September is about starting to create relationships and a sense of belonging within our after-school program. As educators, we look for ways to challenge the children in their thinking, relationship building, and overall development. We spend time engaging the children in activities, aiming to discover each of their interests and strengths. As educators, we quickly noticed that our group this year has a passion for building.
During the second week of September, Keri introduced an activity to a small group of children showing interest, that would implement empowering our critical thinking skills as we worked together to build a lawn mower out of jumbo machine builders. The group first flipped through the instruction book to decide which item we wanted to build. We decided on the lawn mower and got to work. We each took on roles of finding the parts we needed, looking at the next step, and building the mower itself.
The children who did not want to build the lawn mower took the initiative on discovering what else they could build using the provided pieces. Some built small mowers, some built pulley systems, and others built signs to indicate instructions for imaginary cars.
We are constantly looking for new ways to discover the space around us and empower each other. We cannot wait to see what adventures we embark on this year in School-Age 1.
