The Shiny Table

A lot of the ideas that I try out in our classroom are borrowed or at least inspired by ideas from other teachers.  The Shiny Table, however, is an original idea as far as I know.  Perhaps other teachers have tried something similar, but this idea came to me one day when I realized that I had a bunch of high quality reflective Mylar paper left over from another project.

I decided to completely wrap our sensory table with the Mylar.  This is not the cheap, wrinkly balloon Mylar.  This paper is like a perfect mirror.  You can look at your face and then touch the paper to distort the image in really interesting ways, kind of like funhouse mirrors.  After covering the table, I added loose strips and shapes of cut Mylar paper, as well as cardboard tubes of different sizes wrapped in the reflective paper.  I also added other reflective objects like old CD's, small make-up mirrors, clear glass beads, glass jars, and finally a circular flashing LED light.

I wondered if this would be one of those ideas where I get really excited, and I think it's really cool, but the kids could care less.  Thankfully this was not the case.  The Shiny Table inspired a lot of quality dramatic play and freeform exploration of the properties of light and reflection.  Plus, it was simply an interesting place to hang out, even if only for a few minutes.  The children's play at this table was also extended to other parts of the room. Many of them put the two large reflective tubes on their arms and became "robots."  We are lucky to have large windows that let a lot of light in, so as they moved around the room, their robot arms made light bounce all over the place.  There were rainbows (even more than usual) moving around us all morning.

Some spent their time at the table focusing on the glass beads, collecting them into the jars.  Someone asked for tape so I provided a roll of light blue masking tape and they sealed the jars of beads and even taped pieces of the loose Mylar to them.  Others were only interested in the LED light, watching as the flashing lights were reflected off all of the other objects in the table, turning it on and off, over and over again.  We only had the Shiny Table set up for a few mornings and I'd like to experiment further with this idea and see where it could go next.

Silly Billy

One thing I love about working with young children is that I get to practice my acting skills, taking on the role of strange characters that we create together.  When we play, I get to be all kinds of monsters, a wizard, a criminal, grandma, daddy, etc.  For years I've been employing a character who always gets things wrong. He's been called different names, depending on the class, like Mr. Wrong, Mr. Mixed-up, Not-Smart Guy, etc. He usually came out at snack time. He calls kids by the wrong name, mixes up colors and shapes, and gives outrageous answers to simple math problems. He speaks in a goofy " duh duh" kind of voice and sometimes falls over or runs into things.

This year's class has created a version of the character called Silly Billy. He's got more of a southern Indiana Hoosier drawl and he seems to get way sillier than previous incarnations. I'm not usually around when the kids eat snack this year so Silly Billy comes out on the playground. They all love him.  I only bring him out when they request him, which is often.

The other day I became Silly Billy as soon as we got out, carrying on about how beautiful the pink grass and blue dandelions were, and how freezing cold it was (it was 87 degrees). The kids began correcting Silly Billy, and as he thanked each one of them for correcting him, he mixed up all their names.

Then the kids start asking him math questions. "Hey Silly Billy what's 2 + 2?"
He answers something like "56 million." They all laugh and say "wrong!" and at least four of them shout the correct answer. After a few rounds of this, Silly Billy says "hey I can do math! Umm...squirrel plus flower equals bicycle!" and "toilet plus toothpaste equals pizza!" This usually gets the children to start coming up with their own absurd yet creative "math" equations.

As a teacher I've wondered and worried-- is this really an educational exercise? Does it need to be? Is it just confusing the kids? Then I was amazed to read on one of my favorite teacher's blogs that he actually does something very similar. He doesn't necessarily have a character but he frequently gets things wrong on purpose as a way to teach his preschoolers to question authority. In his class the adult is not always right. Seen in this light, my use of characters like Silly Billy forms an important part of the curriculum. Plus, as I mentioned, someone (usually a kindergartner) always shouts out the right answer, and the younger children' ears are there to hear it, and they are perhaps more engaged than ever thanks to the humor and playfulness of the whole exchange.

So, I shall continue to trot out characters like Silly Billy, to teach that adults are not always right, to inspire creativity, and to give the children an opportunity to teach each other math.

14 September 2005

I was born in the ancient forests
I know
I remember my mother,
Our first breakfast.

So much about "I"
Aye aye aye aye
Egos break as easily as eggs
A fragile shell concealing
Yoke of union
You and eye become one.