils
        handling and playing with spoons, bowls and pots
                                                             carting the pot around like a treasure
                          emptying cupboards

                       (sound familiar?)

With carpentry play this stage might look like
               tipping out accessories
                                               chewing on wood
        watching other children
                                                           handling or carrying tools around

Abstract Building Stage
In the kitchen we might notice our children.....
                                                use all the utensils in ways they have seen them used
                         begin to stir in a pot or bowl
                                             put plates or bowls or pots in ovens or fridges
          put their toys in the pots!

With carpentry play this stage might look like
                          hammering nails without help
         controlling saws                                        imitating adults
             using tools for their correct purpose
                                      no plan

Specific Creating Stage
In our kitchen I see this ...
                  child requesting a recipe
                                         understanding that certain types of baking requires certain ingredients

gathers ingredients from cupboards and fridge or garden
                            models Mum and Dad's methods
    insists on variations
                                       
During carpentry play you might see children in this stage...
      Pre planning construction
                               adding accessories
                                          modeling own things
completing and naming their creations
                                                      experimenting

What I love the most about these identified stages is that it begins with experimentation and upon knowing more and understanding more returns to experimentation.  That to me is what is exciting about learning through play and in my opinion what learning is.  How often do you find yourself mastering something, then experimenting once you feel you have reached a certain point?

Ideas for making carpentry more accessible at Playcentre or at home:

Provide the basics if you can - wood (untreated pine off cuts are usually free around the place), nails or screws, hammers, drills, and saws.

Be present during this play - observe, offer language (hit, screw, up, down, together...) provide ideas to enable the child to realise their plan.

Holding a nail can be hard while little hands hammer.  Try starting the nail, put clay or playdough around to hold the nail in position.  This is a much more appealing option than your fingers around the nail while the child takes aim with the hammer.

Wood can be hard.  Bars of soap are a great medium for hammering into - if  the child's goal is to hammer.  Pumice is an accessible medium to saw, drill or hammer into.

Hammering/drilling holes into shells can end in shatters.  Use a masonary bit (has a spade like tip).  Hold the shell round side down and squish into play dough or clay to hold in position.

Tree stumps make excellent hammering tables for toddlers - they are lower, a little more forgiving and provide a large and defined work space.

Once nails are hammered into wood, thread wool around to create a pattern.

With the child's imagination and exploration nurtured by the adult's support through observation, offer of language and scaffolding to make their pathway possible there are no limits - follow their lead.

Carpentry play grows problem solvers, develops fine/gross motor skills, is both scientific and mathematical amongst many other values and most importantly is fun.

A time to thank our friends..even the imaginary ones!

KB baked her first batch of Christmas cookies.  We chose a Belgium Biscuit recipe - delicious and spicey, drizzled with a lemon icing.

It took all day from mixing the dough to cooling, baking then cooling, then icing.  As a treat she got to stay up a little later than usual with Mum to finish these off.

We chatted about giving thanks to those who care for us and for whom we care about at Christmas time.  This included her friends of course.  And she included "mmm", "yay" and "ha" - her imaginary friends.

A month ago these three appeared or at least became apparent to me.  You see I forgot to dry them after KBs shower one evening (I did not know they were there!!).

I have since learned that they are girls.  They are very small and can fit in KBs hand.  They are gorgeous as told in one of her palm stories (when our family are in places where there are no books handy we use the palms of our hands together to tell a made up story) one morning... "Once upon a time there were some girls mm and yay they were gorgeous and nice..."  Their front door is on the wall beside her bed - which explains the knocking that we hear in the evening.  They recently celebrated a birthday and quite a birthday party happened at our house with many soft toy guests and two different cakes.  KB is teaching them how to use the toilet and they help her too.  They get pushed on the swing.

Many people believe that imaginary friends appear to help a child get through hard times and certainly research seems to support this.  I thought this too.  I did some research and more thinking about when mmm, yay and ha appeared to my "eyes" and what times they appear to play with KB.

They seemed to appear not long after KB tried to initiate a game of tee ball with a four year old at play centre, with whom she had played a couple of weeks before.  The four year old did not respond despite KBs attempts at asking.  So I wonder if KB needs friends for reciprocal play and in her life mm, yay and ha fill this need between real friends.

Perhaps, they have appeared since KBs sister E joined our family.  KB loves her sister but cannot wait for her to play with her...sooo may be mmm, yay and ha fill this gap.

Or may be as this research suggests, imaginary friends are created by children with active imaginations.

