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Indoor Big Jobs sponging off the tables and easels rearranging the block shelves filling the sand or water table cleaning up under the sand table Five-year-old Nathan busily plays in the sand table. He soon proposes his own Big Job.“There’s lots of sand here on the floor,” he announces to the teacher. “I think I should clean it up.” Nathan gets one of the child-size brooms hanging by the sink and starts to work. When Biancca strolls by, the teacher sees a chance to involve a second person: “It looks like this is a Big Job. Biancca, maybe you could help Nathan?” Biancca somewhat grudgingly agrees. Sand is actually fun to sweep, and soon Carter joins the children. Three brooms push the sand into two piles. Nancy the director walks past. She asks, “What will you do with these piles of sand?” Uncertain looks; sweeping is what it’s been about. “Well, let’s see, do you think this is clean sand or dirty sand?” “Dirty,” claims Biancca, and the two boys nod in agreement, sweeping the piles into the dustpan held by Nancy. “Well, then, we’d better not put it back in the sandbox. Let’s take it outside.” “Good idea, Nancy” says Biancca, as if she is the teacher and Nancy the child. Biancca holds out her hands to take charge of the dustpan. More Indoor Big Jobs feeding the fish washing the rocks brought in for the nature table watering the plants assembling new furniture bringing over the blanket for snack time, spreading it out putting the cover on the water table fixing bolts on chairs when they come loose setting up a new creative play area The teachers are looking forward to replacing the grocery store in the play area with a new theme; “robbers” have come into the store one time too many. Making plans for the new area, they ask the children to help them pack up the groceries in bags. Several children carry the shelves and tables back to the storage room. The next day supplies are set out for a veterinarian clinic. The children help move the tables in and put all the play pets in their cages. Having helped set up the area, a great many stay for a long time afterward playing vet. Cooking Big Jobs baking biscuits or scones: a small group pounds out the dough and cuts the shapes making zucchini cake: sitting together to grate the zucchini, then deciding when there are two cups full beating eggs for scrambled eggs spreading crackers for snack making soup: all help cut up veggies around a table baking cookies Snack preparation provides many tasks that meet the Big Job criteria. Entire books have been written about the science, math, and language to be learned while cooking (Colker 2004). The most compelling benefit we see is that cooking is an opportunity for children to be useful, helpful, and involved in a meaningful part of their day.                             Big Jobs offer the camaraderie of working together, which carries over into other areas of learning. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

 

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