Featuring special guest blogger: Stefany Cunningham, B.S. (Areas of study include kinesiology, early childhood development & education, and psychology)

Young children learn through play; it’s imperative this play be taken seriously. The play itself shouldn’t be taken seriously, but the quantity of unstructured play opportunities should be taken seriously. There is a long list of learning opportunities found in each learning domain that children acquire when they are provided with unstructured outdoor play opportunities. In this blog post, we will explore perceptual-motor skills. 

According to Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, and Rupiper, authors of Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum: Best Practices in Early Childhood Education (2015), perceptual-motor skills are, “movement activities that lead to academic or cognitive outcomes” (p. 400). Children integrate sensory information from all sensory systems as they interact with and explore their environment. This sensory information gets sent to the brain where the child will then make a decision on what to do next. Then, with a little motor planning, the child will carry out their next movement based on the sensory information given to them. Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, and Rupiper (2015) discussed five important aspects of perceptual motor development:

Balance 

There are two components of balance: Static and dynamic. Static balance is practiced while holding a posture without movement (for example, standing on one foot). Dynamic balance is holding a posture while moving (for example, hopping over a log on one foot). Children acquire the ability to balance both statically and dynamically as they walk across a log or brick wall, hop from one rock to another, or explore movement on a variety of unstable surfaces (such as gravel or mud). 

Spatial Awareness 

Spatial awareness is an understanding of one’s environment in relation to one’s body. Spatial awareness helps children avoid colliding with structures or objects (and other people) while running. It also helps them decide how to safely maneuver their way through a cave or obstacle course. To understand spatial awareness, children need to be provided with opportunities to explore diverse environments. They need to run into things, fall down, and get stuck! Spatial awareness also helps with fine motor tasks, such as writing and manipulating objects. 

Figure-Ground Perception

Figure-ground perception involves being able to distinguish a foreground from its background, which typically requires visual and auditory perception skills. Hide- and-seek is a fantastic opportunity for children to practice figure-ground perception. Not only are children scanning their environment and processing visual foreground and background information, but they are also trying to separate background auditory input from giggles!

Temporal Awareness

Speed and timing is a complex relationship that takes time to understand. It remains, however, an important aspect of perceptual-motor development and can be fostered with unstructured outdoor play. For example, hearing one’s footsteps while running, dropping objects from different heights, or attempting to catch a ball are all experiences that foster temporal awareness. 

Body and Directional Awareness 

Body awareness is knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, while body relationship awareness takes this knowledge of human anatomy and physiology and incorporates, “roles that children create with their bodies, such as copying, leading/following, meeting/parting, passing, and acting in unison” (Kostelnik, Soderman, Whiren, & Rupiper, 2015, p. 403). Just about any gross motor activity fosters body awareness and body relationship awareness, but providing children with opportunities to make their own decisions regarding body movement (unstructured play), will provide children with a deeper understanding that carries across environments. Structured activities such as “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” are great for human anatomy identification, but children gain a deeper understanding of anatomy, physiology, and human movement when they are provided with opportunities to problem solve independently (For example, “How can I move my body so I can get on top of that huge rock?”). 

Directional awareness is applying location concepts such as backward, forward, near, far up, and down during movement activities. The opportunities to explore directional awareness during unstructured play are endless. An activity as simple as catching a ball fosters directional awareness (“That ball is going to fly over me. I better run backward to catch it!”). 

Unstructured outdoor play is critical for physical development. As one can see by analyzing these perceptual-motor skills, unstructured outdoor play is critical for cognitive development as well. Furthermore, most children love unstructured outdoor play. While kiddos are engaging in unstructured outdoor play, they will get dirty, they will practice evaluating risks, and they may get hurt. These are all valuable learning experiences; valuable learning experiences that will foster their physical and cognitive development. 

Resources 
Kostelnik, M. J.,  Soderman, A. K., Whiren, A. P., &  Rupiper, M. L. (2015). Developmentally appropriate curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education (6th ed., pp. 400-403). Pearson Inc.

In yet another Zoom call this week, we (child care providers and early childhood educators around the state) spent time discussing the rules and regulations for child care providers in Oregon amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we can no longer allow children to use sensory tables and sandboxes, it was suggested that we provide each child with their own sensory tub. The meeting’s host shared that “children like it better anyway, because they don’t have to share materials.”

They may ‘like’ it better, but is it ideal for young children’s development? Children ‘like’ a lot of things, however, our role as early childhood educators is to engage in best practice. 

