I think I must have MISSED something this week! I think a little guy in my room was swapped out for a braver, happier, more comfortable and playful version of himself!
This little guy in my classroom is beyond shy. He has been in my classroom for months now. We have a total of 5 children in the classroom. It generally takes him until Friday before he feels comfortable enough to even move around without looking like a version of the tin man from The Wizard of Oz! When he spoke it was single words only and so quietly you needed to put your ear right next to him to even hear what he was saying! If he needed help with something he would simply sit, looking terrified, until an adult noticed him struggling! If another child took something from him, he said nothing!
So, imagine my surprise when he came up behind me at center time the other day and said in a nice LOUD normal indoor voice, "I can hear a noise!" I nearly fainted! But, I quickly recovered and asked him what he thought he might have heard. It seemed as if he may be trying to initiate play, not necessarily actually wanting to find the source of an actual sound; so I suggested we go try to find what was making the noise (keep in mind, this is a child who has never participated in any simple pretend play in the classroom...ever!).
We walked around the room, pretending to sneak around. We looked for bears, we pretended there was a bear in the hall; we ran back to the book area and "hid". Throughout this, this little guy kept up a running commentary, saying things like: "I hear something." "I see something."
When he started mentioning seeing something, I suggested we look through our binoculars and put my hands up to my eyes peering through pretend binoculars. He did as well. We named the children we saw through the binoculars.
Then we hid behind the table until another child (who had come to visit from the other classroom) came over to wash her hands at the sink. (By this time, we were pretending to look for a monster!) I said, "Oh, look, there's the monster!" and pointed to the child. She laughed and came up to us and made a big monster sound. This little guy laughed! He laughed!
The previous day, this would have made him stand stock still and stare at her as if she was trying to hurt him! This is the same child who looked terrified the first time I gave him a "high five"!
Well, not this day! Apparently, he's decided we're OK! Apparently, he's decided we may even be a bit of fun! Well, I was certainly happy to meet this new version of himself! I hope he sticks around!
This little guy in my classroom is beyond shy. He has been in my classroom for months now. We have a total of 5 children in the classroom. It generally takes him until Friday before he feels comfortable enough to even move around without looking like a version of the tin man from The Wizard of Oz! When he spoke it was single words only and so quietly you needed to put your ear right next to him to even hear what he was saying! If he needed help with something he would simply sit, looking terrified, until an adult noticed him struggling! If another child took something from him, he said nothing!
So, imagine my surprise when he came up behind me at center time the other day and said in a nice LOUD normal indoor voice, "I can hear a noise!" I nearly fainted! But, I quickly recovered and asked him what he thought he might have heard. It seemed as if he may be trying to initiate play, not necessarily actually wanting to find the source of an actual sound; so I suggested we go try to find what was making the noise (keep in mind, this is a child who has never participated in any simple pretend play in the classroom...ever!).
We walked around the room, pretending to sneak around. We looked for bears, we pretended there was a bear in the hall; we ran back to the book area and "hid". Throughout this, this little guy kept up a running commentary, saying things like: "I hear something." "I see something."
When he started mentioning seeing something, I suggested we look through our binoculars and put my hands up to my eyes peering through pretend binoculars. He did as well. We named the children we saw through the binoculars.
Then we hid behind the table until another child (who had come to visit from the other classroom) came over to wash her hands at the sink. (By this time, we were pretending to look for a monster!) I said, "Oh, look, there's the monster!" and pointed to the child. She laughed and came up to us and made a big monster sound. This little guy laughed! He laughed!
The previous day, this would have made him stand stock still and stare at her as if she was trying to hurt him! This is the same child who looked terrified the first time I gave him a "high five"!
Well, not this day! Apparently, he's decided we're OK! Apparently, he's decided we may even be a bit of fun! Well, I was certainly happy to meet this new version of himself! I hope he sticks around!
It's always a pleasure reading your blog. You express your thoughts very clearly! Thanks Pam.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my recent post on kid's craft @ http://blog.memetales.com/2011/03/paper-necklace-kids-craft/
What a heartwarming post :)
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