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Another child insists on having all the animals resembling those found in the movie The
Lion King. The children are in conflict, struggling over possession of the plastic animals,
with those from the movie being a sought-after commodity. Mary is in constant demand,
redirecting behaviour and responding to the children in an effort to promote learning.
Figure 11. Animals of the jungle.
Context.
Mary, who is in her early forties, has been in the field for nineteen years. Since
becoming an early childhood educator she has had a spiralling journey of starts and stops.
She has held various positions, worked in a variety of settings and has taken time to have
her own children. For the first time in her career, Mary finds herself challenged by an
unfamiliar philosophy.
There are four other classrooms in this privately owned centre which is housed in
a strip mall in a suburban community, dense with every conceivable retail and restaurant
chain. The area, which is northwest of the city, is growing, teeming with constructions
sites. In one of the four classrooms, there are six infants. In another classroom, 15
toddlers (ages 18 months to 2 1/2 years) spend their days. There are two rooms with