While we never require children to share, we do witness and support negotiation, collaboration, and the concept that one’s peer may not yet be finished with a toy. 

We know that social-emotional development is promoted through sensory play. Sensory play inspires:

 …children to work together to construct a sand village, wash a baby doll in water, or chase a giant bubble as it sails through the air. The fact that play with these materials can calm a child who is agitated or upset has been well documented. When children play with sand and water they often express their thoughts and feelings.  (Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2008, p. 403)

Furthermore,

 A central aspect of many quality preschool programs is sensory play, or play opportunities offered primarily for the tactile experience. Play is the natural learning style of the young child (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). Quality play often takes place at sand and water tables, also known as discovery or sensory tables. We have observed that this “watering hole” of the preschool brings combinations of children together who might not otherwise interact with each other. The discovery tables provide rich opportunities for children to expand and practice their emotional development and are easily tailored to a variety of interests and developmental levels. Emotional development occurs through play as children explore, discover, negotiate, question, analyze, and synthesize the world around them (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Trister Dodge, Colker, & Heroman, 2002). Sensory play, traditionally centered around sand⁄water⁄discovery tables, is a dynamic type of play. This informal and unstructured play setting never offers the same experience twice, but provides numerous ‘‘teachable moments’’ to augment emotional development. . . Because of these benefits it appears that sensory play provides numerous opportunities for coaching, teaching, enhancing emotional recognition, and teaching or encouraging control of impulsive and aggressive behavior. (Maynard, Adams, Lazo-Flores, & Warnock, 2009, p. 26)

Children are hands-on, sensory learners. I shout this Piagetian concept from the rafters in parent conferences and in my college classrooms. They learn by exploring, moving, and physically engaging with their environments. And perhaps this concept is on my mind more so this week as my college students are reading a section on ‘sand and water’ play. 

I understand that developmentally appropriate practice must be sacrificed in the midst of staying alive during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our lives are more important… But what will be the long-term outcomes on children’s development? 

There are children in my program and around the world who so desperately need these sensory experiences. These are the children who spend all morning at the sensory table running their hands through rice, pouring water, spreading shaving cream, compressing kinetic sand, and mixing mud. These same children spend all of outside-time in the sandbox; digging, pouring, and covering their entire bodies with sand. As a result of this play, these children become more emotionally regulated. They are engaging in what they need. 

Yes, children can have single-use, single-child sensory tubs, but I struggle to imagine what that looks like with 10 children in my home. I struggle to see how one’s whole body could be a part of that experience. I also know that children can have sensory experiences at home with their families. I know this… But it is not the same. Many parents have shared over the years how grateful they are for our program’s sensory table, as folks don’t want that kind of ‘mess’ at home. Anyone who’s spent time using a kebab skewer to dig Oobleck (cornstarch and water) and kinetic sand out of the gaps in the hardwood floors would understand! Families are also unable to replicate the learning that comes from collaborating with one’s peers. 

There are no easy answers and I wish there were. These are the issues I lay awake in bed thinking about at 5:00 a.m. How can I still offer a model preschool program to families where limitations affect what I consider to be best practice?

“If it hasn’t been in the hand and body, it can’t be in the brain.”  (Bev Bos)

References

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood programs. Washington, D.C. NAEYC. 

Dodge, D. T., Colker, L. J., & Heroman, C. (2002). The creative curriculum for preschool (4^th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Teaching Strategies 

Dodge, D. T., Colker, L. J., & Heroman, C. (2008). The creative curriculum for preschool: College edition. Washington, D.C.: Teaching Strategies 

Maynard, C. N., Adams, R. A., Lazo-Flores, T., & Warnock, K. (2009). An examination of the effects of teacher intervention during sensory play on the emotional development of preschoolers. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 38 (1), 26 – 35. DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-3934.2009.00003.x

Featuring special guest blogger: Stefany Cunningham, B.S. (Areas of study include kinesiology, early childhood development & education, and psychology)

The Internet has an abundance of science experiments for children. Most often, these experiments require children to follow specific steps, have cute and matching containers, and are usually intended to produce some sort of colorful end-product. These types of experiments can be fun on occasion, but children need more science in their life than what we can realistically provide if we only view science as these structured, cute, adult-initiated, and costly activities. 

Children need more opportunities for spontaneous and unstructured science because children learn about the components of science through genuine exploration. Children learn about science by building, digging, crashing, filling, dropping, bouncing, and spinning all on their own accord. Spontaneous and unstructured science allows children the opportunity to ask their own questions, make decisions, create, destroy, problem-solve, and be leaders in their own learning experience. 

