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Fours boys create a way to experience the joy of doing something together by inventing an activity in which they can participate simultaneously. To do so, they gather drumsticks and use sections of tree trunk to symbolize drums. Notice that near the beginning of the video one boy says, “Let’s go somewhere else,” and the children move to different location in the classroom. Consider why the children may decide to include these relocations as a feature of their play. Notice that moving from one place to another does not noticeably affect the quality of the sound that the children are able to produce. Observe what strategies the boys use to make their play more interesting and lend it some structure. At times, one child will take on a conductor-like role by shouting, “stop”, or by counting, “one, two, three”. The children also interject different elements into their play such as singing loudly or tapping faster. Notice how leadership is shared. The boys take turns offering suggestions and the group often follows. At times, the cohesiveness of the group is challenged. However, the children successfully maintain their play by carrying out the same action, tapping drums together. Their improvisation attracts the interest of other children in the classroom and what began as a four person band soon grows to six. Notice what strategies the two children use to enter the ongoing play established by the four boys. More broadly, consider what you think the children find most valuable about this play episode. What do you think most concerns them and how would you go about supporting their interests on the following school day?

Length of stand-alone master video clip: 3 minutes 31 secs

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Keywords: Threes, Children-Object, Communication, Collaboration