What ever the reason - mm, yay and ha are a part of our family, friends to KB and this year will be getting a gift of thanks from her.

How about those names??!

More Finger Painting Magic!

My nephew plunged into using our Playcentre finger paint - made by his Mumma during his little chicken pox episode recently.

He described his painting as "magic".  I so agree with him.

Here is Kaea's latest adventure with finger paint.  Blue and Kowhai this time.  She is beginning to notice what happens when she blends colours.

And clearly the experience was super as the paint was squidged all over her arms and feet!

"Green Mummy!"

Some parents prefer to avoid "messy" play at home, but in our house it is the best play of all.  Kaea's little senses love it and she seems so refreshed and "earthed" afterward.

This time round her little body seemed to want to get amongst the paint.  So I say bring on summer and we will take the paint outside and see what happens...by then E might like to join in as well!

Finger paint recipe here

Celebrating Matariki - A Te Reo Story Table

"Ko wai to ingoa?"  

"What is your name?"

"Ko Rochelle toku ingoa"

"My name is Rochelle"

My beautiful and linguistic sister - Bella, is a teacher of Te Reo Maori and Kapa Haka at a Rudolph Steiner School.  She is full of courage and passion.  Passion for learning te reo - while our family are of Maori descent we did not speak Maori, yet she is driven to learn and share the reo.  Courage to take her passion for learning into a role where she is not a fluent speaker but a wonderful connector and learner herself.  Courage to step into a different school environment one which at times is in contrast to what she has trained for.

Steiner share stories to learn with and from.  So Bella wrote the story of Matai the Moa, an orphan in search of friendship.  The story is sprinkled with te reo with a focus on asking another's name and giving your name in response.

I loved her story so much that I set about illustrating it with Steiner style crafts, with knitting and felt.

Matai lives alone in a tomo (cave).

He ventures outside (ki waho) into the forest one morning.  Matai comes across a small bird, with a long beak snuffling among the leaves under a ponga tree.
"Ko wai to ingoa" asks Matai,
"Ko Kiwi toku ingoa" replies the bird before retreating into his burrow to sleep.

Matai Moa reaches a glade filled with beautiful music.  He peers into a Kowhai tree to see a bird singing happily.

"Ko wai to ingoa?"
The bird replies "Ko Tui toku ingoa",
"Kia Ora Tui, ko Matai Moa toku ingoa, could you teach me to sing as beautifully as you do?"
Tui says she will, but not until she has finished her morning song.

Matai Moa makes his way onward meeting many more native birds.... and the story continues to a very fulfilling conclusion.  The above is an abridged version of her writing, but hopefully will give you some idea of it.

Story telling without expectation is a powerful learning tool and story tables allow our little ones to revisit and retell the story they have heard when they choose.

I love this story too as it relates to the elements of Matariki including the whenua (land), Papatuanuku's gifts, connections with others and knowing who we are and how we relate to others. Ka pai mahi!

While K and I have enjoyed the story at home, she likes to recreate her own version with the props and characters we will also share it at Playcentre as a point from which our session children and parents can learn some reo.  I am very nervous about leading this!

However, if Bella can be so courageous I am sure I can be too!

Taken to a Magic Place with Finger Paint

Inspired by my last task for course one of my playcentre diploma, and the wonderful book "Magic Places" I got stuck into making K some finger paint.

Oh how glorious this stuff is!  Silky, thick, rich in colour and texture.

Here is my modified recipe (playcentre ingredients in brackets)

Finger Paint

1c        cornflour         (2c)

1/2 c    cold water      (1c)

2c        boiling water  (4c)

2tbsp     liquid soap      (1/4 c lux soap flakes)

Whisk together and when blended divide into  smaller bowls and add as much or as little of tempura paint as you wish.  This should keep well for a few weeks in sealed containers.

One of the self led learning opportunities finger paint can offer our little lovelies is the chance to interact with and observe colour blending along with texture and pattern making.  So appealing to the senses!

I limited the colour choices to red and yellow so that K could enjoy and observe those colours.  I have noticed that when she paints at playcentre the colours are not as important to her as the feeling of the paint on her skin.  So finger paints offer her the best of both worlds, and the small colour pallet helps her to appreciate colour.

It was truly relaxing to watch her immerse herself in her painting, listen to her language which accompanied her experience, and observe how she used palms, forearms and fingers in a variety of ways.

