Construction

(Beal pp.161-188)
*Save everything- boxes, cardboard
When the kids walk into the room and see them [the boxes], they get
quite excited. They know theyll soon be getting their hands on the
construction materials. There isnt any age group that doesnt
immediately respond in this way (163)
-Construction materials capture interest
-Young children can build without any kind of goal- they discover the
properties of the material and learn the mechanics
But basically I let the young children do their serious early play that
involves discovering and learning. It is really the material here thats
teaching the child (163)
-With older children, you can give them a goal or not
Choose a few of these and think about how you might put them
together to make
Or
Maybe you just want to make a design with your boxes and will find
some interesting shapes that go together
-A lot of construction involves joining- important to emphasize strong
joining
I see my job as teaching the children how to use the materials, but
not what to do with them. I want them to come up with their own
ideas. And invariably they do (173)
-Children describe what they see and become excited about their work
-Group construction- kids work together
-Paper mache- needs to dry, then kids can return to them and
reconnect with their work
-Stick puppets- somewhere between collage and construction
-Older children can work with figure