A Chance To Try

 A Chance To TryBy Sarah KernIt was a mild December morning on the playground. Our toddler class of two- and young three-year-olds was busily exploring. A child had found a tennis ball and was rolling it down the hill. It reminded another child of when we had created a ramp on the hillside several months ago.“Want to do that again?”“Yes!”As the teacher, I immediately looked to see where the ramps were, wondering how I could support the children’s idea. There they were, on the very top of the shed: several lengths of plastic guttering, each about ten feet long. My first instinct was to grab them for the children; they wanted to make a ramp and I wanted to make it happen! But I stopped myself, and I’m so glad I did.A child carefully climbed up the ladder to the top of the shed, with others cheering him on.“He made it!”Another child raced around to the other side of the shed and climbed up the steps. Another followed. The children began to maneuver the ramps towards the steps and send them sliding down. The ramps stopped when they hit the ground at the bottom of the steps. Now what? Another child had approached and was near the bottom of the steps.“Can you help me?”She picked up the low end of the ramp and carefully moved it away from the steps. They repeated the process with another ramp. Once all the ramps were down the steps, a child tried to pick one up on his own. It was tough to move it alone.“I need some help!”“I can help!”“WE’RE DOING IT!”With two, it was easier. Children worked in pairs to carry the long ramps to the top of the hill. Once they were in position, the children sent their balls down with squeals of delight.This experience didn’t last long. It took maybe five minutes, but it was rich in meaning, challenge, and success for the children - and learning for me as the teacher. Perhaps what amazed me most of all was that they never asked me for help, despite my eagerness to take over. I had to wonder how many times I’ve taken over when the children would have benefited from the chance to do it themselves.It was the same week when we visited the Pines. There the children played in the giant bird’s nest that was built by the school-age Outdoor Club. A child was on the hunt for “eggs” (golf balls) and noticed a collection of them tucked deep within the branches of the bird’s nest. This time, they did ask for help.“Hey, can you get these?”I almost did! (As a teacher, sometimes my learning is slow.) But I stopped myself.“I think you can figure it out.”And sure enough, they did.