Putting Children First

Children First


Begin by looking for the intellectual vitality of children. Hold on tight to the belief that it is there, like a mantra or a prayer and you will find it begin to appear quite regularly during play, at the tail end of a casual conversation or even in the midst of a disagreement. When you are caught off guard you are also most susceptible to a good surprise.
Always remain at your most open outside those times reserved for observation, teaching, assessment and testing. Practice this receptive discipline and you will become even more effective during formal data gathering.

I have a collection of math-inspired art pieces completed by three-year-olds, living in one of the Meanest USA Ghettos Imaginable. They had every stereotypic excuse NOT to thrive; violent neighborhood, substandard housing, educational/nutritional deprivation at home and a society that did not provide for them at the most fundamental levels. Yet every day they arrived SUPERCHARGED for learning. Their intriguing applications of shape knowledge came after weeks of working with traditional approaches like a
well-provisioned exploratory table, attribute shapes, geoboards, pattern & unit blocks, sorting sets, flashcards, charts and so much more.

Absolutely everything begins with laying that solid, conceptual foundation through much firsthand experience.
For adults, “first concept” books offer many excellent ideas. Kites and earrings are everyday examples of diamonds. Paint box tins and wallets provide examples of everyday rectangle forms. Ingenious table collections make for reliable concept transference that will continue long after direct instruction has concluded. Every sidewalk sign, product label or article of clothing becomes an opportunity for extended shape identification. Build imaginative, everyday-accessible drill and practice into the life of every child, then step back and watch the magic unfold.

The steles came on the same day I’d been teaching the three’s how to thread and sew using oversized, plastic needles. Tiny fingers and eyes were delighted to be working in coordination, pulling brightly colored yarns through sheets of 16 x 20 construction paper. What excellent preparation for the letter and numeral formation that would come later. Everyone was concentrating when watercolorists at another table beckoned to the seamsters for a consult. Shape painting and shape tearing had been the self-selected subject for the day and the interest was in connecting pieces to resemble a vertical sculpture.

From where does the inspiration for such collaboration arise? From many sources of course, but always remember that a classroom provisioned from a cultivated sensibility is capable of spawning just about any wonderful artifact or so I discovered.