Educating Young Children Volume 1 – Spring 2025 | Page 34

Imagination and Learning During Individual Play

Being in whole groups, or even small groups, can sometimes be difficult for children. Knowing this, I plan for individual learning activities and make a point to carve out quieter places for children to play and learn outside of group interactions. I also pick out materials that are engaging and calming. Interestingly, I often find that many children know when they need to be alone. Sol was one of these children.

One day, after having some difficulty navigating the social demands of the classroom, Sol found a container of colorful wheel toys on a shelf and took them to a table where no one else was sitting. He was able to manage his feelings of being overwhelmed because he had sufficient options to exercise his agency as a learner. I happened to be nearby and quietly sat down next to him as he played. First, he used the wheels to make a line. Then he organized them into a round cluster.

Sol: Ms. Roberta, Look! I made a flower!

Me: Wow, Sol! Your arm looks like the flower’ s stem.

Sol:( chuckles) That’ s so silly, Ms. Roberta. Me: It is, Sol! Flowers do have stems though.

Individualized experiences can be impactful when thoughtfully integrated into the day. During my interaction with Sol, I looked for opportunities to scaffold his learning, introduce content-related ideas, and gather feedback for future instruction. In addition, I was able to see how he incorporated what he learned during whole-class instruction into his play: He went from building a line of wheels, which is a simple construct, to building a circle of wheels, which is more complex. Then he labeled his creation a flower. To expand upon Sol’ s imaginative play, I intentionally shared information about plant anatomy by calling his arm a stem. Experiences like these have been an excellent way for me to assess the effectiveness and reach of my teaching practices for all learners.