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Enjoy this short clip of three four-year-olds who spontaneously subtask their efforts to fill an ice tray with water and then carry it to the freezer. The video comes with a transcript that includes our speculations ("the subtext") about what the children might be thinking. The leader of the effort finds sensitive ways to include the other two children in the project and as well as they find ways to express their needs to the leader. These speculations are plausible, though admittedly not completely accurate. We think that once you enter the world of plausible thoughts, you realize how complicated, wonderful, and generative play can be for young children. Please protect these moments of play for all children. Give them the opportunity to invent their own strategies for getting things done. Do this not only out of your respect for children’s autonomy, but also out of your need to understand how children think. In the long term, your understanding will improve the conversations you have with children and your sense of timing when entering their world of work and play.

Length of stand-alone master video clip: 1 minute 54 seconds

Keywords: Fours, Collaboration