Over summer, the
educators at my home centre bought some skateboards for the children to use
outside. The children, in particular a group of three-four year old boys, have
asked to have these skateboards out every single day since they first received
them. The children use the skateboards to explore their environment and gain
many skills that contribute directly to their well-being (Ministry of
Education, 1996). This is evident in the fact that when they first started
playing with them, most of the children had not experienced a skateboard before
and experienced a lack of confidence when using the skateboards. This changed
very quickly however, as they used them so often and started to express
confidence when riding them around the outside area.
The skateboard is technology
because it involves the transformation of materials, in this case, plastic, and
is linked to the structural area of technology (Ministry of Education, 2007). I
have actually had some discussions with the children interested in the
skateboards regarding the skateboard itself and its parts. I feel that it is also
important for the children to understand how a skateboard is constructed when
they are using it so often. We have talked about the wheels and how we use our
bodies to make them move faster and the children have shown me the different
ways they can ride the skateboards.
As our outdoor
area is quite small, the children are limited as to what they can do with the
skateboards each day. Sometimes the educators set up a ramp for them to ride
the skateboards down, other times there is an obstacle course with cones, but
usually the children choose to ride from one side of the area to the other.
They also enjoy racing the other children. They usually ride the skateboards on
their knees, holding on with their hands and use their foot to push themselves
forwards. This is encouraging their bodies to use the muscle strength and
co-ordination skills that they are developing during their early childhood and
the children are also taking risks, which are part of everyday life and assist
the children in realising what they are capable of (Greenfield, 2011).
I have noticed
that the younger children have been fascinated by the older children and how
they use the skateboards and the other day a child, who is almost two, used the
skateboard for the first time and seemed to be very proud of this achievement.
This reflects the existence of tuakana-teina relationships within my centre,
which is mixed-age and include many under two year olds. Tuakana-teina
relationships “form an important basis upon which valuable learning is
negotiated” (Clark & Grey, 2010, p. 81). In this case, it is the use
of technology that is being shared from one age group to another.
Before this semester I had not thought of a skateboard
as technology. I mostly believed that technology was digital only and realised that
almost everything around us that has been changed to help us do something more
easily is technology; digital and non-digital. This is a huge learning curve
for me and now I look at all the resources I use at the centre in a different
way.
Reference
List.
Clark, B., &
Grey, A. (2010). Perspectives on early
childhood education; Āta kitea te pae – scanning the horizon. North Shore,
New Zealand; Pearson.
Greenfield, C. (2011). Outside is
where we need to be: A guide to providing optimal outdoor environments in early
childhood settings (2nd ed.). Manukau, New Zealand: Manukau
Institute of Technology.
Ministry of
Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki
mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington,
New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2007). The
New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Hi Emily I liked reading your blog about the skateboards. I liked reading about how the children's confidence grew over time and how the younger children learnt about the skateboards from the older ones. I wonder how the older children felt about sharing the skateboards with the younger ones and whether this caused a little bit of conflict within your centre. I also thought about the skateboards and how the children are learning about spatial awareness and objects around them. Bullard (2010) states that wheeled toys improve spatial perception along with co-ordination and physical skills. Have you thought about what your next step might be since there is such an interest with skateboards in your centre? Maybe watching a you tube clip on skateboarding could be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteEmily I really enjoyed reading all about the skateboards at the centre especially as I am not too familiar with them. Are these skateboards still popular among the children in the centre? Do the girls also like playing with the skateboards? Since the children have become more confident with the skateboards I really liked how you said these children help the other children become confident on the skateboards. I think this is important because as they are exploring on these skateboards they are gaining confidence and control of their bodies (Ministry of Education, 1996). I really like that you have had conversations with the children about the skateboards and I think this is important because you can gain a understanding of how much they may or may not know about them.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about how you make your small environment work in different ways for the children to use the skateboards. Are the children involved with setting up the environment for the use of their skateboards? Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett and Farmer (2007) state that “Children will benefit from both consistent and changing spaces when they are involved in the planning changes” (p. 407). Maybe next time the children could help set up a track or course. It is great that you put in the effort so children are able to experience something new, because as we know, children love exploring new things. I think it was a great idea that you had discussions with the children about how the skateboard works. To extend on this, maybe you could find an old skateboard and take it apart and look at how it works. I liked reading about the relationships that children are gaining through tuakana-teina relationships. I also would not have thought of a skateboard as technology and it is good to read that you now look at your resources in a different way.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, great story about how skateboards have become the new thing in your centre and I had not thought that skateboards were technology until this. I liked how children were working together and it was lovely to see how tuakana-teina was building relationships and being fostered in this activity. It is also a great way to build confidence and self esteem in children and also focussing on their concentration and balancing skills. Bullard (2010) suggests that an activity like skateboarding is helpful for children to develop their dynamic balance which is a fundamental movement important for children’s future. When the children are using the skateboards are they trying to stand on them? I have seen children lying on their front and pulling themselves along which is great to develop upper body and core strength. As you have limited outside space at your centre, is there a park anywhere close by that you could take a small group of the hard core skaters to?
ReplyDelete