I am now going into my third week in kindergarten, and have been trying to observe the children play as much as possible. As I begin taking over more subjects, I have tried to implement play into my activities as much as possible. For example, in math last week I had the children play the game Trouble. For this activity the students were practicing adding and counting by moving spaces, and I also saw a lot of cooperation and problem solving. There were some students that did not understand how to play the game, so the other students explained and helped them. I also saw them problem solve on their own, when some students were worried others were cheating. They went back on their own to figure out how many spaces they were supposed to go. I have seen first hand how play reinforces cooperation skills, social development and problem solving. There is one boy who has a hard time socializing and solving problems independently, and I notice that he does not play. I have tried to set up some play situations so that he feels welcomed into a situation and comfortable playing with others. Hopefully, play will help him to develop socially.

In my second week of kindergarten I have had the chance to observe and be a part of play. Today I had more control of how the day went. After students were done with what they were assigned to do, I let them have free choice, which meant they could play whatever they want. I also gave them the last 30 minutes of the day to play. One thing I notice a lot, is the gender issue and stereotypes during play. Most of the times the boys play with the boys, and girls play with the girls. I've also noticed a lot of boys building things, while all the girls are in the kitchen dramatic play area, doll house or drawing. I was watching a group of boys who were playing with legos. It was very interesting hearing their story lines. Some pretended they were in a war, and the others would add on. They seemed to cooperate very well. One boy would say how he wanted a certain piece, while the others would work to help him try to find it. They also seemed to solve problems together. There was a bit of conflict at the end during clean up, when one of the boys smashed another boys lego car that he had made. I thought for sure that the boy whose car got ruined would tell on him, but instead he told the smasher that he was mad because he worked hard on the car and told him not to break it. The boy said sorry, and I noticed in the next play time that they were building something together. As I am able to have more control of how the days go, I will definitely continue to try to include more and more play, because I am seeing the things I have read about in our weekly readings coming into action in the classroom.

First day of kindergarten

Today was my first day in my kindergarten placement, and it is extremely different already from my previous placement. The first thing I noticed was the set up of the room. In my last classroom the desks were lined up in rows, and there was really no room for anything else. In this room the play area is the focal point, in the center of the room. There is a dramatic play area with a kitchen, puzzles, blocks, doll house, trains, cars, etc. When I told my teacher about this class and asked her about the amount of play found in the classroom, she told me that she tries to fit it in as much as possible, but unfortunately there is not a lot of time in the day for it. I was able to witness a lot of play, though I was busy myself so I could not observe. The children had two recesses, and also two free play times. When I looked over, most of the students were building things with blocks and playing with cars. None of the students were by the dramatic play area which surprised me. I am eager to see the amount of play that goes on in this room, and the play situations that I am able to bring to it.