Play Leader Contact Form

2014 Week 1

Leader's First name Casey

Last name Buhler

E-mail cbuhler@eden-dialup

Enter the date of today's Session : 2/18/98

Time of day when session started: 4:00

Time of day when session ended: 5:00

Information about the child you played with

Sex: __ Male _X_Female

Child's ID number: 2014

Describe the mood of the child when you began to work with him or her:

2014 was in a very good mood and excited to play with me. She wanted to know my name and what we were going to do today.

Please describe the physical conditions that apply to your child today.

There were no certain physical conditions that seems to come about. She was happy and interested in what we were doing.

What was the name of today's activity?

Magic Painting

How did you begin this activity?

I told her that we were going to play a game today called Magic Painting. I explained to her that we were going to paint a picture however that she wanted and at the end we were going to fold it together and get a whole new picture. I acted very excited about the whole activity and that seemed to interest her.

Did you lay out the materials?

I placed newspaper spread over the table in between us. (We were sitting across the table from one another) I then placed all of the paints and spoons out next to us with the paper in between us.

What was your opening line?

"Today we are going to play Magic Painting. This is a new way of painting because at the end we will fold it together and get a whole new picture"

How did you ensure that the child made connections between his/her remembered experiences and the current experience?

When we were looking at the painting that we made I asked her what she saw in the picture. Then whatever she would say I would ask her if she had ever seem one. For example she told me that the first picture that we made looked like a tree with different color leaves all around. Then I asked her if it was like the trees she sees in the fall like around Halloween.

How did you model describing your behavior and your internal thoughts? What did you say and do?

While I was painting I would tell her exactly what I was doing. For example if I was putting some yellow on the paper I would tell her I was doing so and say I really like yellow. Then I would say "Let me think what color should I use next? I'll use blue because blue is also my favorite color." Also while I painting I would say a lot "I am trying to think of what this is going ot look like when we are done" and "I can't wait to see what it looks like".

How did you encourage the child to describe his/her behavior and internal thoughts? What did you say and do?

I explained to her that there are no wrong answers so nothing that she will say is going to be wrong. I would tell her what I thought I saw in the picture and ask her what she saw. I would tell her how I felt and to encourage her to do the same thing as me which she did.

In describing his/her behavior and internal thoughts, what did the child say and do?

If she would pick a certain color she would explain why she was doing it or she would tell me what her favorite colors are. She would also explain why she was drawing certain things. She would say things like "I think we need more thing over on this side" or something along those lines. She also explained why she picked a certain color to me as I did to her.

How did you describe your strategy in accomplishing the task? What did you say and do?

Throughout the whole activity I reminded her that we had to imagine what the picture will look like once we fold it together and open it back up. I also told her that there were no wrong answers and I wanted her to tell me anything that she saw in the picture.

How did you encourage the child to describe his/her strategy in accomplishing the task? What did the child say and do?

I asked her a lot why she was picking a certain color and why she was making certain designs on the picture. I would ask her over and over again what she thought it would look like once it was done. Whenever I would ask her what the picture will look like once it is done she would say "I don't know". She was able to tell me what the picture looked like now and once we folded but she couldn't tell me what she thought it would look like after we folded it. The first two pictures that we made we just paint all over the picture so she really had to use her imagination to see something in the picture.

How did you get the child to "suspend disbelief" and buy into the situation?

I acted very excited about the whole activity and told her again and again that it is so cool that we can make one picture and just by folding it we can make two different pictures. From looking at her face I could tell that whenever I would say that and get excited she would too. When I was unfolding the picture I would say things like "Cool" and "Wow". She would mimic me and my excitement.

In getting the child to suspend disbelief, how did you present the situation to the child?

I convinced her that this was going so much fun to paint like this. She really didn't need much convincing because from the beginning she was excited to be playing with me. She was even more excited when I told her that she can paint in any way and anything that she wanted. She especially wanted to finger paint and get her hands all messy. I told her that it was fine because it was all part of the activity.

