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Max cannot close his zipper purse. Justin announces, “I will teach him.” As Justin starts to zip his own purse he tells Max, “Now watch this. I can do it. Hold on the bag and pull.” The zipper moves and opens the bag. Justin looks over at Max, “And then it works.” Max claims he can’t do it so Justin gives him another lesson. Max remains doubtful so Justin says, “I’ll show you how to do it. Give me the bag and I’ll show you how to do it.” Justin struggles with the zipper on Max’s bag.

Six children and a teacher are about to make a dog’s head by folding paper. The teacher asks the children to choose a color. Think about why the children choose the color they do. Some possible reasons include: a) the teacher currently holds that color, b) an admired child previously chose that color, c) they choose their favorite color in general, d) they want to choose a color not previously chosen, e) they want the color most chosen by the others, f) they are thinking about appropriate colors for a dog’s head, g) their choice is completely random.

Before children begin to pronounce words they begin to ‘pronounce’ word-like sounds. If you listen for a while you will realize that these sounds are strung together into a small number of sentence-like patterns used repeatedly. If you watch how children orient to each other as they make these sounds, you can determine if the speaker is trying to communicate something to his friends. Speculate about what the children in this video might be thinking as they pronounce these sounds. Here are some possibilities:

A group of young children are having fun trying to throw various sized balls over a canvas wall. This joyful game arose spontaneously and spread to the whole group. Let’s step back and consider where the children’s thinking comes into play. Notice what laws of physics the children accommodate in order to get the balls over the top of the wall (i.e., don’t stand too close to the wall when you throw). Observe how the physical layout of the props supports group play (i.e., the throwing area is wide enough for several children to play together).

Carter purses his lips and places them against the class pet parakeet’s cage. The teacher frames this as a kiss, perhaps to orient him toward a gentle kindness. Later the children go outside to spread seed for the birds. One of the teachers comments about how happy the birds will be. Like the parakeet, pets are often treated as a medium to engender compassion and empathy toward all creatures, including classmates.

Three young girls enjoy playing an invented game. The girls work to coordinate their movements, accommodate a third player, and lend structure to their play by singing refrains from a familiar nursery rhyme. Notice how they enjoy the affiliation felt when one follows the other. One girl momentarily takes the lead by pausing the action and waiting to establish eye contact with her friend before initiating a game of peek-a-boo. Observe how the girls use spatial-temporal reasoning to slow their pace and adjust the location of their bodies around the tree in order to include a third player.

Max and Justin are engaged in pretend play. Notice the flexibility with which the children use the bicycle inner tube as a symbol. The boys seamlessly transform the inner tube into a car seat belt, a possible flotation device for swimming, and a guitar that is strummed energetically. The children demonstrate spontaneous leadership and the role of imitation as they explore different scenarios. Once seated inside their pretend car, Max says, “I’m driving.” Justin responds by saying, “No, you’re not driving. I’m driving.” Notice that Justin looks at Max’s hands as he speaks.

Four girls have decided to make paper teeth for their vampire costumes in preparation for Halloween. Add to this particular activity the presence of the video camera. As you watch, decide if you agree with the following statements. 1. The camera offers the children a meta-cognitive perspective. 2. This activity offers the children a chance to practice leadership strategies 3. This activity offers all four girls a chance to differentiate their contribution to the project. 4. Talking out loud as they work in a small group offers each child a chance to think about the meaning of an utterance.

So often when we watch a child learning something new we focus on what the child does not know. Yet, if we focus on what the child does know we can build our own mental models of how the child may be thinking. We invite you to have fun with this delightful video clip of Evan who is learning how to play the musical game, ‘Freeze’. As you watch him participate, seek to identify the possible reasons behind Evan’s decisions with regard to how to play a game or solve a problem. Doing so will give you more ideas about the value of the game, as well as how to support him as a new learner.

An infant repeatedly voices noises into a toy horn. When she puts the horn to her mouth and makes her usual ‘ooaaa, ooaaa’ sound, she does not hear what she expects. She repeats the sound to confirm. She looks into the mirror and sees an infant with a red horn at her mouth. Still looking, she stops making the noise. She moves the horn away from her mouth as she resumes making the sound. She opens up her mouth to change the character of her voice. Then she moves the horn back, and modifies the sound again, muffling the vowel tones.