Walking into kindergarten this morning I happen to pass the sandpit area where a group of boys were working together in a group digging holes with spades. They kept talking amongst themselves about making it bigger so they could sit in it. While they were working collaboratively as a team they were problem solving the issue of how to get the hole bigger to enable their bodies to sit in the hole. Te Whariki states that children develop "the ability to make decisions, choose their own materials, and set their own problems" (Ministry of Education, 1996).
The use of the spade to dig the holes were enabling the children to create the hole they wanted. The New Zealand Curriculum states that "an understanding of material properties, uses, and development is essential to understanding how and why products work the way they do" (Ministry of Education, 2007). By discussing and sharing their thoughts they were able to work together finding ways by doing and making it happen. Smorti states that "technology is about helping people and solving problems (Smorti, 1999). Using this piece of equipment was enabling the children to move the sand in a way they had chosen to, therefore making the outcome of digging easier. Choosing to use a spade instead of their hands allowed the hole to be dug deeper to accommodate the different sizes of each child as they differed in height. So by exploring the use of this piece of technology the children are capable of problem solving the deepness of the hole to dig by measuring it with their own bodies to see if it needed to be dug further.
The children are learning to work together co-operatively through problem solving, listening to others and discussing ideas on how to achieve their goal of making the hole big enough for their body. Through the interactions in a social setting they are learning how to be responsible for their own actions physically and verbally (Arthur, Beecher, Dockett, Death, Farmer, 2007). The building of relationships is strengthen through the co-operative play and essential to children's development and wellbeing. Children are able to develop skills to respect others points of view while learning to socialise in different settings.
Engaging in gross motor skills and exploring the possibilities of how the sand can be used in different experiences through the use of low technology means. They are able to construct and build with the sand that develops hand-eye co-ordination during the use of the spade digging. These actions with the spade put the child in control and challenges their strategies on how to determine the end product. This therefore creates on experience that has been executed from start to finish from the children's interest in the sand using a spade and problem solving the outcome through teamwork.
I learnt by observing this group of boy's who can at times be rather robust during their time at kindergarten found an interest through the use of low level technology to socialise and have fun while doing so. They were able to communicate one another's thoughts quite clearly and respect everyone's input which at times for this group can be a challenge within itself.
By engaging in a more physical activity that they had initiated it seemed to calm their minds as they all had to respect and support one another using equipment where they were trying to create a product through problem solving. It was more about communication then running around the playground. Te Whariki states that children develop "the expectation that verbal communicated will be a source of delight, comfort, and amusement and that it can be used to effectively communicate ideas and information and solve problems (Ministry of Education, 1996).
Watching their faces when eventually they had to lie on the sand and try to put the spade into the hole so it could be dug even further was a challenge filled with laughter and fun.
Keitha, I really like how the boys were trying to figure out how to make a hole big enough to sit in. I agree with you when you say that “by discussing and sharing their thoughts they were able to work together finding ways by doing and making it happen”. I believe that children learn best by doing and making it happen, children need to have the time and space to experience and figure out (problem solve) possible solutions and this is best done when children are able to choose equipment and discuss information with others.
ReplyDeleteIt’s great to see that this experience of low level technology is able to make what is usually a challenge for the boys, a successful experience. Low level technology is embedded in many aspects of the early childhood environment, so to further the boys experience with low level technologies maybe you include other low level technology (measuring tapes, rulers, etc.) in the sandpit, for the boys to explore and help them problem solve how big they need to make the holes.