Honing Our Skills!

Children need challenges. They actually THRIVE on challenges or problems! They are the building blocks for life!

 How do we give children opportunity to work through a challenge or a problem?

Here's perhaps, a less obvious example of how we can encourage those skills:

It would have been easy to open the tongs and leave them ready to use in the sensory bin. But they were purposely left closed, ready for a challenge. Just another example of how the environment is the third teacher.

It was tricky at first, but......

Success!

 Now, how do you think that child felt when they accomplished that task. It took him a while, and it took all of my being not to intervene. There was an older child standing right next to him that was already on her way to using the tongs, but he kept at it. How satisfying! He was so excited!

Next came the task of changing up the sensory bin. I could have easily picked the bin up and tipped it into the storage container....

But she would have missed out on the chance to exercise those fine motor skills, that will increase her fine motor accuracy while she holds her pencil to write her name. 

Such precision, and dedication to the task.

And just like that the task was done.

It hard to stand back and watch them struggle, but it's a way for children to gain confidence in their abilities, hone their skills, and develop a sense of purpose. Children are CAPABLE!!!

Let them do it, children are their own teachers!