" scooping, circles, smashing, fingers, push, painting, what's dis one? bubbles, squeeze"

Children's Play Resources

Painting
This area was set up using easels and mostly paints of primary colours with brushes and paper.  I have also contributed to this station on other occasions by cutting the paper into the shapes of the session theme for eg egg shapes for Easter, or if the children are choosing to paint body parts then placing tote trays of paints on the grass along with long sheets of paper to step along.

Eve was the first child to find her way to the painting after being busy at with play dough on this particular session.  She was attracted to the colour blue and used large strokes up and down the paper.  Eventually she moved away from the brush and used her hands, dipping them into the pottles.  Eve chose to use just a limited palette.

We discussed her painting.  I asked her questions about the colours she was choosing, how the paint felt, and offered connections - "blue like the sky today", and how the paint colours changed as new colours merged with others.

My daughter is going through a sensory stage with paint ( between 20 and 23 months of age) preferring to use her hands by dipping, and now using a paint brush to paint her hands, fingers or arms to then paint on the paper.  I think she would enjoy body/face painting next as she is starting to notice this on others.  During this sensory stage she appears immersed in the feeling and tends not to talk about it rather observes the cause and effect.   During her painting time at this stage I am a listening and observing participant allowing her to enjoy that which she is focussed on.


The responses to tasks one and two of module 1.1 were completed during and up to May 19, 2011.

Introducing Playcentre..completing course one!

We love Playcentre...here is a little introduction to Playcentre from my new perspective.
I would love to hear your thoughts about Playcentre...

Proud Scone Maker

Rolling, pushing, pulling, cooking.

Extending on her role play K has discovered and loves using the oven to bake her play dough creations.  Today she baked a cake and made mallows for her fluffy!    She is making more connections with other children now that she is becoming more familiar with the environment and has noticed that other children interact with her too - very exciting.

What is Playcentre?

Playcentre became an attractive option for my family when K was born.  Over the last decade as a teacher working with all primary school age groups and facilitating learning for professionals I had observed a few truly outstanding teachers and found a common link between them.  These teachers who I admired for their communication with others, empowerment of learners and ability to truly listen and hear a child had all been Playcentre mums.  These teachers understood developmental stages of learning and gently enabled children to move through them, they extended children into new areas of learning naturally with the child's motivation and interests being honored first.  Because they listened and observed they all had fantastic relationships with the childrens' parents.  Now that I am a parent I am excited to experience more of this - all the while letting my daughter explore her world through play in a warm, safe, multi-aged environment full of mess and fun.

As an Early Childhood Service Playcentre offers families a holistic growing experience.  Together parent and child learn with other parents and children.  From each other, with each other and for each other. This is a unique experience to have.  In the children initiated play programme every child is enabled to follow their interest at their stage, in their time, in a supportive environment.  Of parallel significance is the Playcentre's Parent Education Programme, this allows parents to be the educators learning and growing in understanding and confidence to be able to observe and extend children through play.

The Playcentre Philosophy links to the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum "Te Whariki" (the woven mat). The Principles of this curriculum echo that which is desired in Playcentre in the following ways:

• The Principle of "empowerment/whakamana"  where within the learning environment of Playcentre children are given the power to learn and grow with independence, choice and participation.
• "Holistic development/Kotahitanga" is embraced at Playcentre  by providing open ended exploration and play, differentiation which acknowledges stage rather than age,  and most importantly learning as a whole rather than in seperate subjects.
• "Family and Community/Whanau Tangata" are central to Playcentre as it is the child's first world experience therefore all aspects of this are valued and a child's wider sense of the world recognised.
• "Relationships/ Nga Hononga" with people, places and things.  Playcentre provides a rich differentiated environment of people, places and things of which children can choose to interact with at their stage and extend on. They can observe adults and older children extending in play allowing them to attempt this when they choose.  Positive, co - operative relationships are modeled for all to learn from.

My initial thinking and preparation for discussion one - "What is Playcentre?" for module 1.1 INTRODUCING PLAYCENTRE. Includes aspects of task one.  Written and posted on Feb 13, 2011

More on the Philosophy of Playcentre and Te Whaariki (an aspect of Task One of Module 1.1)

Off to Playcentre for our first visit!

K (19months old) summed up the day before her well earned lunchtime nap...

"Playcentre, saw fish, bubbies, baby swim"

My learning journey begins again too! I am going to be working on my 'Playcentre Education Diploma".  If you are keen to follow me then check out my 'Learning through Play' tab above.

Thanks to Megan @ Mousehouse for the tip via Clipcafe on using Piknik with images, love it.