Silly Build

This journal entry is so interesting!  Michael saw it as a silly building activity with mom…which it was…but it was also an investigation on my part.

Michael struggled to play with toys like this on his own.  He was hesitant to make an incorrect choice and sometimes it paralyzed him into just sitting with the parts and not putting them together.  This was especially common with toys that required some imagination and creativity.

So, we put together play schedules for Michael.  These are not exactly as they sound.  He would have a bin with all of the parts in it.  Then, I would take a picture of each part and how it fit together with the other. Then, I’d put them in sheet protectors inside small binders so Mikey could turn the page, do the step and at the end, he would have completed the build.

It allowed him to play with the toys he liked without stress. The schedules provided the scaffolding he needed to play on his own.

Investigation through Play

But, before I went to all the trouble to create an entire play schedule, I liked to play with the toys with Michael to see what he liked and what his instincts were. That way, even though I was creating the steps, they were based on what he might want to do anyway. That’s what was happening on this particular day.

Later, I made the schedule and Mikey built this silly character several times before we re-did the investigation and created a new way to play with these kooky building materials.

The Best Part

The last page of every schedule said, “Clean Up.” If your child does not read (yet), you could put a photo of the pieces taken apart and put back into the bin. The mini binder goes in the bin too, so it is always ready to guide play time.