report on one incident at the Children's Museum

I guess I will be the first to throw my hat in the ring.  The most interesting thing that comes to mind was all the children playing in the jungle area.  I noticed that Betty seems to lead every activity. There was one incident in particular, where the children climbed up in the area with the model of the cheetah and the other stuffed animals.  There was a ladder; about two-foot tall that went vertically from the side of jungle area.  I remember clearly that Al would climb this ladder to go in the jungle area, but would the ramp to go back down to the floor.

He said, “I’m following the rules; this is the way you are supposed to go.  I don’t want to see anybody get hurt.” 

Betty, however, went up and down the ladder, and she ran up and down the ramp.  She was intent on telling Al that it didn’t matter which way you entered the jungle area. 

She stated to him once, “Come on Al, you can climb down as well as up.”

Or at least she said something to that effect.  Betty took a risk that Al was willing to take—climbing down the ladder.  That moment was one of few that stood out in my mind.

Betty

I wanted to get an experience of seeing the different development stages on a whole. So I started out watching Colin and then went on to watch Al, who was the oldest of the three.

Colin, the next to the youngest child, was much a mimicker which was a norm for a child of his age. He pretty much followed the other two siblings around the museum. He was stood back to make sure that everything was safe before he engaged in the activity with the other siblings. The first activity that the three went to was a rocket and Colin was the last to go inside the rocket. Once at the top, Al, the older brother, offered a hand to make sure that Colin remained safe. Colin decided that he wanted to remove himself for the rocket and got to the airplane section. Al, the caring older brother, again offered to help Colin down the stairs. Colin at that stage of independence proceeded to go down the steps on his own using the side rails at first and then decided to go down backwards for extra security. Al soon noticed that Colin was no longer on the rocket moved over to the airplane to join Colin and the sister. The sister who seemed to be a typical five year girl was in charged. Colin sat at the back of the plane so that he could again observe the other siblings before engaging himself with the lead roles the other siblings had taking on. Al still was close to Colin until he was instructed that he could go play anywhere in the museum by the father. 

Colin

Al

I found the interaction and dynamics between the 3 siblings very interesting. I noticed a number of very typical behaviors. Al is the eldest and has a definite plan when playing. He knows what he is interested in and goes after it. Colin, the baby up until recently, was very dependent on Al. It was obvious that Colin loves and looks up to his big brother. It was also obvious that Al accepts this role willing. I noticed several times Colin grasping onto Al legs and clothing. Al seemed to like helping Colin. One time, Colin even began to cry when he went to the ball tunnel area (last place he left Al) and couldn't find Al. He began crying and calling for Al. He was comforted a little when he saw he father, but was still intent on finding Al.

            As has already been mentioned, Betty seemed to be very in control – at least she wanted to be in control. She often said, “No, I am doing that” or “you can’t do that.” She wanted her brothers to follow her and whatever she was doing. She ran from center to center without a definite plan. She seemed overwhelmed by all that was in the museum. While playing with the airplane, Betty did not want to share the pilot seat with Al, but did allow Colin.

There were a number of other interesting observations. However, these were particularly insightful for me.

Al

Colin

            I found it very interesting observing the differences between the siblings and watching the dynamics of the family as they played at the children’s museum.  Al from the very beginning was very quiet and hesitant to speak.  His father had to ask him to speak up so that we could hear his responses and even then he had to tell us what Al was saying.  At this time, Betty also appeared to be shy.  Colin was very interested in what his siblings were doing and had very little interest in the adults in the room.

            As the children began to play, it was obvious that Betty wanted to be in charge.  Telling Al, “You come in (to the rocket) and I’ll drive” and “Here, we each get a coat.”  Betty pulled on Al’s clothes to get him to come back and change when he didn’t put on the costume.  Al ignored Betty’s request and went on with playing.  Betty seemed to enjoy playing with her older brother, but Al seemed indifferent about playing with his sister.  Colin enjoyed following his siblings and the majority of the time followed his brother.  I noticed throughout their play time that Betty was very vocal and moved from one activity to the next quickly.  Al was very quiet and spent more time at each center.  He also picked areas that were focused on mathematical and spatial concepts, like the marble game and the cup stacking center.  Betty picked areas more involved with dramatic play like the hospital area and the grocery store.  Colin followed his older siblings and watched them closely as they played.  Colin was content to sit in the back of the airplane and watch Betty drive.  Not until Betty asks Colin, “Do you want to do it?” did Colin go up to the driver’s area of the plane.  This was interesting because right before this Betty began to cry a little when Al was driving the plane and she wanted a turn.  When she began to cry Al let her take over the driving and left to go to another area. 

Al

Betty

At approximately 1:35, all three of the children were playing on the platform of the “jungle” area of the museum. They seemed to be well behaved and getting along well with each other. While up on the platform each of them picked up a snake as Al repeated a couple of times, “The snake’s head has been cut off!” A couple of adults that were standing around chuckled at his remark. I was standing about 8 feet from the platform and after a few minutes could see that their Dad was about to head underneath it. He started knocking on the bottom of the platform and Colin (who is 2 years old) was wide-eyed looking around. Betty and Al quickly stopped what they were doing and started to go down the stairs. Their Dad at this point announced that he was “playing daddy beast”!    

Al

Colin