to Welcome to WelcomeCommunities | Recreation | Real Estate | Events
| Lodging |
Local History | Churches | Businesses
| News & Features
 |
| From left: Stacie Butterfield, Chris Daday, Sheila Devins, and George Bailey gather after Preschool/Co-Teach Workshop. |
by Beth Hutchinson
For the
Pathfinder
Twenty-one preschoolers and fifteen mothers and fathers gathered for an
hour of creative interaction last Thursday morning in response to an invitation
from the Seeley Lake Elementary Preschool and the U of M Division of Educational
Research and Service (DERS).
Packed into that hour were numerous opportunities for both children and
adults to learn more about ways to interact beneficially with each other.
Two facets were given special emphasis-- how parents could most effectively
support their child's needs and ways to learn and what inexpensive
materials could be used in the process.
As they collaborated with their children exploring fun ways to develop pre-pencil
and communication skills, parents had the opportunity to chat with DERS
Project Director George Bailey, Assistant Director of Programs Chris Daday
and Supervising Special Education Preschool Teacher Stacia Butterfield.
Bailey, Daday and Butterfield frequently travel around the state to represent
CO-TEACH OUTREACH, a project which provides training for rural professionals
and paraprofessionals who teach preschoolers. So successful has this model
been that Bailey and Butterfield have been invited to share it with Department
of Defense schools in Germany, Korea and Japan over the next few months.
Introducing himself and his staff in the beginning of the session, Bailey
expressed enthusiasm for unique way Seeley Lake preschool teacher Sheila
Devins and the DERS team had structured the morning's program. "Usually,"
Bailey said, "we talk the game to a group of educators. This time we
are able to share the interaction directly with parents. I know we are going
to get a lot of valuable feedback for the UM staff."
Over the next forty-five minutes, children threaded pasta necklaces, made
paste and glued pasta onto black paper, crayoned on recycled paper sacks,
molded colorful homemade clay and rearranged blocks constructed from milk
cartons. They were encouraged to voice their needs and explain their ideas
to their parent partners, while at the same time their parents were urged
to set aside their personal visions of what a "proper" necklace
or drawing should look like.
Devins and the UM visitors moved around the work area modeling appropriate
adult interaction and calling attention to the diverse interpretations young
children need to be free to make to a particular assignment. While Jeremy
Praeter quickly assembled a full necklace and went on to use it as a prop
as he pretended to be an Indian, Wyatt Wiemer threaded a few items, stopped
to reflect a while, threaded a few more and then got up to test the pendulum
qualities of his construction.
Parents sometimes found it a bit difficult to separate from their own visions
of "reality" and were caught giving direction rather than support.
At one point while several parents wondered aloud whether it was all right
for the children to mix the different colors of clay, Tiffany Prater, unhampered
by their concerns, uninhibitedly assembled a delightful patchwork like work.
It featured various colors of clay laid over a blue base and embellished
with pasta accents. Her creative response led other children to want to
mix media and renewed their interest in the project.
Participants got to see that no one is immune from getting adult/child wires
crossed. For a moment even Devins found herself inadvertantly snagged in
the adult mind set when, as the session was drawing to a close and some
children were still enthralled in their play, she caught herself saying,
"No pasta in the clay". Devin's modeling how to catch, to laugh
and to modify her inadvertant slip may have been one of the most vital moments
of the hour.
"Of course pasta in the clay is okay," affirmed Devins. Turning
her attention to the adults, Devins continued, "Oh, I feel so embarrassed.
See what happens to us when we are trying to do so many things at once."
Adult agendas are not always apparent to children. Unintended messages that
have broad lifetime implications may be received by children. For some child,
"No pasta in the clay," could translate into "Don't be a
risk-taker, don't explore, don't be creative..." A confident pro, Devins
used her human slip to take advantage of a genuine teachable moment with
the other adults.
As the event concluded, the DERS team urged the parents to develop a set
of cues for situations that involve transitions. They pointed out that the
child's idea of "finished" may vary with the adult's and that
power struggles can be avoided if cues are learned and used consistently.
Most importantly they stressed that parents need to suspend their expectations
regarding PRODUCT when children are interested in PROCESS.
Bailey praised Devins for focusing on process and for being so open and
accessible. "Seeley Lake is very fortunate to have Sheila," he
said. We have felt closer to the participants today than during other experiences
and hope to build on this model. We are also hoping to build a lasting relationship
with Sheila as well as this preschool program."
Expanding on the idea that all behavior is caused and that there is a reason
for the way each child acts and feels, he urged parents, "See yourselves
through your kids. If you see something you don't like, it's not too late
to change... often... yourself (and the way you are handling things)."
Community members Cheryl Evans and Theresa Hahn assisted in preparing for
and facilitating the program. CO-TEACH packets and a short video covering
the UM project may be obtained by calling Devins at the elementary school
(677-2265).