The Children's House is coming to the end of week five and as we prepare to enter into week 6, one of the elements that I am observing with the children is what they choose and how they choose.
It can be a challenge to recognize the difference between what is a conscious choice, one in which a child is aware of what the outcome is, versus an impulsive choice or a choice that is just busy work. While this is not to say that an impulsive choice or busy work cannot eventually lead to a discovery of one's interests or the development of a skill that will prepare their self for that moment when they do discover their interests, the conscious choices are what lead to repetition and an interior satisfaction.
Decision making is a complex process that we follow all through our lives. When we make a choice, it is about setting ourselves a goal and being able to carry it through. Sometimes we make choices and we are not able to finish it, even though we want to. This could be a lack of skill, lack of perseverance, or could be a lack of focus and too many distractions. It is the same for the children in the classroom.
This week the children arrived in the classroom there were no stools set out for walking on the line. But the littlest ones came in to the classroom, and began to set up the stools all around the ellipse, sat down and looked at me expectantly... They were clearly expecting that I would begin the music for walking on the line. So I did. As the older ones arrived and joined in, soon all of the class was on the ellipse walking, marching, galloping or processing, depending on the rhythm offered by the music.
As I let out our group afterward, I invited the children to start their day, but without any suggested choices. I pulled up photos from Transparent Classroom of each child. I said, "which of these activities would you like to choose this morning?" Each child was thrilled to see a photo of themselves and chose something from one of the photos. The next day, the same thing happened. No stools were set up, but the children arrived, set them up and wanted the music for walking on the line. When we were finished and I dismissed the group, I asked each of them, what is your favorite material in the whole classroom? Start your day with your favorite! By Wednesday, I was able to say how would you like to start your day? And each child had some idea of what they would like to do, and went about choosing and therefore, enjoying.
Last week both Miss Becky and Mr. Short wrote excellent posts in the weekly update on repetition in the environment, which I encourage you to go back and read if you haven't. It is through repetition that children establish a routine for the day, pay attention to the details of their work, develop focus and an ability to ignore distractions, develop executive function skills, persevere through difficult tasks, and most importantly, develop interests and skill sets that will further themselves along in their journey through childhood.
