The educators have noticed that as our preschoolers grow and become more confident in their environment and abilities, they continue seeking ways to challenge their bodies. Last month, children learned how to do somersaults in a safe setting and they had a blast. This made Nidya think about how to continue fostering their interests in physical challenges.
After a few days of observation, she decided to combine a risk-taking activity with another favourite among the children (Building). One morning, she randomly placed four milk crates and a set of wooden balance beams in the playground. The preschoolers observed from the window what she was doing. When it was time to go outside, the children in her group ran straight to the area to explore the materials. “What are we going to do with this?” Nina asked. “You can do anything you want,” Nidya replied. “We can walk,” Antonio said. Everyone seemed to agree with the suggestion and began walking on the beams and crates exactly where they had been placed. There wasn’t a specific order where to step. Each child found their own way to move from one place to another. At times the children used the wall as a support as they discovered that some pieces were wobbly. Interestingly, these pieces were their favourite. Maybe it was because the unsteady parts would add some extra excitement to their experience. “We are getting our exercise,” Hugo said as he participated further moving up and down.
As the first seven children walked over, some of them got stuck waiting for their peers to move. “You are going the wrong way,” Colin F told Rowan. “No, you need to move,” Rowan replied. Nidya was curious if maybe the conflicts arising would make them think about creating a system on how to walk, or perhaps they would build an actual path. After a few more minutes, Fox told the group, “We need it to be longer.” “Ok, then how can you make it longer?” Nidya asked. As they continued balancing, the line turned into a semi-circle, with milk crates placed between the balancing beams resembling an obstacle course. However, in one specific area where two milk crates were side by side, some children struggled getting over. Hugo suggested putting a beam over them, perhaps he thought that the beams were sturdy enough on the ground. Nidya helped by putting the beam in a secured position and the children proceeded to walk over it.
Most of the older preschool were able to slowly walk over while the younger ones found creative ways to cross; Fox crawled, and Birdie asked Nidya to hold her hand.
This new addition sparked their imagination as children began moving the pieces to change the structure. Colin F, while putting two beams close together, created a small ramp. This seemed to give Fox the idea of actually making a bigger ramp and he used one of the milk crates as the support.
Later, when Theo, Benjamin, Colin B, Rose, Brodie, Noah, and Finley came to play, they reorganized the pieces, but left the ramp in its place. The ramp was the most challenging part. Some children tested going sideways first, others affirmed that it was better to go up instead of down, and several asked Nidya to hold their hands. The children also demonstrated their social skills by helping and encouraging one another.
By providing the children with an open-ended invitation the structure evolved based on children's ideas. Our preschoolers took risks, negotiated, collaborated and used their imagination to transform simple materials into something meaningful and fun.
