How does knowledge inform dramatic play?

Young children use their knowledge to inform their play.  As they acquire new knowledge, it becomes incorporated into their play and the play becomes more sophisticated.  For teachers, this is where we begin to look for evidence of the children's knowledge and understanding.  

In our Medieval Study, the children's knowledge and application of it has become very clear during their play in drama.  As the children have learned new information, their ideas about knights, castles, and princesses have changed and evolved.  Vocabulary becomes a key component here.  When a child remembered that knights didn't have guns, he reached into this new bank of knowledge and thought about how knights used crossbows, so his play changed as a result.  He then further recalled that flaming arrows were used to attack castles.  

Digging a tunnel under a castle.

Later in the play in drama, a child also remembered that the super sneaky way to get into a castle was to tunnel underneath (something he learned from the expert who visited our classroom).  This led him to crawl under a structure and proclaim, "I'm digging a tunnel under the castle!"  For children who were not pretending to be knights, the appearance of an attacking knight meant that they must escape.  When Miss Chalmers introduced the words 'carriage' and 'wagon' into this escape plan, the children adjusted their play by pretending to be on a bumpy wagon.  In this manner, the play evolved and deepened. In all of these ways, vocabulary is a key component that supports the play. 

Escaping in a carriage!

Similarly, the knowledge of roles can inform the play.  After doing research during our planning meeting by reading some books and discussing what we learned about the various workers in the castle, children came to drama ready to act out these roles.  Two children began working as the master mason and mason, workers who shaped the stones for the castle walls.  They then spent their time inspecting and repairing the walls of the castle. As the children learn more about who belongs in a castle and what those people do, they are able to tailor their play to these roles and react to the story happening around them appropriately.  

Masons inspecting the castle walls.

The mason works hard on the castle while the lord supervises.

The use of vocabulary and appropriate fantasy play allows teachers to see that the children are not only processing what they are learning, but also continuing the developmentally appropriate separation of fantasy and reality.  As children process experiences and knowledge through their play, they learn how to deal with their emotions, use appropriate language, and resolve conflicts.  They are able to have freedom within structure and choice with direction, all while continuing the work of childhood. 

How does spatial awareness help build mathematical minds?

Young children naturally love to explore geometric and spatial aspects of the world around them. There are so many ways to encourage such exploration... 

There are many levels of geometric thinking. Research suggests that to move through these levels, children must be exposed to many experiences and participate in numerous activities. Progress is often very slow. And activities like Unit Blocks, Pattern Blocks, etc contribute to this variety of experiences.

In a 1986 study by Pierre Van Hiele and Dina van Hiele-Geldof’s, in which they present levels of geometric thinking, it states that many preschool children stay within level zero, but in the Nest we see that three, four, and five year olds are quite capable of in depth work in level two! 

Level 0: Children learn to recognize geometric figures such as squares and circles by their holistic physical appearance. For example, at the beginning of the year, we liken the shapes
of blocks to objects around the room -- a rectangle block looks like a table, a circular block looks like a clock. Children at this level do not think about the attributes or properties of shapes. 

Level 1: Children begin to learn isolated characteristics or attributes of the forms. In Pattern Blocks, they see that though both a square and a rhombus have four sides, but the angle of the corners changes the shape. 

Level 2: Children establish relationships between the attributes of a form. In unit blocks, children learn that two Unit Blocks make a double, four Unit Blocks make a quad, and that half of a unit block can make a short rod, a triangle, or a square.

As we walk and drive around shapes are everywhere we go, especially in the city! It is always a good time to ask your child what shapes they see and how they are fitting together. When you are out, make sure take along pen and paper and draw what you see. When you get home, find time to build what you saw. In this way you can help teach your child that we are all mathematicians!

"I'm saying goodbye with my right hand." Why?

You may have noticed a slight change in our routine as we say goodbye to the children at the end of the day:  We have been shaking hands with each child and saying words along the lines of "I am saying goodbye with my right hand!"  One of the things that we hope children will develop early is the ability to distinguish between their right and left automatically.  It is a very practical skill in life, but it also comes into play once children reach kindergarten and beyond and are doing more focused writing work. 




By age 4, children have developed a dominant hand that they will use for drawing, writing, cutting, throwing, and other tasks. When children switch hands mid-activity, it is a sign of fatigue. By helping students to distinguish between their right and left hands, they will then be better able to identify their dominant hand and helper hand, which minimizes switching.  



We have also been reminding children that the hand they use to hold the railing as they go up and down the stairs is their right hand (Walking on the right is also very practical in the world of daily life and courtesy!)  One of the interesting things about this way of teaching children to know their right from their left, is that it only teaches the children the right hand.  We don't teach them the left hand because if they know which hand is their right hand then, "What's left is the left."   




Even if children are left handed, they still need to be able to distinguish between their right and left hands.  As children get older, instructions may be given using directionality ("Move to your right." or "Start your writing on the left side of your paper.", or "Raise your right hand.") and knowing quickly and instinctually which direction is which can be very useful.





Learning how to shake hands with your right hand as a friendly greeting is also a great social skill to learn.  You might try playing games at home with your child that involve the right hand or having them shake right hands to say hello in greeting people they meet.  It has been a fun new way to say goodbye!