The concepts of work and play are dichotomized in our society. We are taught that if we are doing one, then we are probably not doing the other. However, we do not believe this to be the case, especially in the way young children learn. Play is the medium through which children learn. Our goal is not to transmit information from adult to child, but instead provide an environment where children can be immersed in explorations and construct knowledge based on their experience. Teachers are there to provoke this process: to ask questions, make observations, provide assistance, create stumbling blocks, refer a child to a peer, help in the process of reflection…and so on, and so forth.
We seek to utilize the natural curiosity and wonder of children. We want our students to have opportunities to explore what is meaningful to them. We use what children are interested in as a tool to access and help form critical thinking and problem solving skills. To meet children’s interests, we are very intentional in our creation of the classroom environment. We create a space that invites exploration and stimulation.
We are also intentional in creating a classroom schedule to meet children’s needs and to provide opportunities to connect. In JK, we include something called Table Time because we think it is useful to give children a developmentally appropriate dose of something they might experience in the future, say in Kindergarten. It is important to us to help kids begin to build tolerance for activities not of their own choosing, and to try something new, because we know there will be a lot more imposition on them at their future school experience. So, this is a time of day when we limit children’s options to activities at tables, but for a short period of time. We have so far allowed for a lot of free choice: a table to make art with materials self-chosen from the art supply shelf; a table with several puzzles and/or board games to choose from; and a table with small blocks and/or manipulatives to work with and do some small-format fantasy play. Even so, this time of day has consistently been too long for kids and feels nothing like the beautifully dynamic interplay of work and play we value. Those who arrive right at 12:45 might be doing table time for 15-20 minutes. It’s not the short, flexible introduction that we think is developmentally appropriate for kids, so we’re changing it!
Beginning next week (Sept 26), we will be moving Table Time to the end of the day. It will be easier to control the length of the experience, and it will allow us to create some meaningful and interesting activities for children to explore. We might give a prompt directly linked to the book we read at storytime, demonstrate new and interesting activities inspired by something children played at playtime, or give children a say by asking what they’d like to do and/or offering up a vote about a couple options. These prompts can happen right before children move to tables, which will be much more clear to children.
Your child should have received a new picture schedule at school yesterday. If you haven’t seen it yet, ask them about it. Go through the pictures together and discuss the change with them. We introduced the idea at group time on Thursday, but many will forget over the weekend. If you think of it, talk about it again on the way to school Monday. Remind them that they’ll have a little more to choose from after washing their hands, and that we’ll try out a very short table time at the end of the day instead.