Of the three children who are using the turkey basters as a tool to move the water, none of them are using it the way it is intended.  Since we don’t know the background of the children we can’t assume that they have had or have not had experience using turkey basters or observing others using them.  This may be their first opportunity to play with them in the water table. They appear to understand that somehow the liquid is supposed to go into the tube and the rounded end is for squeezing.  They do not know that the rounded end is also key to getting the water up and into the tube. They are using the basters pretty successfully as tools for stirring the water.

The water table is rich with mathematical experiences for children.  Not only are they estimating and measuring, they are also problem-solving .  In this scenario, we can also see the children motor planning**.  They have to figure out how to use both of their hands simultaneously to hold the cups, pour the water, make the water wheel spin, and hold the baster. Both the turkey basters and the making the water wheel turn require a sequence of coordinated movements to make them work.

Now watch the next video.  In this one, one of the teacher has come over and is providing scaffolding around the use of the turkey basters.  What do you think?

How would you support these children? How specific would you be in offering instruction?  How do you know when to provide exact directions for problem-solving and when to encourage independent problem solving?  When do you “teach” and when do you “scaffold?”

One of the things I consider when deciding which technique to choose is whether or not, through observation and experience, and trial and error, a child could figure how to do something (in this case-manipulate a turkey baster) on his/her own.

In the video, the teacher explains the required sequence of manipulations for the basters to work.  She explains to the child that he needs to squeeze the rubber end, put it into the water, release the end so the water will be sucked in, and then squeeze the rubber end to move the water out.  I don’t know about you, but I think this is a very complicated tool to learn how to use. To be honest, I’ve seen many a grown-up fail to use a turkey baster correctly come Thanksgiving time.

You have to follow the sequence exactly or it won’t work.  For young children, especially those under three, following these multi-step directions is very difficult.  As they focus on one part of the problem, they can’t (or find it extremely difficult) to pay attention to the other details at the same time. They may be able to squeeze the rubber end and put it into the water, but then remembering to release it and let the water rise is probably too many things to expect a very young child to be able to do.  You can see that even after the teacher has explained it a few times, the boy continues to struggle while he little girl uses the baster to scoop the water out of the cup.

In the case of a complicated tool, I would show children the steps to make it work.  However, I would focus on the first step, until the children are successful before moving on to the subsequent steps.  I would also play alongside the children and model using the tool.  Remember to encourage the children to follow the steps by explicitly saying, “First squeeze.  Then put the tip in the water.  Then release and watch the water go up.”  Keep repeating this sequence until the children are able to complete the sequence themselves.  They will be so thrilled when they master this tool.

**Motor planning is the ability to conceive, plan, and carry out a skilled, non-habitual motor act in the correct sequence from beginning to end. 

https://nspt4kids.com/healthtopics-and-conditions-database/motor-planning/

Last week I wrote about the importance of impartial and accurate observations of children.  Teachers of young children need to systematically use observation as a part of their daily practice in order to plan for appropriate and engaging learning opportunities, to set up the environment so it is both challenging and safe, to collaborate with other professionals, and to communicate accurately with families.

Today, I want to look at the video above and consider ways in which to support this child as he actively investigates the ramps.  Let’s tease apart the ways he is already exploring early mathematical competencies and ways we can further support his play so he can go deeper. During free choice time, this particular child came over to the large rug, where a long rubber track was placed along with a few wooden balls of various sizes.  He began exploring the track but before long (a minute or two) he went to the corner of the room and pulled out some wooden ramps and large block.  What you see in the video is what happens next.

Before we begin to analyze his play we need to accurately and objectively observe his play. What do you see? What is he doing?

At first, the child lays down three tracks of the same length from a large wooden block and then adds tunnels to the ends of the tracks.   He rolls a ball down each ramp, one-by-one, smiles and collects the balls to start over. He then uses his hands to hold three balls at the same time, and then places them all simultaneously at the tops of the ramps and releases them at the same time. He runs to where the balls have stopped, collects them and repeats the same action. Holding the balls in his hands, he goes back to the ramp box and takes out one more ramp and tunnel and sets them up next to the original three. He asks his teacher to help hold a ball and then asks me (while I was recording) to hold the last ball.  He indicates what he wants us to do by verbalizing and nonverbal cues, and we all release the balls at the same time.

He goes back and collects eight more ramps and sets them up.  The ramps are in sets of similar lengths and in descending length order. He places them side by side and when he gets to the last one, he puts it off on the end of the block but then moves it and makes room for it with the others. He collects the balls and hands them to his teacher.  He goes and finds a small car and places it at the top of a ramp.  He then uses one of the balls to push the car down the ramp and through the tunnel. 

I LOVE this clip.  There is so much going on during these three minutes there is no way we could possibly discuss it all. But, let’s give it a go.

Where is the math?

1.  Spatial Reasoning – Notice how he places the ramps, makes room for the last ramp, lines up the tunnels at the end of the ramps.
2. One-to-One Correspondence- As he places one ball at the top of each ramp, you can actual see him making this assessment and adjusts his actions to each ramp has one ball.
3. Sorting and Grouping- We don’t know from this observation whether he purposefully sorted the ramps by length and then grouped the like lengths together, but we do see the ramps end up like this.
4. Problem-Solving – He tries to roll the car down the ramp on its own (you don’t see this bit in the video) but it won’t move on its own.  He uses the ball to push the car down.

We could spend more time analyzing the video, but this is enough for now.

The next step is to consider ways to support his explorations and scaffold his understandings.  If you were his teacher teacher, what would you do to plan for this child?

I am going to offer a few suggestions.  They may seem obvious, but often I find that they are not.  I am only offering a few so there is room for readers to offer their own ideas.

1. Bring the ramps and balls out again – In my experience, I have found teachers set up learning activities for one day and then switch them up the next.  Children need many opportunities to explore the same materials over time.  I would even reassure him that the ramps and balls will be out so he can continue playing with them as he might think of other things he wants to add to the play.
2. Add one more element – It may be interesting to add another element to the activity.  Maybe a few more cars of various types and sizes or a ball of yarn (I’ll let you consider ways yarn may enhance the activity).  Don’t add more than one at a time, unless the child asks or comes with the idea himself.
3. Talk about the ramps and balls at group time – Tell the other children about the ramps and balls or better yet, let the child describe what he was doing with the ramps and balls to the other children.  This may pique their interest and some may join him, or he may explain in his own words, what he was doing, what he was thinking, and why.  This could be very enlightening.

Those are my three ideas to further support his play.  What would you do?