This is an offering to the children and families of the infant classroom from the infant teachers. The ideas and questions contained within are applicable for many age groups.
Who better to offer some inspiration for working with materials than the children!? Children are creating schemas about the world around them & their impact on this world. When given a multitude of materials and the time to experiment, children will build upon existing schemas and construct new ones: learning!
The following are examples of things the children explore and what we have observed the children doing when absorbed in explorations around paper. The observations listed are both from the video as well as myriad other explorations. Next, we propose ways you could offer paper to provoke continued construction of their developing schemas.
Who better to offer some inspiration for working with materials than the children!? Children are creating schemas about the world around them & their impact on this world. When given a multitude of materials and the time to experiment, children will build upon existing schemas and construct new ones: learning!
The following are examples of things the children explore and what we have observed the children doing when absorbed in explorations around paper. The observations listed are both from the video as well as myriad other explorations. Next, we propose ways you could offer paper to provoke continued construction of their developing schemas.
What we observe: Crinkling, crunching, moving, watching, ripping, lifting up and over, eyes/facial expression changes when touching paper/noticing impact they have on paper.
How you could offer material:
How you could offer material:
- Create different buildings/constructions with paper (sturdy paper is less likely to break off it children put it in their mouths, and also, we always check their mouth)
- Securely hang paper up high or outside to play in the wind
- Create shapes, funnels, fans
- Play with paper and light together. Light with color and paper will create interesting reflections
- Create and hang paper across the window. When the light shines through you will get cool shadows
- Find old cardboard type materials and mix with softer paper to create visual and sensory landscape (add some plants and light along with music and cozy fabrics for a veritable dreamscape)
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