Play at ECDC and the South Carolina Early Learning Standards
The State Department of Education has produced standards for 3-5 year olds that are presently in draft form, under the “Good Start Grow Smart” initiative. They are designed to be consistent with the existing P-12 academic standards. They can be accessed through the South Carolina Department of Education Website.
There are five parts to these standards:
- Approaches to learning
- Social/emotional development
- Language and literacy
- Math
- Physical Health and Development
It is important for our families to know that these standards are being met through ALL the activities our children engage in, whether they have been specifically planned by the master teachers, or occur spontaneously. This sandbox play project provides a great opportunity to document links between child-initiated play and standards. A few excerpts from the standards that are clearly supported through the play of these children include: SC
| Early learning Standard | “Powerful Crystal Stick of Egypt” |
|---|---|
| K-AL1.1 Show growing creativity and imagination in play. | This project emerged from an imaginary scenario; the materials used and the ways in which the children described their work provide evidence of creative problem-solving |
| K-AL1.2 Lengthen attention span for self-selected open-ended tasks for reasonably long periods of time (20-30 minutes). | The children who worked on this project did so in two separate play periods. Altogether, they worked on this for more than two hours. |
| K-AL3.1 Demonstrate initiative in planning, creating and carrying out activities. | After the children started this construction, they ran out of ‘rebar’ – rather than being discouraged, they found and used other materials available (sand shovels, rakes, etc.) to complete the project |
| K-AL3.2 Demonstrate ability to maintain interest in self-selected activities, tasks and play despite distractions and interruptions | This project was initiated and completed while many other children and adults were on the playground and over the course of an entire day during which they were called inside to do other things several times. |
| K-AL3.4 Demonstrate delight or satisfaction when completing a task, solving a problem, or making a discovery. | Their excitement over the completion of this construction was evident as they called people over to see it and engaged in conversation about what they had done. |
| K-AL4.1 Demonstrate an increased ability to understand a task can be accomplished through a series of steps. | As their interview script demonstrates, these children could clearly describe the different parts and steps of their project. |
| K-SE1.2 Show initiative and self-direction by making choices and performing age-appropriate tasks. | No adults helped or interfered with the children during their play. The six children involved worked together, assigning tasks and making decisions when problems arose to complete it to everyone’s satisfaction. |
| K-SE1.4 Demonstrate self-confidence by approaching new tasks and situations enthusiastically, recognizing and expressing emotions appropriately, and sharing information about themselves with others. | The interview script demonstrates how the children shared in the description of their work and described what they had done with confidence they had accomplished what they set out to do. |
| K-SE3.3 Begin to play cooperatively with one or more children, listen to peers and understand their feelings, and solve problems together. | During the time this construction was being built, six children worked together without fighting, had many discussions about what to do next and collectively to decide when they were finished. Late in the afternoon, they decided together that they were ready to move on to other activities, and knocked it down together. |
| K-C2.4 Demonstrate the ability to focus attention on the person who is speaking and listen politely without interrupting. | As they were being interviewed, the children took turns speaking; when more than one child tried to speak at the same time, they would ‘yield’ to one child and said things like, ‘it is my turn to talk after Betty…’ |
| K-C1.1 Demonstrate the ability to use appropriate voice volume, phrasing, sentence structure (syntax), and intonation when speaking. | Their interview script clearly shows their emerging descriptive capabilities and use of conventional forms of language. |
| K-C1.4 Demonstrate the ability to participate in conversations and discussions by responding appropriately | All children involved in the construction participated in the conversation about what they had done. |
| K-C1.11 Begin using Standard American English (SAE) in formal speaking situations and in the classroom | Clearly seen in the interview script, which was transcribed word for word. |
| 5K I.A.1 Sort and classify objects by one attribute (size, shape, or color). | It is clear from photos of this construction that items used were grouped by shape (PVC & shovels/rakes used to form circumference) and intended imaginary function (balls=firebombs; sand toys=fuel, etc.) |
| 5K II.A.2 Sort and classify objects by more than one attribute (size, shape, and color) | All the PVC pipes are grouped on one side of the circle; all the colored rakes & shovels are grouped on the other; the T-shaped construction in the center of the circle is described differently by the children even though it is made of the same materials as the vertical rods surrounding it |
| 5K II.B.1 Use language such as less than, more than, or the same number as to describe the relative sizes of sets of concrete objects | Comments made by children include several references to number, size, sets of objects such as the tennis balls, etc. |
| 5K I.A.1 Identify, model, and draw two-dimensional geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle) | This construction is clearly circular by intent |
| 5K I.A.1 Use positional words to describe the location of objects (near, far, up, down, below, above, beside, next to, between, over, under) | Comments made by children include frequent use of relational or positional terms. |
| 5K IV.C.3 Compare the relative size of objects as bigger, smaller, or the same. | Comments made by children include frequent use of comparative terms. |
| 5K IV.D1 Identify and describe objects in the environment that depict geometric figures (triangle, rectangle, square, and circle) | The central structure is circular; two parts of the structure are also built as circular, symmetric mounds |
| 5K I.B.2 Order objects by length, height, and weight. | The vertical rods that form the circular structure are arranged by height and evenly spaced around the circumference of the circle, for the most part |
| K-PD1.2 Coordinate movements to perform variety of tasks. |
Obviously required to complete the building of this structure – choosing, gathering, and organization of materials; periodic checking on the progress of the construction; decision-making about problem-solving (e.g. what can we use now that we are out of PVC but need to finish the circle, etc.) |
| K-PD2.2 Use hand-eye coordination to perform wide variety of tasks | Eye-hand coordination is clearly evident in the spacing, assembly, and careful placement of the various materials used in this construction |
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