In my last post I wrote about the challenges involved in bringing blocks back to the early grade classrooms at Rato Bangala. Now that I’m back to provide an update I’m happy to report that despite a few initial difficulties we were able to make the transition with very positive results.
We started with one classroom and began by tackling the formidable problem of space. We needed a large enough block area with shelves arranged to allow the children easy access to all of the materials but that still left room for them to create and modify their buildings. To tackle our new block area we moved all of the classroom tables and chairs to one side and began to experiment with shelf placement.
After a bit of tinkering, we decided on an area that would meet the needs of teachers and students. In the rest of the classroom, work tables were arranged to suit the new configuration of the space. Our wonderful and cooperative teachers even agreed to replace their large desk with a much smaller one and to move many of their supplies to a storage room next door.
Back in the block area, we marked off work areas with masking tape to help the children organize themselves as they worked. We made sure to delineate open “corridors” along the shelves and between work areas so that everyone could reach the shelves and move around without bumping or knocking into each other’s buildings. With their new classroom block area laid out and in place, the kids couldn’t wait to get to work.
More about that work to come in my next post.
