Inside the classroom
Why we let two-year-olds pour their own water
The KYZN teaching team
A visitor watching snack time at KYZN usually notices the same thing first: nobody is pouring for the children.
What is actually being practised
Lifting a small jug takes both hands and a steady wrist. Stopping at the line takes eyes and judgement. Waiting for a turn takes everything a two-year-old has. And the spill, which is the part adults want to prevent, is where most of the learning sits.
The child who fetches the cloth has just found out that a mistake is fixable and that fixing it is their job. It is very hard to teach that any other way.
An adult pouring for a child saves ninety seconds and removes the lesson.
What it needs from the room
- Jugs small enough to lift when they are full.
- A cloth the child can reach without asking.
- An adult who waits.
The same principle runs through the shelves, the aprons and the shoe rack. If a child can do it slowly, we let them do it slowly.
