No one can say for sure how it happened but two bunny masks find their way to the awning of the Atelier in the Sand Area.
The children start to brainstorm ideas of how to recover the masks.
Bowe: Maybe someone can jump over to get them like a super hero.
Mila: I can’t do that…
Mila: Maybe we could use a rope. Or throw another mask up there to knock them down!
Ozzie (joining Bowe and Mila at the top of the structure): Or maybe we could knock it down with a long stick.
Mila: Yeah!
Teacher Jess: There might be one you can use in the Natural Materials. You could bring it over and we could hand it up to you once you are at the top.
Teacher Cindy assists Ozzie in finding and bringing an appropriate stick to the top of the structure. The excitement has caught the attention of August and Jacob who also climb to the top of the structure.
Ozzie begins the precarious reach out over the top of the bars. The stick reaches the awning but is difficult to control from such a high angle. Ozzie readjusts and puts the stick on a lower bar. He must risk leaning his body out a bit further but he has a much better grip on the stick from this position.
The first mask is successfully returned to the sand! The second mask is further away and Ozzie asks August for support. August reaches out with the stick but can’t find a position where he feels secure enough to lean out over the bars in order to reach the mask.
Jacob: I can do it.
August passes the stick to Jacob. With Teacher Jess supporting Jacob on top of the structure and Teacher Cindy below, Jacob feels confident. He extends the stick first and then his torso.
The second mask comes down with a sweep of the stick. Everyone’s face beams with a sense of accomplishment.
Free-play offers daily opportunities for children to problem-solve, collaborate, take calculated risks, and persist. Practice in these skills is essential to the children’s growing image of self-competency. As a teacher monitoring this type of experience, I am reminded that slowing down and stepping back offers the children the necessary space to recognize the capabilities of their peers and of themselves. – Teacher Jess