"Just Playing?" Paper Cup Telephones

Thanks for joining me here for another installment in our "Just Playing?" series! You are invited to view the photos and really think about what you see going on here and be sure to share your thoughts, observations and reflections in the comments. Sure, the children are playing, but they are also learning! 

This week's photos were taken during an activity while exploring how sound travels. I made several sets of paper cup and string telephones and shared them with the children. I demonstrated quickly just once and let the kids go about exploring and experimenting. Eventually, they discovered that the more taut the string was, the better the sound traveled. 

We may be "just playing", but....

What are the children doing here?

What do you see?

What learning is taking place?

What skills are being practiced/developed?

This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop!

Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play. A child's work is play. Play is important!

Please take a moment to reflect upon the photos and questions above. I would love for you to share your observations in a comment. I'd also like to invite you to "hop" on over to all of the other bloggers who are sharing photos of children learning through play this week:

If you are looking for more of our “Just Playing?” posts and resources from around the globe, please visit our Pinterest Board.

Are you a blogger? Would you like to join the JUST PLAYING? blog hop community?

You can join the hop via our Facebook Group: Just Playing?

or please contact Amy from Child Central Station for more information.

Show and Tell......Here's Your Sign!

I have struggled recently with Show and Tell, or "Show and Hotel" as one of my little friends calls it. I have always advocated allowing children to bring whatever they wanted to share, as long as they talked about whatever the item was. My goal was language development.  

   

Until now.    

I seem to have a tough group this year who seemed to bring the same toys every week, and no one was willing to actually talk about what they were sharing. The audience was bored, the students were bored and I was frustrated.

I made an executive decision after one frustrating Friday that Show and Tell items should be related to our theme in some way. No toys, unless directly related. Period.

I know.....it goes against what I really believed in, but sometimes a teacher's just gotta do what she has to do. Our shares the following week were AMAZING! The kids were excited to tell about their items and the rest of the class couldn't pay close enough attention. For the last 2 weeks, our Show and Tell time has been quite enjoyable. And it seems, the kids really did like the change. For our Valentine/Post Office week session, there were even a few surprises for the teacher---what a treat!

One sweet friend brought these flowers and told the class about the meanings behind the different colors of roses.

Check out that neat retro mailbox brought by another friend. It was filled with photocopies of Disney stamps for each friend to take home.

Two friends brought candy for the teachers in heart shaped boxes.

Sometimes, when reflecting on the logistics of how we teach, we wonder if we are following the appropriate philosophy. Educational theorists have conflicting opinions, just like politicians.The trick is figuring out what works best for me, in my classroom, today. Tomorrow, I may need to adjust my teaching or classroom policies in other ways, but I think I'll be okay with this change. I think Bill Engvall would tell me.......

Just thought I'd share this cartoon about Show and Tell. You never know what kids will bring to share!

Pillow Talk

   I admit that when I first heard about the communication strategy known as "Pillow Talk" early last summer, my initial thought was the Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie. (My mom is a big Doris Day fan and we saw all of her movies growing up.)

   “Pillow Talk” is an interaction in which the teacher spends a few quality minutes one on one with each child as they begin to lay down for nap.  This is time for unscripted talk, a time children can choose to share whatever is on their minds.

   NAEYC's Young Children published "Fostering The Emotional and Language Needs of Young Learners" in March 2002 promoting the use of this technique in early childhood classrooms. In the article, authors Soundy and Stout proffer that “[t]alk is a major instrument of learning, a natural activity that underlies and supports literacy development”. They go on to state that “the early preschool years must be devoted to affectionate literacy interactions which children are engaged in, animated by, and cognitively challenged with language”.


    I am a firm believer in fostering language development in my pre-k students. I know that one of my weaknesses is that I tend to let Circle Time go on too long, and that is largely in part to my allowing each student to have his/her say. I feel bad if I have to tell a student we'll come back to them later.  When I first heard about “Pillow Talk” this summer, I decided I would try it in my classroom this year. It has gone very well. I visit each child's mat for just a few minutes, but those minutes are so precious. At the beginning of the year, I had a few new students who were very shy. The few minutes we spent together each day during “Pillow Talk” really helped us form a bond. The time quickly became as important for me as it was for the students. Now, the kids all really look forward to it and will often ask throughout the morning if we are going to have that time together.

   Occasionally, the talk is superficial or just little updates about what is going on in their lives. Sometimes, I am able to get a better picture of the students’ home life. I may not always have the time during arrival or circle time to hear every students’ story, but they KNOW I will have the time to listen, one-on-one, during “Pillow Talk” time. I am sure that I have connected with a couple of students through “Pillow Talk” that may have taken most of the year to make that special connection without it.  I do not use our special time together to talk about any difficult moments through the day, unless the student initiates that portion of the conversation. I feel strongly that this is a special and safe time, not a time for admonitions or rehashing earlier discourtesies.
  
   Soundy and Stout talk in the article about how this practice promotes communication and language building experiences, but I feel it also it gives the children a sense of value and importance. My students know that I value them and really want to hear what it is that they have to say, even when we are in our busiest moments.  I think I will continue to see the benefits of this type of discourse in my classroom and will certainly continue this interaction in my classroom.