Every child deserves a chance to be challenged. When planning environments for young children's play, how do we create the conditions that can provide challenges for all abilities? 

Hot on the heels of the discussion of running, Joey invites the group to examine children's chase play. Chase games range from simple to complex and build on many essential skills from tracking to non-verbal communication. Turns out, the ability to play chase is a foundational skill for life.

Children need to run. It's a way for them to express joy and excitement, feel powerful, tap into energy, and explore their environment. Since children need to run--and love to run--adults should want them to run. How can we provide for this basic need and source of joy for children?

Children's fine motor development is a complex, whole body process which is often oversimplified. Educators can be quick to label doing puzzles as "fine motor" while overlooking the ways in which pouring water from a big container or climbing a tree also supports small motor development. The conversation touches on how the rush to get children ready to write can cloud our thinking about the richness of fine motor skills.

(This discussion draws from some of the ideas in Episode 126: Big Motor, Small Motor )

Tom starts with the premise that children think by moving. If we ask young children to stop moving, it's like asking them to stop thinking. If we want to find out what children know, we should pay attention to their movements. But, by calling moving thinking do we undervalue movement for its own sake?

Mike opens up a discussion about play with the observation that even teachers who know the value of play don't always allow for it. Children's play can interrupt the adult's agenda and make them feel like things are out of control. Often there is a mismatch between a child's playful intentions and an adult's attitude of frustration. Hopefully adults can pause and reflect: what's the harm in a game of Robot Boots anyway?

Mike wonders how to explain the value of "just watching." The group is eager to share examples of what children gain by watching and observing. When children watch others at play, they are learning new skills, gathering information, reflecting on strategy, building their courage and being a member of the community.

In this extension of last week's discussion, the group takes a deeper look at the often used phrase, "I don't like that." This sentence can be loaded with judgement and easily become code for "I don't like you," or worse, "We don't like you." 

Joey wonders about the ways children are taught to communicate with each other when play styles, temperaments, and moods don't match. Do adults model a bias against loud and active play when we help solve social conflicts? Are we helping quieter children develop the skills they need to recover and move on when presented with an option they don't prefer? Are we supporting more active children in developing the skills to learn what's appropriate in different contexts?

Looking for relief from cabin fever? Ross leads a discussion about how we can do big things in small spaces. What kinds of activities alleviate the stress of being cooped up when we're not able to go outside? How can we use our spaces differently to allow for the movement we crave? How can we plan ahead for success?