Modeling helps us understand the world
around us by abstracting a topic and also intertwining dimensional
thinking to zoom in and out of topics, ideas, or objects. Modeling helps
make things more accessible that might be difficult to experience and
understand.
When I was thinking about modeling and
dimensional thinking in relation to my topic play. I decided to zoom
into my topic. This required me to zoom into the human body of a
child. When a child plays they use all aspects of their body. As I
have explained in previous posts, play is one thing that parents find
difficult to understand how it benefits their child. By using this
model of a 3D body we can show and explain to parents how play
affects different areas of their child's body. When I plan lessons or
activities for children I make sure that they cover all developmental
aspects of a child: physical, cognitive, aesthetic, emotional,
social, language, affective. I try to incorporate all aspects of a
child's development in each area of the classroom. Whether that is
the math center, pretend play, construction, art area, etc. By
looking at a child's body in a 3D model we can see where in the body
each of these developmental aspects is helping to improve their child
(physically, emotionally, aesthetically, cognitively, etc).
The model of a child's body will go
along with the following images as well:
My main goal for this assignment was to
think about how I can educate the parents in my classroom. By
organizing a specific parent night dedicated to how play helps a
child's development and how we use play in the classroom. This could help parents understand that children aren't just, "playing".
These images above show each
developmental domain and how they are incorporated into the classroom
through play. They also show what parts of a child's development are
improving in each domain as they grow older and as they learn through
play. Using the human body of a child as my first model can help me
point to the areas of the body that will develop through the
activities that are specifically chosen in my classroom. Helping to
show parents how effective it is to learn though play for their child.
The cartoon I show below is one of my favorites:
It shows two parents completely
clueless about what is happening in the classroom. They think that
all the children are doing is, “playing”. Well of course they are
just playing! However, each child is explaining in a speech bubble
how the activity they have chosen is affecting their body, mind, and
development. This is a perfect cartoon to pass out with the model of
a human body of a child. They go hand in hand with each other and
help parents understand more of what we as teachers are trying to do
for their child. Play is so important for any child. Not only are
they learning new developmental stages in their growth, but they are
also learning how to interact with others. Children develop many new
social skills like sharing for instance. They learn the language that
goes with sharing and how to interact with their peers around them. The children also learn with their own bodies and minds. They don't need a teacher telling them what to do all the time. They learn through trial and error to figure out what is right, wrong, and what their bodies and minds can actually do. Obviously, a teacher is there to guide the children when conflicts arise and help push their thinking, ideas, and development. Children are learning all the time through play and they don't even know it yet!
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