The lazy susans have been used in a variety of ways. Here is one story…
On this day, Lila stands on one, balancing carefully, then crouches on it, feeling it spin underneath her.
She sits on it, turning side to side.
She watches: Jamie is spinning another with his hand as he experiments with how fast he can make it turn.
Lila stands on it again, this time twisting her body gently to make it turn underneath her.
Nearby, Livia crouches on a lazy susan, using her hands to make herself spin. Lila too crouches down briefly, then sits, still watching as she turns side-to-side.
She sees Ellie stand on a lazy susan, and watches as Ellie imitates Livia’s crouching and spinning.
Lila crawls off her lazy susan and now half-lies on her back, turning it with her feet.
She watches Livia and Ellie engage in dramatic play and leave the area.
Now it’s just Lila and Susannah.
Lila spins the lazy susan with her hand, and Susannah puts felt on it. Livia joins them briefly, then heads off as Lila continues exploring what happens when she puts felt on and spins it.
Chris stops by with a book and Susannah reads to him
Lila continues exploring while listening to the story.
She lies on the lazy susan and feels it spin side-to-side underneath her before returning to the felt exploration. The felt turns into a sandwich and she shares it with Susannah.
Mark joins Lila. She shows Mark how the felt can fly off when the lazy susan is turned – sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s something to wonder about.
Josie comes by and watches briefly, then everyone leaves the area.
A minute later, Josie returns with Mark. She wants to try putting felt on the lazy susan and spinning it, too. She spends some time experimenting.
At one point, Josie has an idea – she puts the felt on, spins it, and then tries to jump on very quickly, as if she were a piece of felt herself! The lazy susan stops spinning, and she immediately recognizes that this won’t work, and goes back to the felt.
Now Jack comes by and tries to spin on his belly. Josie stands on another, and eventually, Josie is standing on one, feeling it under her feet as she converses with Mark and Jack, who are now at the scissors/drawing table.
Why did we put out the lazy susans? To develop the vestibular system, which helps maintain an awareness of the position of our body when we’re in motion. And movement and sensory experiences help develop neural connections. Many children (and adults) think better when moving (it’s probably why pacing seems to help us think through a problem). Eye tracking is also important, and when the children put objects on the lazy susans and watch them go around, they are doing this. In fact, eye tracking is directly related to literacy; it helps us develop the ability of our eyes to move smoothly across text. When our eyes can’t track properly it’s difficult to develop reading skills; in fact, poor tracking can play an important role in dyslexia.
We also want to note the importance of being a “watcher.” Lila is observing everyone around her, what they are doing and saying, how they are moving and interacting. Throughout any day you’ll find children appearing to do nothing, when in fact they are taking it all in. We see this on a macro level, as children need various amounts of time to gain comfort and confidence in the preschool setting. On a micro level, they are judging when they are ready to stand on the lazy susan, try out yoga poses, or join in dramatic play. It can help to see someone else try it first.
And we also see Lila and Josie getting the benefits of sensory feedback on the lazy susans as they watch others. Sometimes children work best when receiving sensory input; we may put wobble boards in front of a drawing easel or a musical instrument for just this reason.
