Glue Stick Exploration

​Jackson expressed he wanted to do some gluing. He was unsure of the glue stick as “it wasn’t drippy”.  After I explained the glue stick and took off the lid to show him the glue he spent several minutes twisting the bottom and watching the glue going up and down. He touched the glue. “Sticky, not drippy.” he said. He started off being gentle and soft while applying it to the paper flowers. I told him to push hard and use his muscles to get the glue down.  In between every application he would twist the glue all the way out and check how much he used and how much was left. 

​He seemingly understood the cause and effect of his use of the material. If the glue was all the way down he couldn’t get any glue. If it was all the way out he could glue. If he spread lots of glue the stick was “getting littler”. 

​As stated in the Early Learning Framework (page 18) “A sense of well-being and belonging is vital to children as they learn about and explore the world around them”.  Jackson, although unsure in the beginning  felt confident to try this new way of gluing! He was in control and felt strong in his abilities to explore the glue stick as well as his uncertainties of its stick form vs. liquid glue.