The teachers and children have been working together to strengthen social emotional skills in preparation for kindergarten. Many of the children will be moving onto kindergarten in the fall, so in addition to key academic skills, there has been a heavy focus on social-emotional skills as teachers prepare the children for the upcoming transition.
In kindergarten, there are many times that children are asked to collaborate and work in small groups to accomplish a daily task. One way to get ready for this transition is through a group project where children work together to transform a large wooden frame into art. The class has been going to the art studio daily for 20-minute sessions to add new materials to the frame. Teachers and children shared ideas on how to proceed with this collaborative work.
On the first day in the studio, they decided to paint the frame on one side using red, blue, and yellow paint. This allowed teachers to weave in a discussion regarding color mixing and tied back into lessons the children had been working on in the classroom. While painting, the children and teachers discussed the need to flip the frame over and paint the other side. Teachers asked pointed questions that the children were then able to determine they would need to wait until the next day to complete the painting.
As the class continued painting on the second day, they discussed the options available to use next on the project. Teachers provided a list of materials available and the children’s creative ideas began to take form. They came up with a plan to add glitter, pom poms, and drink lids to the frame. The children recommended adding glitter while the paint was still wet, and a very sparkly surprise awaited them.
On day three, the teachers and children found varying sizes of lids in the art studio and began gluing them all over the side of the frame. There were challenges about how much glue to use to keep the lids from sliding off the frame, but the children worked together to make this determination and much hypothesizing and trial-and-error occurred! Work on the frame will continue as the class has only been working on the outside structure; but what about the abstract, bare structure in the middle? Could it lead to a weaving project by filling the space with fabric or string? Who knows? Time, negotiation, brainstorming, collaboration, and conversation will tell.
When planning ideas, teachers keep Ohio’s Early Learning Standards in mind while guiding their decision making in creating lesson plans. This project allowed a focus on both social-emotional development and relationship building. The children are developing a sense of competence, having meaningful interactions with adults, and working on peer interactions and relationships. They demonstrate socially competent behavior with peers, and when there are disagreements about spaces to work in, or how something should look, they have the opportunity for an adult to help model and support ways to negotiate and resolve social conflicts with their peers.
The domain of approaches to learning focuses on developing skills in creativity, curiosity, and persistence. This project gave the children the opportunity to think about how to transform a plain wooden frame using found materials in the art studio/school and discovering new and innovative ways to incorporate them into the art piece. All of these opportunities through meaningful collaboration and work, allowed the children to practice the skills necessary to build self-confidence and a desire to participate effectively in group settings beyond the preschool room.
