figuring out ferris wheels

This is just a small part of the long story of  Ferris Wheels in the pre-school. It started with A.L.'s attempt to make one back in early October. Even with J's help,they couldn't make it turn. Even though they couldn't solve the problem, the two children knew it wouldn't be a very fun ride if the Ferris Wheel just sat still. 

Later they took their Ferris Wheel to circle and got a lot off helpful advice from the larger Meadow room group. 

The day these pictures were made was the day, several weeks later on November 15th, when the children were able to make Ferris wheels that could really spin! What made the difference? The children had come to understand the role that axles play in the process of spinning wheels. 

This plan and Ferris Wheel don't look the same as everyone else's, but A's comment that she would get a
more exciting ride from the "wavy" seat shows how much understanding she has about the way spin and
spoke length would affect the way the ride would feel to the rider. She suggested I ride in the seat closest to the
axle, since I didn't want to get too dizzy.

It spun on this hook, but then there wasn't any room for the seats. The plan shows

J's revised ideas with a center axle, spokes, and a base.

This plan shows J's point that the Ferris Wheel had to have a ladder and a way to stop, so people could get on and off.
In the background you can see one of the spinning things we stocked the classrooms with in order to give the children as much experience with wheels as possible.

I can hear myself say "Let's see, is it going to spin? Um, yes, it is"
Not my most inspired Teacher moment!

Edublog Nominations

There are a lot of great resources out there on the internet. Three of my favorites are Marla McLean, Atelierista
      bakersandastronauts.blogspot.com  and urbanpreschool.com. I go to them for information, for beautiful pictures, and mostly because they make me feel like a friend. It can be a lonely job, trying to figure out something new, and as the only 'edublogger' at my school, I have struggled to find the balance between meeting the school's desires and my own need to dialog and reflect. Although I have good friends and treasure my wonderful colleagues at Sabot, these bloggers help me feel I am not alone in reflecting on the kind of teaching I want to do.
So, that's why I'd like to nominate them for Edublog awards. You can nominate them too, by writing about them on your blog, and then filling out the form at networkedblogs.com/qE7oH 
And thanks to Teacher Tom for sharing this idea! He is another wonderful resource and internet friend, and I second his nomination

edublog awards

The the 2nd grade is investigating the question "Who was here before us?" in social studies. They are gathering an incredible amount of information on Native American tribes in Virginia as well as about the first English settlers at Jamestown and Henricus through their research. Their sources include books, interviews, and field trips, including a couple visits to both Historical Jamestowne and the Jamestown Settlement and a visit to a pow-wow and 'Indian Exposition'. They are a gregarious class, and ask lots of questions of the people they meet on these trips.


They stopped in the studio after their Pow-wow trip to think about what they had seen and to make some things for the exhibition they are going to have. G. is interested in Native American Myths and especially mythical creatures. He was sad, because he felt like there was nothing he could make to go into the 2nd grade museum. R was most interested making one of the jingle dresses she had seen in the Powhatan dances, and offered to work with him. They decided to make a set-up that has a Shaman, wearing a jingle dress, using a mythical creature (her spirit friend) who has a series of magnets and electricity inside, that he uses to help people.

Here's how it goes:
"The Shaman sends a signal, and it goes down the leash to the spirit creature. Then you have to turn him around toward the person's brain (the person you want to help). He sends out electromagnetic signals to the the person and reads their mind, and tells if they're excited or calm." Then, the mythical creature influences the puzzle solver inside their brain to help them get what they want.


So, while learning  many, many of discrete facts about Virginia history, the 2nd graders also have space and time to make up stories about mythical creatures, sew some soft sculptures, and to engage each others "puzzle solvers and emotion handlers" by supporting each others interests and place in the group. That is what is so exciting to me about the way children conduct investigative research around here.

`Ferris wheels

Last night at the fall parent dialog the Parents all came to school and joined in with some tinkering. I got to be with the oldest pre-schoolers parent group, who worked on building some Ferris wheels for the children. It was lots of fun, and the children enjoyed the constructions today, noticing the way the parents made the wire seats, and used axles to make the wheels spin.

cool goggles

I love working in the studio

The Kindness of Children

I don't usually take phone calls while I'm at school, but yesterday I was on call with the Vet while my big dog Bill was in surgery. The children wondered what was going on, so I told them that Bill was in the hospital and I was worried about him. W. began to make me a dog to cheer me up, saying to anyone who passed by "Anna's doggie is sick, so I'm making her another Bill!" His care for me was just so sweet, and when he took "Bill" for a walk in the hall with such joy, he did cheer me up.

Children can be like this: just caring and feeling with their whole body and heart.

Planting the labyrinth with the the pre-school staff and Bill

An idea to ponder from the NAEYC conference

"It is in the space between inner and outer world, which is also the space between people--the transitional space--that intimate relationships and creativity occur." D.W. Winnicott 

a Florida alligator I met in Orlando

One of the best things about going to the  NAEYC conference in Orlando last week, was getting to meet some people who's work I admire. I also saw some good presentations, including Vivian Gussin Paley's keynote address "Who Will Save the Kindergarten?" and another one that was called 'Where is Play Today?', and was sponsored by people from the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood.

This was especially relevant since it was given in the heart of Disney-land, one of the most prominent marketers to young children. In a way it was a sad talk, since in many ways play seems to be an endangered species these days. But on the other hand, research is really on the side of people who think children need time to play meaningfully. That means, play that is creative and not merely imitative of screen entertainment. Perhaps the fact that research confirms the benefits of play over and over again is helping to elevate it's stature among all people who care for children.

During the session, President of CCFC Susan Linn introduced us to some of the ideas of D.W. Winnicott, who I had not known of before. She described his ideas about a "holding place", which is the space, for instance, between a Mother and an infant when she is cradling him in her arms. It is within this safe space, she said, that children have a chance to 'generate', rather than just receive emotions, language, and other stimulation. So, when a baby smiles or coos, and then the person who is holding her smiles back, the baby has generated that good feeling between them. In this way, according to Winnicott, people come to know that they can express their 'true selves' safely. 

 It is this kind of space that people find in play, where they can instigate something and find a friend who will respond...where they can do something silly and generate a reaction in another person, or pretend to be a cat and find another "cat" that wants to build a house under the table with them. Winnicott believed that it is only in play that we can be our true selves.

"It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self."

ps.
podcast of my presentation at NAEYC 2011 which should be available soon

Two kinds of tinkering