SAIIER 2016:Kindergarten

Future School		Drama at the Kindergarten
Kindergarten

Below are three glimpses into the life of the Entity::Kindergarten.

Awareness Through the Body: Outdoor circuit with a glass of water

In the classes of Awareness Through the Body at kindergarten level, one of the main aims is to help children learn how to maintain their attention stable for increasing amounts of time. The attention span of kindergarten children is generally pretty short; sometimes it amounts to just a few seconds. The tendency of the child’s focus at this age is to shift quickly towards the different stimuli which are constantly coming to him/her from his/her senses; the stronger or more “appealing/catching” the stimuli, the more likely for the child to shift his attention to it. Being that the environment, especially the natural one, is often very abundant with stimuli of all kinds, it becomes very likely that young children don’t always manage to undertake activities which require a prolonged stability in their focus and attention.

Being also that the capacity of focusing the attention is a faculty which is progressive and incremental, we regularly work on it throughout the year so it can grow and consolidate. Amongst the various activities that foster concentration, we have discovered and implemented a specific one which seems to have a particularly beneficial effect on the children.

The activity consists of an outdoor path, constituted by several elements – like planks, hula hoops, and wooden blocks of different shapes and sizes, slopes and small walls— which is required to be crossed by the children while holding a metal glass containing a certain amount of water. This path starts from the indoor school hall (where we generally conduct our regular classes), proceeds by twists and turns through the neighbouring playground area, and ends in the same hall from where it started. In this way we create a rich and expanded field in which the children have the opportunity to develop in an engrossing and varied way their balance, coordination and focus.

The session begins by giving a brief explanation of the exercise and introducing the “rules of the game”. The children need to enter the path – one at a time keeping enough distance between them — while holding a glass filled with water. They need to try to avoid spilling the water, or to spill as little water as possible while crossing the various elements of the circuit. The way they handle their glass is up to them; they can even keep it momentarily on the ground or on any structures and pick it up later on, as long as they don’t come out of the path to do so.

The activity then proceeds in a progressive manner: when they complete one loop and come once again to the starting point they have an increased level of difficulty – holding two glasses. Then the same procedure while walking and moving backwards. This progression helps the children to maintain their enthusiasm for much longer. The session continues until either the time is up (45-50 minutes) or when we see that children start to become tired. Being that every child has a different capacity we allow some children to end the activity beforehand and some to continue for one or two loops more.

As the activity is taking place in a fairly big area the presence of a minimum of three teachers is needed, so that each child can be properly assisted and guided along the whole stretch of the circuit. The amount of water in the glasses needs to be regulated according to the ability and age of the children, so that the task of not spilling will require from them a continuous present attention, but at the same time will not frustrate them and make them loose interest and/or motivation.

As a result of the above mentioned set up and care taken to follow the due steps, the effect that the activity has on the children is very remarkable. The fact of needing to balance the glass – which gives a constant and immediate feedback to every action or movement – brings the children to a state of intense concentration, which can last for a relatively long time and which doesn’t need much input from the teachers. The fact that the area and length of the circuit is big allows most of the children to be engaged at the same time, avoiding in this way those “waiting” moments in which children can easily lose their focus. Another remarkable feature of this kind of activity is the presence of several “problem solving” situations: whenever children encounter a big descending step, or a steep slippery plank or a big gap between two steps, they need to find a way to organize themselves so that they can overcome the obstacle while maintaining the water in the glasses. Because we give them freedom about the way they handle their glass, but at the same time we require a certain precision in respecting the boundaries of the path, they find themselves in the position of needing to find a coherent sequence of movements and actions that will allow them to proceed on the path without spilling. Whenever they manage to overcome these situations they have good chances of increasing the trust in themselves and their abilities.

Another beneficial aspect of the activity is the continuous stimulation of their nervous system and vestibular system, which are constantly engaged in the act of balancing the body on the structures, of balancing the glasses in their hands and of evaluating distance, height, steepness and surfaces of the various elements constituting the path. In this way children can improve and refine their self-awareness (-sensing) abilities.

The time that it takes for the children go through one loop can range between 4 to 9 minutes, during which the attention of most of them is maintained quite focused on their task. Younger children of 3½ to 4½ years old can do an average of 2-3 loops; the older children of 4½ to 6½ an average of 4 loops and a maximum of 5 loops. This means that in a session a child can remain in an active focused state up to 30 minutes, which for this age group is remarkable.

We repeated this activity during the last 3 years with all three age groups and we have had every time similar positive results: extended span of focus, enthusiasm, complete involvement of the children, opportunities for solving problems and overcoming difficult situations, enhanced sense of trust in their abilities in doing so, and improved balance.

It needs to be noted that this activity can’t be implemented at the beginning of the school year and that the above mentioned results are relative to children who are regularly following our programme and are engaged in self-control and focus-inducing activities during their regular school programme.

Special Needs Children in the Classroom Seen as a Challenge and a Gift

At the Kindergarten we have about 15 children per group. In most groups there are one or two children with Special Needs. In the last three years at the oldest level (6 years old) we had to deal with 2 cases of speech problems, one hearing impaired, one hyperactive and one gifted (explosive) child.

These children needed special/specific attention, without which they were unhappy, unable to feel part of the group and also disruptive. Other children also need attention, but of a different kind. With Special Needs children a lot of communication between the teacher and the parents is necessary. The teacher has to get the case history, and understand the home situation. Mutual trust has to be built between all those dealing with the child so we can share our observations and guide the child effectively. Constant communication is needed so we can see how our attempts at giving the child tools to deal with his situation are working. Often a specialist has to be consulted as well and the child will also have sessions with them outside the school.

This extra input on the part of the teachers is challenging but also rewarding. It requires time for reflection and research from the teacher. The other children in the class are challenged too, and they learn a great amount of tolerance and acceptance. The awareness of each other’s needs, uniqueness, and capacities grows. Conformity to their peers, which is important to 6-year-olds, dwindles and becomes flexible. They learn to enjoy each other’s positive aspects and deal with care and sensitivity with the handicaps.

The fact that they become aware that it is very difficult for some children to speak, or to hear, or to simply sit quietly helps them deal with their own small challenges with less fear and frustration. This can ultimately foster a healthy classroom environment of empathy, sharing and cooperation.

Communication with the parents

The Yellow Group is the youngest group of the Kindergarten (aged between 2½ and 3½). At this young age, good communication with parents is important. For some of the children who didn’t attend the pre-crèche, this is the first year the child is expected to stay alone without the parents, and naturally there is some apprehension on the part of the parents: “Is the child eating? Is he/she playing with other children? Can he/she share toys?” Or simply, “Is my child happy to be here?” When the parents pick up their children, they often ask these questions.

Last year we started taking photos regularly of the children, either in a group or alone. The photos show the children while playing in the classroom, painting, making collages, working with clay, dancing, etc. The photos with comments are sent to the parents by email. The idea came to us when a child started crying every morning while entering the Kindergarten with his mother, but stopped crying and started playing happily soon after the mother left. We told the mother about this, but at first she could not believe it and she was reassured only when seeing the photo of her smiling child.

A few comments on the photos from the parents:

• “I so appreciate these little sneak peeks!”
• “It feels so good to get a glimpse of what kids do in the school with you all.”
• “It is fun to see how they are when we are not there.”