Materials in the Classroom

            In Encounter With Materials in Early Childhood Education, Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher describe that both paint and clay are highly dependable on the way it is manipulated. For instance, paint relies on the user to stir, mix, and even cover other objects. Clay relies on the user to form or shape it into something by flattening it, rolling it, or even sculpting it (Pacini-Ketchabaw, Kind & Kocher, 2017). If not taken care of, both of these materials can become unusable in their traditional way. In chapter three, ‘Paint: Assemblage’ talks about what assemblage is and what it would look like and feel like within the classroom. I believe that our students are capable however I feel that what both of these chapters are describing needs to be worked up to.

            What these chapters miss out on tackling is how would we get there. Before I have my students to dive right in I believe there needs to be some guidance with the material. I would see what they do with paint and provide them with some prompts like “what would happen if…” or “what do you see, or feel” and “how can we create…”. The Kindergarten Program states that “[c]hildren begin to assimilate adult prompts, descriptions, explanations, and strategies by incorporating them into their self-talk (The Kindergarten Program, 2016). This is important because when we provide those prompts, the self-talk they are establishing may turn into actions and help guide their further inquiry when it comes to them exploring the material further or other materials as well. I believe that inquiry based learning needs to have a starting point, an end point with prompts and guidance.

References:

Ministry of Education (2016). The Kindergarten Program. Ontario: Queen’s Printer

Ketchabaw, V., Kind, S., & Kocher, L. (2017). Encounters With Materials. Abingdon: Routledge

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