I decided to try the “Teach Me” activity. When scrolling though the list of activities it caught my eye. Usually we are the ones who teach children different things, but this game lets children play our part. The participant was a boy, Max, 4 years old. The activity did go the way I had expected although Max did surprise me with his dedication and enthusiasm. He decided to teach me all the different types and brands of cars. Not only did he pull out all of his books about cars, but also all of his car toys, coloring books, car magazines and any papers that have ever been printed for him. I think that Max really did learn something from the activity. When he first got everything needed together he didn’t really know how to start and teach me. Then we chose the book that had the best classification of cars and went by it, at times, adding examples from other sources. Both of us very much enjoyed the activity. Max felt like a real grown up and because more confident. He now understands that he can teach something to other people, that he knows something that others might not and this feeling made him really proud. If I had the chance to redo the activity, I would perhaps make it more role play. Max really enjoyed getting into the role of a teacher, so perhaps if we had set up the room as a classroom and had more than one student, he would learn even more.
The next activity I would try is “Team Efforts”. After getting to be really independent in the teacher role, the child need not forget how to be part of a team. By switching team and individual activities around the child will grow up well rounded.
Source
“Teach Me”. PBS Parents. 2012. http://www.pbs.org/parents/arthur/activities/acts/teach_me.html?cat=development Jan.15.2012
