I'm Brenda, and I care for ten children in my home,
ages three to five.
All of my children are different,
so even though we're all exploring
the same science topic, ramps,
I try to build in some flexibility
so that the activities are interesting
and appropriate for all the children.
Now who could tell me what a ramp is?
What is a ramp?
It's a thing where you put a skateboard on it,
and if you-- and then you could do a wheelie, like this.
BRENDA: I started off with our discussion to get a sense
of what the kids already knew about ramps.
Spencer, do you know what a ramp is?
No?
What do you think a ramp is?
Something that looks like that.
BRENDA: Yup, and what would you use a ramp for?
Have you seen a ramp before?
CHILD: Something that looks like that and this together.
Old men go on there after their leg is broken.
BRENDA: Our discussion helped me understand
the different experiences the children have had with ramps
and gave me some ideas for how I could support each child.
Are you ready?
BRENDA: When we moved into our learning center time,
I gave the children the freedom to decide
where they wanted to work.
For each of our centers, I provided a wide variety
of materials for them to choose from.
Having choices like these help the children
stay interested and engaged.
Because you never know
what is going to grab a child's interest,
and when you grab their interest,
they spend more time on their explorations
and put more effort into what they're doing.
During our explorations,
I try to set up different groupings of children
to enhance all of their learning.
These include whole group activities,
pairing younger and older children,
grouping children of the same age,
and also I work with children one-on-one.
It rolled down.
It rolled down?
Did it go fast or slow?
Faster.
BRENDA: One of our whole group activities
was creating a marble track.
I had the children take turns rolling the marble down
and talking about what they saw.
What will happen if I lift this up?
LOURDES: Do you think they're going to go back
or are they going to go-- continue going forward?
They go back.
BRENDA: The children really listen to
and learn from one another.
Get set, go!
BRENDA: Later, when we went outside,
I regrouped the children and had them work in pairs
with another child of a similar age.
The kickball went further.
BRENDA: Working with another child at the same level
increased their interest in the activity.
They could experiment and discuss ramps together.
This ball is soft and squishy.
This ball is bouncy and not squishy.
BRENDA: Whenever I can,
I like to spend time working one-on-one with the children
to see how they're doing.
This way I can give them a little help
or challenge them to try something more complicated.
Using these strategies
to make sure all the children are working on something
that interests and challenges them takes effort.
But it makes a huge difference.
I won.
BRENDA: I want you to feel this one.
Their learning has deepened.
Which one's heavier?
This one.
BRENDA: And we all end up having more fun.
And that's a wonderful thing to see.