Jack in the box
We sing,
J’ is for jack in the box. “Jack in the box, Jack in the box, quiet and still, will he come out? Will he come out? Yes I will. My eyes are blinking, blinking, blinking my eyes are blinking just like this. At mat time, one of our favourite songs is Jack in the box. The children like to squat and jump up, when we sing it, learning to be careful of other children. One day we used a box outside and some children had turns in being Jack. By following children’s interest in jumping, we can “encourage children to use their own words to describe concepts, such as gentle/peaceful, timid, or string/powerful/bold” (Wright. 2003, p.268). While we were jumping outside we noticed our shadows and we thought about taking a photo of a Jack in the Box shadow. The children were very curious about what their shadows would look like and I wondered if it was time to give them some responsibility to take photos as well. Te Whāriki suggests that “children should experience an environment where they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking, and reasoning. The ability to represent their discoveries, using creative and expressive media and the technology associated with them” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.88). I wondered if I extend their interest and scaffold the children, teaching them how to use a camera, this would provide a new beginning for the children in their play and they could continue to take photos of while following their interest. “Play provides a new context for children to practice newly acquired skills and also to function on the edge of their developing capacities to take on new social roles, attempt novel or challenging tasks, and solve complex problems that they would not (or could not) otherwise do”(Talay-Ongan, & Ap. 2005 p.132). We will be extending this experience about shadows.
Reference
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātaurangi mō ngā mōkopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.
Talay-Ongan, A., & Ap, E.A. (Eds.). (2005). Child development and teaching young children. Southbank , Victoria:Thompson Social Science Press
Wright., S, (2003). The Arts. Children and learning: USA. Pearsons Education.
Well done Mavis - This looks so much fun. It is so special when you start off with one thing and it rolls onto another. Their exploration thinking and reasoning would be fun to capture on video. The singing the fun and laughter.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be fun - to capture it on video and the email it to his mum at work. That would so cheer her day along. Video clips capturing the childrens voices are a real treasure, and make a nice gift when they leave the centre to go to school. Of caourse, and to play at their 21st. :-)
Awesome reflection! Can't believe something so simple can be recognised as technology. I could see how you extended the children's learning experiences from just a simple song. Reading your reflection has allowed me to look more in depth into my everyday learning experiences to see what I can identify as technology in the childrens play. I believe if I can identify technology in childrens play I will be able to extend thier knowledge on technology just like you. So thank you Mavis for providing a great reflection and allowing me the opportunity to take some ideas and knowledge from it.
ReplyDeleteCheers..
Super Reflection Mavis, the children at my centre love this song as well but i never thought about using it in children's play in the outdoors using a cardborad box. I can see that from this experience the children were able to extend their knowledge on how to use a camera and be able to explore different ways in using a cardboard box.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reflection
Kia Ora Mavis,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you have introduced ICT in your play. In my centre children like this song during the mat time but after reading your blog it gave me the idea of how I can also play this song outdoor.
it was cool to see that children were interested in taking their shadows photos by themselve.
ka pai