More often than not, these spontaneous and unstructured experiments don’t meet society’s standards of “pretty” or “cute,” but that’s okay! The goal here is to provide child-led learning opportunities, not produce perfect pictures for social media. 

Luckily, this type of science requires little to no effort from families and caregivers (other than assisting with clean-up!). Children are naturally inclined to ask questions and experiment. The most effective ways for families and caregivers to encourage their children to learn about science is to give them time and space to fully explore their questions, offer supportive prompts, and of course, keep them safe. 

The following are descriptions of the components of science with prompts that families and caregivers can use to support their young child’s learning. This blog post doesn’t include specific activities because science is found everywhere, in everyday experiences, from digging in the backyard to bath-time to building forts. By shifting our perspective of science away from organized, structured, and adult-initiated activities, we can find more opportunities for science in everyday experiences and can easily provide more opportunities for exploration and learning. 

Physical Science 

Authors of The Creative Curriculum For Preschool, Diane Trister Dodge, Laura J. Colker, and Cate Heroman (2003), defined physical science as, “…the physical properties of materials and objects” (p. 142). How do we typically explore physical properties? With our five senses! Think about the five senses while supporting your child while they explore science:

• “What do you feel? Is it bumpy/smooth/rough?”
• “What does this smell like to you?”
• “This sounds like it’s getting louder to me! How does it sound to you?”
• “What do you notice when you pick that up and put it on top?”
• “Why do you think that tipped over/fell down?”
• “Do you see anything on the inside/outside? What about underneath?”
• “Can this move/change? How? Can you smash/mix/pour it?”
• “Do you think this will sink or float when I put it in the bathtub?”
• “You stacked those really high! Are they stacked straight up and down or do they lean a bit?”

Life Science

Life science is the study of living things. It’s that simple! You and your child can explore life science when playing with your pets, sitting in your backyard, or walking through the park. 

• “What do our bodies need to grow? What about animals/plants?”
• “You found a bug! Why do you think it was hiding under that rock?”
• “What kinds of animals eat bugs?”
• “How are animals and plants different?”
• “What happens to plants when the weather gets really cold?”
• “When you threw that rock, those birds flew out of that tree! Why do you think those birds like sitting in that tree all the time?”

Earth and the Environment 

This last science component overlaps with life science, but also incorporates weather and the physical characteristics of our environment. 

• “What’s the weather like today? How does it feel? Will you help pick out clothes that will keep us cool/warm/dry?”
• “What does the sky look like right now? How is it different when it’s day/night?”
• “Can you see any mountains from here? What about rivers/fields/ponds?”
• “I’m noticing the ground changes when you dump water right there. What do you see?”
• “What can we do to take care of our neighborhood?”
• “How is our kite staying in the air?”

Keeping these components in mind and thinking of prompts in the moment will get easier with time. To adults, child-led science can feel uneventful and it might even feel like you aren’t doing enough. Your child, however, will be experiencing your love and support as they explore their world in ways that are new and exciting to them. They will feel eager and empowered to share with you what they discover as they lead an exploration or experiment! 

So, take a moment. Sit back, give your child some space, and embrace spontaneous, unstructured, and ugly science. Children have this handled! 

References 

Dodge, D. T., Colker, L. J., & Heroman, C. (2002). The creative curriculum for preschool (4th ed.). Teaching Strategies. 

As educators, we never know how many lives we’ve affected over the years. In Erin Kenny’s case, the number of educators, children, families, and community members affected by her presence in this world is immeasurable.

Last year, I had the privilege of spending a week with International Play Iceland and more than thirty early years educators from around the world. One of the most amazing people in attendance was from right here in the Pacific Northwest, Erin Kenny.

Iceland is a magical place and Erin was a magical person.

• She was a cutthroat Jenga player.
• She was a great roommate in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, where the sea met the mountains.
• She was someone whom I didn’t mind being stranded with at the Reykjavik airport for over eight hours.
• She enjoyed a good IPA.
• She was a passionate play advocate, champion of children engaging in sensorial experiences in nature, and a heroine of the forest.
• She was an intelligent, strong, and fierce woman.

Knowing she was slowly dying of cancer, I sent her a snail-mail card nearly three weeks ago. I hope she got it and knew what a special person she was to me, and everyone who knew her. The card was designed by a local artist, Katie Daisy and it read, “She smelled of sun and daisies with a hint of river water.” This embodies what it was like to be in Erin’s presence. She will be missed.

“Children cannot bounce off the walls if we take away the walls.”

(source: Erin Kenny)