Get the Dancing Bears into the Pool!

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At our reflective practice group last week, we asked the participants to identify all the materials they have in their classrooms in a specific activity area, say, Music and Movement.

They wrote down all the materials on separate yellow sticky notes.

Thinking back to earlier in the day, any of those items that were clearly in use by the children were stuck to an inflatable pool ring (remember the earlier blog about the UW saying the way they identify what was accessible was to ask themselves, “What floated in the pool today?”)

The sticky notes they still had in their hands were like the dancing bear.   The materials were there, but not obviously accessible.   They might have been up too high, in a closet, etc.  Like dancing bears, they probably would not have been seen by the UW data collectors, and not counted.

We know it is not practical or possible to have 100% of your materials out and ready all the time, so how do we get the dancing bears into the pool?

Some strategies:

Be like the ringmaster in the circus – as you open up your free play time, point out to the children all the options available – including things that are in closets or up high.  If the UW data collectors hear you say they are available, they are likely to count them, even if not used that day.

Use pictures – have photos on the closet door of what is inside.  Point out the availability to the children. Another what to use photos is to have photos of additional materials in the appropriate learning center.  If you have extra dramatic play materials that are put away – show the children they can ask for them using the pictures.

Scores for the Environment Rating Scale (ERS) have been coming in low.  The more we can get things counted, the better the scores will be.

Get those dancing bears into the pool!