The Tricycle Solution

Shot over the course of a school year, The Tricycle Solution portrays the daily experience of a cooperative preschool where parents are as much students as their children. The normal events and emotions of a preschoolers day—playing, creating, discovering, crying, fighting, and resolving disagreements—are seen in intimate detail, as the teacher, Effie Kuriloff, elucidates her provocative approach. "How can we learn to see clearly the child in his world? How can we affect the world the child lives in? To address these issues we must learn to see both the child and ourselves. Every social transaction—whether on a playground, in the classroom, or on a bus—is a teachable moment. Each interaction offers another chance to learn, to change and to grow for both the adult and the child." —Effie Kuriloff, Former Director, Rocky Mt. Cooperative Preschool Filmed during the 1999-2000 school year, the last Effie taught at Rocky Mountain, The Tricycle Solution aims to introduce and model her approach to parent education. As she says in the film, the main work of parents and children at the pre-K age is learning how to share, resolve conflict, and separate from each other. These moments provide the focus of the film, as we watch children fight, cry and play, see how parents react, and hear Effie's perspective on the unfolding interactions. By focusing on the timing and the nature of parents' interventions (or their choice not to intervene) in children's play and conflicts, the film provokes discussion among parents and those who work with young children on the role adults can and should play in child development. "This film gives us a glimpse of the enormous gift a good school can bestow; the ability to experience the world from the viewpoint of a learner." -- Marilyn Chandler Schwartz, M.A., Formerly Director of Children's Program, Child Study Center, UC Berkeley "A powerful little film. I'd like to use it to do an in-service with teachers…What you're doing with young children, we're attempting to do with adolescents…a joy to see children resolving their problems…The grace with which you facilitated, totally spiritual. You walk around like a goddess in your own right. Totally convicted in what you're saying and that conviction comes through." -- James Cusack, M.S. Director, Sand Paths Academy, San Francisco "Brilliant. Captures so much about the school philosophy…'talk less, that is the thing I learned the most, exactly that – avoid interrupting'…" -- Victor Menotti, Alumni, father of Sabina, alumni student "That's a great film." -- Dr. Sam Susselman, Psychiatrist "Excellent examples of effective intervention or non-intervention, as the case may be." -- Ruth Frost, Alumni, mother of Noelle, alumni student Educated with a Master's in Early Childhood Education at Bank Street College of Education and a B.S. in Sociology from Rutgers University, Effie came to Rocky Mountain almost 40 years ago. During her tenure at the school and in her associated work as a professor at City College, Effie developed a new approach to working with preschool-age children, focusing as much on parents as children. Parents developed an awareness of their own childhood experiences and how they influenced their parenting behavior. Early childhood education students came to observe the school, as many of her approaches applied equally to their work. Effie died from breast cancer in early 2004. The Tricycle Solution is the only film documentation of her work completed with her full involvement. Please note: This video is licensed for home/personal use only. Versions licensed for educational/professional use can be found here: http://patchworksfilms.net/to_order.html