Problem-solving, Object inquiry skills
A toddler explores ways to play with identical wooden figure toys that can fit together.
Be Prepared: Flockmen® wooden stacking toys are an openended material often found in Montessori classrooms. A 16-piece set (“half flock”) is sufficient for this activity and recommended for children three years and younger. Place the items in a small basket. It is helpful to provide a cloth mat that helps prevent the pieces from slipping. A low table works best for a toddler to look at the items from different perspectives.
Invite a toddler to join you in playing with some people figures. Set the basket of items near, but not on, the mat or work space within easy reach of both you and the toddler. Take 3–4 items from the basket and encourage the toddler to do the same. Provide time for the toddler to explore the material by feeling and manipulating the items. Point out how the toys are the same by putting one toy on top of another.
Explain there are many ways to play with the toys. Pause for the toddler to respond with a comment or manipulation of the toys. Support the toddler’s play with the toys. Encourage the toddler to take more toys from the basket if he/she wishes. Avoid asking the toddler what he/she intends to do because there may not be a specific plan at an early stage of exploration.
If the toddler seems uncertain about how to play with the toys, offer one or more ideas by assembling your set as an example that you anticipate is well matched to the toddler’s building interests and fine motor skills. Some possibilities include the following:
These are examples only, listed by approximate levels of complexity. Support a toddler’s interest in exploring the figures. A toddler may want to add to an arrangement you offer as an example. If a toddler copies what you offer as an example, ask if there are other things he/she would like to do with the toys, such as make a stacking arrangement higher or put the people figures together in a different way. Offer the items you took initially from the basket if the toddler wants to work with all 16 items.
Describe what happens, including the toddler’s actions and the arrangement he/she creates. Example: In a domino effect, explain that one toy bumped into another toy that then bumped into another toy. Encourage the toddler to tell what happens.
Help the toddler solve a problem he/she may encounter in working with the material by stating the problem or offering an idea to explore. Examples: If a toddler’s lined-up items do not fall in a domino effect as anticipated, ask whether he/she thinks the items were close enough together. If a tower falls, describe the problem and talk with the toddler about how to make the items stand up better. Allow plenty of time for a toddler to express ideas, experiment, or ask a question.
Conclude the activity by describing the toddler’s efforts. Give less emphasis to what he/she created.
Look for ways to encourage the toddler to look at, feel, and manipulate the items, especially in the early segment of the activity. An exploration of an item by itself and in relation to others will likely lead to the engaging problem of what to do with the toys. This is where you face the potential challenge of being supportive of the toddler’s interests without directing the play. If it appears the toddler would benefit from an example to further his/her exploration, offer the example as an idea, not a finished product to copy. It is important for the toddler to own the play while also feeling your supportive interest. A toddler is likely to repeat an engaging process or result one or more times. Repetition can be more valuable than experimenting with many different ways to arrange the figures.
A turning point in a toddler’s play is likely to occur when he/she discovers the figures can fit together. This opens the door to more complex building arrangements and also more advanced fine motor practice.
Extra support
Enrichment
Problem-solving, Object inquiry skills
Toddlers engage in open-ended play with wooden figure toys that can fit together.
Be Prepared: This activity is for toddlers who are familiar with the wooden figure toys through participation in Option 1 or a similar guided experience. Put the 16-piece set (“half flock”) in a small basket. Provide a cloth mat for each child that defines his/her work space and helps prevent the pieces from slipping. A low table works best.
Invite two toddlers to continue their play with the wooden figure toys. Place the basket of figures in the middle of the table, with separate work space for each toddler. If necessary, provide a reminder that the figures are the same and can be used together in many different ways. Invite each toddler to show and tell what he/she likes to do with the figures. Encourage the toddlers to notice what each is doing. Explain that the toddlers are playing together with the toys. Describe briefly what each is doing and enthusiastically yet gently support any child-initiated joint work with the figures, such as creating an arrangement together.
Most likely, toddlers will pursue their own explorations with the figures in a parallel-play format. It is valuable for a toddler to see what a peer is doing with identical materials. The observation may trigger another idea or lead to similar effort. If you notice Toddler A watching Toddler B use the figure toys in ways you anticipate Toddler A may not know how to do, suggest that Toddler B show Toddler A how to use the material. Example: fitting together the figures.
In a parallel-play format in this activity, toddlers are playing together in the sense of working with the same material at the same location. Jointly working on the same arrangement is unlikely to occur at this age, although you may see signs of movement toward a shared activity. Because the figure toys are identical, there will not be disputes about who plays with a desired shape, but there may be conflicts about control of the items. If this occurs, provide a rule that the figure toys are to stay in the basket until they are used in play (not hoarded by a toddler for possible later use). It may be necessary to take turns using some items if both toddlers wish to create arrangements that require lots of figures.
In addition to supporting peer interaction opportunities, look for ways to encourage each toddler to strengthen his/her skills in working with the figure toys by repeating a process of interest, preferably with variation, or by exploring a more complex way to work with the toys.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: Flockmen® wooden figure toys, felt squares
Provide the figure toys for independent play. Enhance the exploration by putting small felt squares on a table with the figure toys to encourage play that involves one square per toy (one-to-one correspondence).
Another way to promote toddlers’ problem-solving skills is to provide materials that are typically located in a different area of the room. Example: Put some dolls and dishes in the building (block) area for a week and observe children’s reactions. The increased access to the materials may be especially beneficial to toddlers who normally play in an area that does not include the items.
Materials Needed: Flockmen® wooden figure toys, other assorted small toys as described below
Preschool-age and older children will enjoy Options 1 and 2. Offer other small materials to promote problem-solving skills of children of different ages in your setting. Mobile infants will enjoy opening containers to find a small toy. Wrap familiar toys in paper for infants to discover. Toddlers will enjoy puzzles and pegboards, as well as building with different kinds of blocks. Provide challenge for preschool-age and older children with materials that can be used in different ways, such as geoboards and rubber bands. Also, provide pattern blocks, craft sticks with play dough and small figures.
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