II. Hands-on Activity: Instructions & Resources
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS Phase One: "Preparation & planning"
1. With your team, identify one specific developmental outcome or milestone for the child, which will be represented by the pool of water in the tray. You can use past experiences or the CDC Milestones for inspiration, if you are not reflecting on a real-life child.
2. Define the path or flow of unfolding development for this child today that will support their unique path to that developmental goal (exactly where on the ramp the water should flow down, in order to get to the desired goal). Development is multidimensional and can progress along multiple valid pathways, so outline one appropriate path for "this child today."
3. Engage in professional reflective practice to identify appropriate interventions for this child today that might support their unique path to that developmental goal. Choose interventions that are inspired by and aligned with Developmentally Appropriate Practice, and name each rock after a specific intervention idea.
ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS Phase Two: "Taking action"
4. Implement (connect) each intervention idea (rock) with the child (ramp) through professional reflective practice (playdough) to guide the child's development (water) down the desired path to the developmental goal (tray).
5. Then test your interventions by pouring a small amount of water, and see if the water follows the desired path down to the developmental milestone (pool).
6. If not, repeat professional reflective practice (playdough) and interventions (rocks) and testing until it works - just like we do in our real-life professional practice!
1. The BEST playdough recipe
Click here if you would like to replicate the amazing homemade playdough that we used in the presentation - it has an amazingly soft and satisfying feel, and a nice light tropical scent if you choose to use coconut oil in the recipe.
It takes about 5 minutes to cook it on the stove, and lasts for MONTHS in a ziplock bag.
2. "This child today" = reptile ramp/basking rock/gecko hide
We used a variety of these for our presentations, because the rock-like appearance and incline represent "the child as they are with you in this moment" of the observation/planning/intervention, with all of their genetic inheritances as well as the previous effects of various environmental shaping factors and their responses to these (including trauma responses, which as trauma-informed practitioners we always consider as possible factors).
You can check for these at your favourite pet retailer: ask or search for a "turtle ramp" or "gecko hide" or "basking rock"
3. Rocks = interventions
We encourage you to gather small/medium sized rocks near you! The rocks we use were gathered from the beach near my home in Southern California, in accordance with local regulations. If you need to purchase rocks for some reason, here is a possible source.
4. Prepare for water! Using appropriate trays
The right tools are a critical component for any activity plan, and this one is no exception. Please find DEEP trays like the ones shown here, so you and your participants can enjoy the experience without stress about unwanted spills of large quantities of water.
These trays are one inch deep, which contains the water, rocks, and ramps nicely and allows for transporting the tray to a sink/trash can where the water (sink or trash can) and the wet playdough (trash can) can be disposed of appropriately. Alternatively, you can easily pour the water back into the paper cup from the corner of the tray and dispose of it using the cup. Please keep and wash/recycle the ramps, the trays and the rocks for future experiences!
5. Small quantities of water = 5 oz cups
Most professional development classrooms and conference rooms are not equipped to handle large quantities of water, so just as we choose to curate our early childhood environments according to physical concerns such as "how much water we want to have to mop up" - we can also curate the amount of water available for potential spills (and to conserve resources) in this exercise.
Offering each team a 5 oz cup that is around half full has provided enough water for multiple "test" cycles and is easily contained within the ordinary trash cans that are located in places like higher education classrooms and hotel conference rooms. This amount of water also fits easily in the deep trays, and very little spills while carrying to dispose of the water in a nearby sink or trash can.
5. In case of spills...
As early childhood educators, we know to always be prepared for spills. Spills happen, and are no big deal if a towel is handy to wipe them up before they spread and potentially cause a hazard. If you have access to reusable/washable towels, please use them to conserve resources.
In many environments those are not available and/or not practicable, and in that case you can use any kind of paper towels that are available to you. We suggest using a higher absorbency towel, because fewer pieces of thicker paper towels are required to mop up any spills (again to conserve resources).