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In general this episode shows how a toddler finds a way to maintain a play relationship with her friends even when they deny her a seat on either one of the two rocking horses.

This little jewel of a video shows how toddlers can value friendship more than objects. We have presented our analysis as a Thinkprint. We wrote what the children might be thinking, not in these exact adult words, but in effect. Writing Thinkprints is a useful way to see more in the children’s actions since you are searching for their intentions.

Play this video and notice the strategies listed below. Think about their meaning, purpose or effect. Speculate on what the teacher may have been thinking that led to her words and actions.

First segment

What do the three-year-old children in this video clip gain from playing the game of following one another in a circle? At Videatives we like to reveal what children know and to find the cleverness of children during ordinary moments. For example, are there some children whose strategies keep the game going for the others, i.e. the leaders if you will? If so, what are these children doing to maintain the game? What can you say about the game itself that offers children of different levels an opportunity to enter?

Four children enjoy their first experience working to adapt a familiar storybook, “Three Little Pigs”, to the theatre stage. The off camera teacher takes on the supporting role of narrator. As you watch this video, study what strategies the narrator uses to facilitate the children’s success. Notice that she adapts to the children’s spontaneous changes in order to sustain the play and facilitate each child’s participation. For example, when the children are cued to come onstage by the introduction of their characters, the third little pig remains off stage.

On a bright and sunny afternoon five children and a teacher embark upon a search for shadows on the school playground. Throughout the experience the teacher works to structure the children’s shadow exploration in various ways.

Four infants are enjoying a snack with their teacher. Notice how the teacher reads the infants’ cues as she works to support their emotional and physical needs. Study both the verbal and nonverbal ways she uses to let the infants know that she is attentive.

A young child attaches photographs, with a Velcro backing, to a cloth wall. This brief video offers us many stories about the child’s knowledge and learning. For example, the story in this video could be about the child’s persistence. Notice that when the photograph she placed on the wall drops to the floor, she does not give up (00:12). Instead, the girl bends down to pick up another. Also observe that the child encounters difficulty grasping the photographs from the floor but continues in her efforts until she is successful (00:14, 00:38).

Four children and a teacher are working to build a tower using large sections of tree trunk. As the children arrange the wood to create a platform for their structure they encounter a problem. The base of the platform is not stable. Rather than wait for the children to discover that the platform wobbles, the teacher takes the lead by clearly framing the problem. She then helps to remove the upper slabs of wood and invites the children to inspect the base.

An infant approaches with a metal lid in her hand and decides to pick up the box. Notice that she does not use the box as a container for the lid as she walks across the room. Rather, she devises a way to grasp both the box and the lid in one hand. At the table, she initially uses a series of fluid actions to place the metal lid inside, push the box closed, open it up again, and take the metal lid out. Carefully study how she slightly modifies this series of actions in the next rounds. The infant continues her exploration of the box and metal lid while sitting on the rug.