Let’s Talk Tinkering (Pt. 2)
Okay, as promised, I will now tackle answering the issue that I posed in a previous post: Why is tinkering important for young children, and just what does it look like, anyway?
I came across a great book: Tinkerlab, A Hands-on Guide for Little Inventors by Rachelle Doorley. She approaches the idea of tinkering with young children with this philosophy: “At its core, tinkering begins with this kind of problem solving and curiosity about how something works. When children are encouraged to solve problems on their own, they learn a great deal through the questions and hands-on experiments…”
The first thing that we have to realize is that children need to repeat new ideas over and over to be able to create a true understanding of a concept. So the key term that, I will happily take from Rachelle Doorley, and I can’t stress enough when tinkering with young children is “invitation.”
Invite them to explore, take apart, re-create, then repeat.
(Tinkering with textures in Adventures in Art: Rootmaking with Paper)
Keep it simple; then build up. There is a reason why in a Montessori classroom options are limited at the beginning of the school year and build in complexity as the year progresses. In the Teaching Artistic Behavior/Choice-based studio model you open one area of making at a time, giving the child the chance to focus attention and learning correct usage of each material independent of the next. Once initial understanding is grounded, then new ideas and approaches can be explored.
It is about fostering an environment that allows for curiosity and promotes questioning. More importantly, it is about giving the child the chance to work with materials with their hands, and their own ideas. Tinkering is creativity. It isn’t hard to gear the process of tinkering to younger kids; they all are innately problem solvers. Tinkering is social, too. Kids like to see other kids working, ideas are contagious, and ideas resonate side-by-side. Tinkering is the perfect opportunity to work alongside your child. You don’t have to have all the answers, just be comfortable with experimentation, questions, and unexpected outcomes.
Framing any project as a question is key. Instead of just setting out paint, ask, “I wonder what happens when we mix two colors?” Ask the child what two colors to start with, and run with the questions that the child volleys back at you. You can even ask, “What else can we use for paint? Can we paint with dirt? What happens when we add things to the paint, like salt? What does it look like when we use something else besides a brush?”
Question, question, question.
Questions yield experimentation.
Experiments require repetition.
Repetition breeds variation.
Anything can open up as a tinkering activity.
One last thing, be comfortable with failure. Trust me, failing is good. Tinkerers call it getting stuck. You do it already. How often when doing “grown-up work” have you needed to go for a walk, pick up a crossword puzzle, or sit and doodle? Failure is not an endpoint, you just don’t have the answer yet. That is why repetition is key.
We have a great resource that is ever-changing on our website, called the At Home Zone. The projects run the gamut of simple provocations of materials to more extensive experiments. These are great way of beginning a tinkering exploration. All the At Home Zone activities are designed to keep the fun and learning going with a selection of great STEAM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Design, Mathematics) discoveries that are all designed to jump-start your imagination and creativity.
Have fun. It is an amazing process. Go with it.
--Tim Abel, Museum Education Specialist
