Videatives

We invite you to browse this sample playlist of 14 video clips selected from more than 100 clips in our Video Streaming Service (VSS). In this sample playlist each video reveals something children learn through play. To launch the video player and expand the introductory text, click on the thumbnail photo or the video clip title. Once you subscribe to our VSS, you can create your own playlists and comments. You then email a unique url of your playlist to students or staff who can view those video clips online at no extra charge. To sign up for your free 14 day trial click here . If you would like to learn more about how to navigate all of the features included in the Videatives Video Streaming Service, please click here to download a PDF file. Note that the subject, age and tag keywords do not work in a playlist, but will work if you have a subscription. With a subscription you can click on any subject, age, or tag to display all the video clips from our large library that match the keyword that you click.

• 

  Chris Builds with Window Blocks

  Chris solves spatial problems as he builds with square window blocks on a classroom table. He modifies block orientation and placement to find each block's center of gravity. He persistently works to achieve bilateral symmetry in the design of his structure. Eventually we see that he understands the implication of...

  Subjects: blocks

  Tags: child-object spatial relations symmetry special education

• 

  Pretend You Like Me

  In this classic example of, "May I play with you?", Miles uses pretense in order to gain acceptance into Hannah and Jacey’s play. He recognizes Hannah as the leader and works to establish communication with her by making his body level with hers, gently tapping her shoulder, moving his body...

  Subjects: puppets

  Tags: child-child maintaining play leadership power

• 

  Kaylee in the Kitchen

  Kaylee is sitting on the kitchen floor where she has been exploring a set of plastic containers and lids for 45 minutes. She tries to fit a blue lid on top of a yellow measuring cup. Kaylee knows the blue object is a lid and assumes it should sit over...

  Subjects: containers

  Tags: child-object pretense empty-full thinkprint

• 

  Sick Baby

  Emma, Brenna, and Julia are caring for a baby with a 'boo-boo'. Brenna animates the Mom (doll) who feeds the baby. Julia talks on the telephone. She says, "Hi. (Pause) Hello. Would you pick up our baby? It's sick. (Pause) Okay, bye." Julia cleverly inserts pauses into her pretend telephone...

  Subjects: dolls

  Tags: child-child pretense illness rules

• 

  Not Just Play!

  Kieran, a three-year-old boy, glues do-dads on a two-by-four. As he works and thinks about the sequence of his actions, Kieran figures out how to eliminate steps by putting extra glue on his applicator and by grabbing two objects at a time. This episode represents the spontaneous organization that children...

  Subjects: glue

  Tags: reflective thinking child-object spatial relations sequence efficiency

• 

  Bottomless Containers

  Tucker discovers that a tube, with a small hole on one end and a large hole on the other, offers some surprises. Sometimes when he lifts the container, the small blocks he previously placed in the container remain on the floor; sometimes they do not. The results depend on the...

  Subjects: containers

  Tags: child-child spatial relations empty-full thinkprint

• 

  How Two Friends Talk Through Hugs and Tugs

  Chaislyn finishes reading a book to Madison and then invites her friend to take a turn. Madison does not immediately respond so Chaislyn gradually uses several subtle strategies to entice her. Chaislyn first taps Madison's arm gently. Then, while softly saying her name, "Maddie," Chaislyn grasps and gently shakes Madison's...

  Subjects: body

  Tags: child-child communication friendship special education

• 

  Teddy Builds a Ramp

  Teddy's sense of symmetrical design both helps and hinders him while building a functional ramp. He invents a way to keep track of 'good blocks' and 'bad blocks' by placing them in different locations. Teddy overcomes his habit of aligning blocks so that he can make a working ramp by...

  Subjects: blocks

  Tags: attention-memory child-object spatial relations invention special education

• 

  It Helps to Laugh

  Chaislyn and Chris have a routine: Chris does something to move the play in a particular direction and Chaislyn follows his lead. Chaislyn likes to create obstacles to assert her presence in the game. These additions receive stern admonishments from Chris, causing them both to laugh. Their laughter signals the...

  Subjects: blocks

  Tags: child-child maintaining play friendship special education

• 

  Tyler Uses a Chainsaw

  Tyler lowers the bicycle pump to show how the cut goes deeper into the wood as he saws. He pulls the cord on the chainsaw repeatedly and on the fourth pull makes a buzzing sound to signal the motor has turned on. Tyler convincingly represents his understanding that the motor...

  Subjects: props

  Tags: child-object pretense function gestures

• 

  Ben Shoots Pool II

  Ben returns to the pool table. By using the cue sticks to build a ramp, Ben creates an unconventional way to roll the balls. Uncle George and Ben consider how to aim so that the balls roll into the pocket. Ben asks why the balls all go to the same...

  Subjects: balls

  Tags: parent-child cause-effect angles aiming inclines

• 

  Ben Shoots Pool

  Two-year-old Ben and his father invent challenging ways to get a billiard ball into the pool table pocket. Ben uses the cue sticks to channel the ball into the pocket. Ben's father offers hints now and then. Decide if you agree with the ways that Ben's uncle makes the game...

  Subjects: balls

  Tags: parent-child cause-effect inclines direction

• 

  Grandma's Elevator

  Andrew and Edward have different orientations to block play. Edward wants to arrange the blocks as props to support his story. Andrew wants to make spatial motifs, a triangle on every cylinder. Yet the two boys find a way to play together fluidly. This fluidity is facilitated by the symbolic...

  Subjects: blocks

  Tags: pretense co-construction symbolization child-child

• 

  Pencil Sharpeners

  Mary creates wood shavings for her collage by twisting the pencil sharpener around the pencil. But what marks the quantity that she is creating? She looks at both the container and the pencil tip. She appears to understand the logic: adding shavings here means reducing wood there. Mary shifts her...

  Subjects: simple machine

  Tags: child-teacher function empty-full exploration