I spend a lot of time on online early childhood sites,
reading blogs, commenting and discussing topics on Facebook groups, and
scrolling through curriculum ideas on Pinterest. Over the past few years I’ve
noticed a huge growing interest in things having to do with “Reggio Inspired” “Loose
Parts” and “Nature Play”, which is really exciting to me as a teacher who has spent
years encouraging children to come up with their own ideas, use materials the
way they want and take the lead in deciding what they want to do and how they’re
going to do it. At the heart of this is my core belief that children learn through
play: through activities that focus on children’s process and that allow
children to have control over the planning, decision making, and interactions
during these activities.
But somehow, adults keep missing this.
It’s hard to be a “teacher”. I sometimes feel that
title is like a heavy backpack of expectations each of us carries, never
letting us forget that our “real job” is to be teaching children something. No
matter how many times we say that “children learn through play” or “process is
more important than product”, there’s that pesky “teacher” baggage weighing
down and whispering in our ears that what we should really be doing is making
sure the kids know their numbers and ABCs.
I see this over and over again in the conversations
about classroom materials. The concept of using “loose parts” http://exploreinspireec.blogspot.com/2017/04/loose-parts-and-intentional-environments.html
is about providing open-ended materials that can be used in many different
ways, encouraging creativity, discovery, and exploration. There’s also attention
to design elements, so many of these materials are truly beautiful, and their
color, shape, and texture add to the overall environment of classroom space.
But I’ve noticed more and more, adults getting caught up in simply having the
materials to use for their own “teacher” purposes and less on letting children
use them the way the children want to.
Every experience doesn’t need to involve an adult
teaching an academic skill. Every time a child sits down with a pile of colored
beads or blocks, they shouldn’t be expected to sort them or create patterns.
Every time a child lines up a row of rocks, they shouldn’t be asked to count
them. Teachers shouldn’t be focused on what the adults can make out of bottlecaps
and rocks, they should be focused on creating an environment where the children will figure out what to do with them. Instead of spending time writing letters and numbers on tree circles and
seashells, teachers should be embracing these materials for what they are –
opportunities for children to be creative and expressive and the leaders of
their own play. That’s what the materials are for – to play with. Not to find
one more surface to write numbers and letters on, or to “teach” a concept or
skill, but to create a space and opportunity for children to play. Play itself
is the point of play.