In getting the child to suspend disbelief how did you behave as a model?

I was very excited about making a picture and I also would start finger painting and getting all messy with her. I would always say "What do I see in this picture now". I would tell her what I saw and then she would tell me what she saw. When it came time to fold it I would say "I can't wait to fold this and see what it looks like".

In getting the child to suspend disbelief, how did you coach the child? What did you say and what did you do?

I told her that she can paint what she wanted in whatever color she wanted. I also told her that whatever she thought she saw in the picture I wanted her to tell me because I was very interested in it all. When she would tell me what she saw I would saw "Yeah you are right I see that. Wow you are really good at imagining these things"

Evaluate how well the child was able to suspend disbelief? What data did you observe to lead you to this assessment?

2014 did a really good job at telling me what she saw in the picture. When we were making the first two pictures we were just smearing the paint all over the paper so you really had to use your imagination to see what the picture was all about. However, she couldn't tell me what she thought it was going to look like after we folded it. She only told be that it was going to looked all messed up or like "cock a doodle doo" as she once told me.

Please describe the ways in which your child acted imaginatively today.

The first picture that we painted I asked her what she thought it looked like before it was folded. She at first said she didn't know. I then told her that it looked like a dog. She then said "Yes but I think it looks more like a cat because here is it's head, body and long tail. That's what they look like when they are sitting down". When I asked her to tell me what it will look like once it is folded didn't know what to say. She told me she couldn't picture it. Once I folded it right away she told me what she thought it looked like. She jumped up and said "It looks like a tree and these are all the leaves". I told her she was right and I told her that I saw a butterfly. She said "Yeah you are right it does and let me draw the antennas". She then took a little paint and with her finger drew then on the paper. The next picture that we drew she couldn't picture in her head what it would look like once it was done. Once it was folded though she told me what was in the picture. She couldn't tell me what the whole picture looked like but she would tell be what little parts did. For example she would tell me that a blot of paint looks like a dinosaur and how another looked like a fly. The final picture we drew she wanted to see what a rainbow would look like folded so she drew one by herself. She told me when it was folded it will probably just look like a folded rainbow. When it was done she told me it did look just like a folded rainbow. I asked her if there was anything else that she saw. She told me it looked like a girl with rainbow hair and she pointed out her eyes, nose and mouth. I also asked her to tell me a story about this picture. She told me a short story about a girl with rainbow colored hair and gave me her nam the girls name.

Please describe the ways in which your child acted creatively today.

The first two pictured we just put paint all over the paper in no real order but she really enjoyed seeing what the colors would look like once we mixed them together. She also demonstrated creativity when she drew a rainbow at the end all by herself. She knew what colors go into the rainbow and in what order they should go in. She was a little upset when she found out we didn't have any green so she couldn't have green in her rainbow. I was very happy to see that once she was done with the rainbow she wasn't upset to fold it or scared that it will get ruined. Instead she was excited to see what it will look like.

The outcome of any play session is a result of the interaction of the child, the leader, the activity, and the materials. Please try to assess the impact of each of these variables individually and in interaction in determining the outcome of today's session.

First interacting with the child and leader is very important because you have to coach them throughout the activity and tell them they are doing a good job. Also when they see that you are very excited they want to know what you are so excited about and they get excited to. If you were to present and activity with no excitement or enthusiasm then the child wouldn't want to do it either. Children also seem to like it when adults are interested in what they are doing so if you ask a lot of questions while they are doing the activity it encourages them to keep doing the activity and they feel good about themselves. This activity today was also very important because it allowed the child to use their imagination and creativity which is a very important element of a child's life. I think that the outcome was very good in that 2014 was able to imagine the picture and was very agreeable with everything that we were doing.

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Copyright Helane S. Rosenberg, Ph.D. and Yakov M. Epstein, Ph.D.

Last revised: February 14, 1998