PBS Movie

This video was very interesting to me. I especially liked the experiment they did with the cardboard boxes between the city and the suburb children. It was interesting to see how the children created a city based off of their personal experiences and how they were so different because of this. I believe that play is important for every child and that every child will have a different type of play because of where they live and the situations they go through. It was very interesting to actually see in the movie the different ways children play from different areas. This was related to the readings we have been reading in the different books in many ways. Some ways are children play differently depending on the environment and that it is important for children to play and to get in touch with nature. As a child I played outside with the neighbors most of the time because I live in the woods in Upper Michigan with only a couple of neighbors. I also did play video games and computer games but I enjoyed being outside with my friends more. Mainly because I enjoyed swimming in the river by my house in the summer and skiing in the winter. I could not imagine having to grow up like the city children and not being able to play outside as a child. I believe it is important for children to get outside and away from video games, television, and the computer for a while.

Pico Cricket!

Playing with the pico crickets was very interesting. I really enjoyed the art and creative part of it in creating our guy. It was a little bit more difficult when it came to the program. I do not feel comfortable enough with the program as of right now to use it in my own classroom. Although I do think that is is great and could be used in the classroom. I feel like if I was trained or had more experience with it, and maybe other adults to help out it would be a great tool to use in the classroom. Taking some time to look and play with them in class was a great idea because without this I probably would not have ever learned how to use them and what they were.

Observing and Pico Crickets

I plan on observing Melissa Messengers Kindergarten class on Wednesday and Friday afternoon. I also plan on contacting Bonnie to figure out a time when I could come in and observe the children during play time.
The Pico Crickets could be very useful and fun in a classroom I think if I was trained to use them and felt more comfortable with them. At this point I feel like I am confused on how to work the program and would need assistance in learning it before I taught it to my class. I really enjoyed the creative aspect of it, just not the technology because I was not sure what to do. Overall I think they would be a great idea and fun for children to play and interact with.