The Struggle
The Struggle
By Rita Thoemke
This year’s toddler class has ventured where no other toddler class has roamed. It began in the fall when teachers showed the children our mud kitchen. The kids were more interested in what they would find if they followed the path beyond the mud kitchen into the woods, so we let them explore. We later brought them to the Pines, the Boulders, and on longer hikes. In past years, our toddlers stayed on the playground, free to explore anything within the fenced-in area. This class clearly was up for the additional challenges.
With new challenge comes new struggle. In the woods there are many trees that have fallen. Children love to climb up on these trees. One tree has a slide attached. While some of the toddlers climb with ease, others struggle and call out for help. As children try to conquer these challenges, teachers stand by to assure the kids are safe, but we never lift a child up into a tree or give them a boost. We do coach them, with suggestions about where they might place their feet or hands. “I wonder if it would help to place your foot over here?” Sometimes children get very frustrated and find it hard to understand why their teacher is not offering help. But that same teacher is there to celebrate the victory when they finally succeed in their climb.
Even better than a teacher offering suggestions is another child offering to help. On a recent day of sliding down the playground hill on our kick sleds, many children struggled getting the sleds back up the hill. One child discovered it was easier to push the kick sled up the hill if you turned it around and pushed it up from behind. While other kids cried out in frustration and some even abandoned their sleds at the bottom, this child went up and down the hill several times with ease. A teacher suggested that he could show the other children how he did it. Not only did the other children listen and try his suggestions, but the helping boy beamed with pride that he could offer help to others.
Sometimes this act of helping shows up in the children’s play even when it is not needed. On a mild day we discovered “Snow Mountain.” A snowbank in a safe corner of the parking lot, Snow Mountain offers a great climbing experience that is followed by a fun slide down on their bottoms. While one child was climbing up the hill, another child on top called down, “Need a hand down there?” Then, in dramatic fashion, the climbing child reached up to grab the helper’s hand. On the next go-around, these two switched roles. Soon ropes were introduced, and children quickly used them to "rescue" each other and assist in climbing up the hill.
Struggles can be found in other parts of our day as well - snack time, for example. Early in the year, some children struggled to unzip their lunch boxes or tear open their snack packages. Teachers use the same coaching strategies to encourage independence. Getting dressed to go outside is another skill that takes practice and persistence. While allowing a little bit of struggle, we have reached an exciting time of year where some kids have mastered boots and zippers and can offer assistance to their friends. It would be easy to jump in and do many of these things for the kids, but it is a joy to see a child succeed at something that took hard work to achieve. “I did it!” is music to our ears. Responding with “Look at you!” or “I had a feeling you could do it,” builds the children’s confidence and a sense of pride in their accomplishments. While it is difficult to watch a child struggle, the reward in the end is well worth it.
