Play and explore

Children play and explore. That is how they learn. This is one of the concepts I wish I could have grasped from the beginning. It’s a difficult one because most of us are focused on the teaching aspect of it and don’t want to give up control. But really, the children should be in control when they are learning and explore what works for them. For example, my first center when I started Jumpstart was Art. This center involved paper, paintbrushes, and paint. I was too focused on the children not making a mess in the classroom. This meant restricting them in many ways in order to maintain a clean table and hands. “Don’t use your hands, use the paintbrush instead” was one of the instructions I kept on repeating. I thought I was helping them, but I really wasn’t. I should have let them use their hands if they really wanted to, let them feel the texture of the paint in between their fingers. I should have let them glide their fingers covered in paint across the paper and explore the colors in their own way. Therefore I was not prepared on my part. What I really needed was extra newspaper for the tables and smocks for the children to wear over their clothes. The mess was not the focus. The goal was for the children to explore primary and secondary colors. It did not matter how they got there. At the end of the day, it did not make a difference if they used paintbrushes or their fingers to make new colors. By not letting them use their fingers, I was prohibiting them from discovering what they were able to do with paint. Instead of worrying about the potential mess, I should have let them learn in the way they needed to. With children, nothing is set in stone. They are learning so many things in different ways and everything is flexible. Every child is different and has his or her own learning process. As Corps Members, we need to give up control in situations like these so children feel like they have the ability to be creative. One child might really like using the paintbrush but another child might prefer using his or her hands. There should be a balance of instruction and exploration. Children are best at playing and that’s what we should let them do.

~Iraj Masud
Corps member
Team Learning