We went on a sign hunt and found the International Symbol of Access outside a toilet in our school. We wondered what the difference between the regular toilet and the wheelchair-accessible toilet is. The children took a closer look by comparing the space of the toilets, and the objects that can be found in each toilet.
The children worked on finding out how the width of the space limits access to wheelchair users. We used ice cream sticks to measure the width of the doors to the regular toilet and the wheelchair-accessible toilet.
The children hypothesised the number of ice cream sticks needed to measure each door, and checked if their guesses were accurate after measuring the doors.
During our trip to the inclusive playground, we measured the width of the ramp by aligning the tags that we had along the ramp.
Back in school, the children recalled that they have also tried using ice cream sticks as units of measurement in their past learning experiences and they wondered how the units of measurements (the tags and ice cream sticks) differ from each other. We compared the units of measurement by placing seven ice cream sticks and seven tags against each other.
We measured the school toilets using our tags.
After using a few non-standard unit of measurement, we wondered what are some common household objects that we can use. The children thought of different objects that they can use as a unit of measurement. We talked about how the objects need to be uniform in size, and something that everybody has.
Sienna: (We can use) indoor shoes!
Ms. Xin Rong: Let’s compare them!
Logan: Noa’s shoe is different! Her shoe is the smallest.
Sienna: I have the two pairs of them (indoor shoes) at home.
Logan: But I don’t have them.
The children came up with another list of objects that people might have at home, that they can use to measure things.
Ava: We can use sticks.
Ms. Xin Rong: Does everyone have sticks at home?
Ava: If they don’t have sticks at home, they can always get from outside. There are always sticks outside.
Theodore: I have a thingy to measure things at home. It can be longer (if you pull it)!
When Ms. Xin Rong introduced the measuring tapes to the children, most of them said that they have seen their parents using it to measure things at home. We laid out three measuring tapes - the white and pink tape had the side measuring in centimetres facing upwards, and the blue tape had the side measuring in inches facing upwards. The children took a closer look at the measuring tapes and noticed that there are two sides to the tapes, both with distinct differences.
Sienna: The (numbers) on the white tape is the same as the pink.
Athena: The blue tape doesn’t start with (number) one!
Having gained new perspectives, the children are working towards creating a more inclusive environment in Islander Pre-School.
The team of children who have been working on the ramps has thought of constructing a ramp that leads from the sandpit to the treehouse as they realized that it is challenging for them to bring Sunshine up the steps to the treehouse.
Another group of children has thought of creating signs to redirect wheelchair users from our front door to the back door where there are no stairs.
We have also put together a fundraising carnival to increase awareness of diverse abilities. Part of the proceeds will be donated to Singapore Disability Sports Council, an association whose mission is to train people with disabilities for local, regional and international sports competition.
