Sweeping Beans

This week I decided to put out a little sweeping activity.  Prior to this my students haven't had sweeping out as an activity.  Below you can see how I ended up arranging it on the tray.  I marked off a rectangle on top of the tray with tape, then added a broom and dustpan and a bowl of navy beans.

When setting up this activity it is important to consider the relative size of the vessel used to hold the sweeping material and the width of the dustpan.  I first wanted to put the beans into this cute little pan I found at a thrift store.  Kind of like a little pot of beans. 

However, when I tested the activity I realized that since the dustpan is much wider than the pan the children would have a hard time sliding the swept beans back into the pan without spilling.  (If a 40 year old can't do it without spilling, chances are a 4 year old couldn't do it either!)  This is why it's so important to "test drive" each activity before putting it out.

Below you can see that the width of the dustpan is just about right for the wooden bowl I ended up using.

To do this work the child removes the broom and dustpan and bowl of beans from the tray.  They pour the beans all over the tray as shown.  It's important to have a tray with a somewhat deep rim to prevent the beans from scooting off.

Next, the child uses the broom to sweep the beans into the taped rectangle.

Once the beans are in the rectangle, they are easier to sweep into the dustpan.  The tape provides a built-in control of error for the child.

The final step is to slide the swept beans into the bowl, repeating all the steps until the beans are all in the bowl. 

 

I chose navy beans because they are larger than rice and are therefore better for a beginning sweeping activity.  As the children become more adept at sweeping, I can change the sweeping material by gradually making it smaller and more challenging to sweep up.
 
 
 
 

Comments

[Denise]

Great information about making sure the container is the right size for the dust pan! I would like to set this up for my kids.

[Debmom4ca]

This is a great activity. I am going to set it up for my kids at home.

[Melva]

I love this! I have noticed last year and again this year that some students really love to sweep! Now I know how to set up the opportunity to practice this important skill. Just last week I had a student spill rice. I gave him a little broom and dustpan set, he cleaned up and then deliberately spilled again! When he had cleaned up the second time, another child spilled deliberately! I need to follow my children, thank you for showing me how!