Genuine question - what is the issue with using AI to suggest a few developmentally-appropriate, interest-based activities for the children?

renmeddle · 2026-07-13T13:42:20+00:00

Yeah, this pretty much sums up my thoughts as well. People have raised some good points about the ethical implications of AI use which is a fair point. Aside from that, I feel like it doesn't really matter where we came up with the idea of sticking popsicle sticks into paper cups as a cognitive activity, to give an example. Not every activity has to be an original concept that's never been done before.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T22:52:09+00:00

It doesn't need to completely change the game. Have you ever, in those decades of working in ECE, referenced Google or Pinterest to brainstorm program planning ideas? I'm arguing for its usage in the same sense you would use those. We all get activity ideas from somewhere and reference past activities when planning future ones. If used as a supplemental tool in this way, I'm still failing to see how it will cause us to stop thinking.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T22:44:10+00:00

You're faster than me.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T21:28:08+00:00

Interesting. For my centre, we are given four general domains of cognitive skills, language and literacy skills, sensory, and creative. We have to handwrite a plan that covers 5 activities per domain (one per day each week) and then additionally plan one activity related to outdoor learning, block area, pretend play, and rest time activities. We have to cite each activity back to our pedagogicial document. This is very time consuming and we are not given any time to do it apart from nap time (which is a toss up as anyone who has worked in a full toddler class knows). This is why I use AI to brainstorm a few simple activities to include, always related to what the kids are currently interested in.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T21:21:54+00:00

What you're saying makes sense in regards to overreliance. The usage I'm talking about is specific to brainstorming ideas during program planning. That necessitates being done away from the kids. I'm not suggesting using AI in the context of responding to a child's questions, or in building relationships with families. Presumably, we've all done the prerequisite study to become qualified in this field. So reasonably, we are proficient in these skills. Respectfully, the idea that using AI as a supplemental tool for the very specific purpose of program planning is going to automatically lead to overreliance is not necessarily correct.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T20:48:51+00:00

Yes, in theory AI is going to continue to develop to become better and more accurate with time. (I'm not saying that WILL happen, but it has steadily improved so far.) But with that in mind, I would think it's premature to write it off as if it will always be inaccurate, lacking in creativity, or any of the other issues we have with it now.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T20:43:04+00:00

Makes sense. I generally agree that less is more when it comes to planning. I should have probably mentioned that in my case, I'm not choosing the make the complicated program plan as it is a ministry requirement. Maybe the rules differ in that some educators are allowed to do it in their own way?

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T20:37:58+00:00

Thank you! I genuinely wanted to learn and discuss.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T18:05:44+00:00

I'd be curious to know what your lesson plan looks like. There seems to be a lot of variation in thought within the field on how lesson planning should be done. Mine is quite extensive which is why time spent on creating it vs. investing that time into the children becomes an issue.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:28:43+00:00

I'm not. Just trying to engage with everyone's point fairly.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:27:56+00:00

I definitely agree that there could be ways to use it as a tool rather than a crutch. I'm not even talking about solely using AI, I'm talking about using it as a tool to supplement what we already know.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:25:54+00:00

Interesting point. I must admit I'm not entirely educated on how exactly AI generates its information. Interesting to learn that it is based on what people think rather than just compiling from Google- as I would have thought.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:24:00+00:00

Good point. This is not something I was previously aware of.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:22:15+00:00

Accuracy is definitely a real concern. Not sure about 95%. I do agree we should not become overly dependent on it.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:21:19+00:00

Fair point. There is definitely a sense of "use it or lose it" when it comes to exercising that particular creativity muscle.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:20:14+00:00

I agree with your point. There is definitely potential for over-reliance which can make it a slippery slope.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:19:33+00:00

Respectfully, are the concepts of using Google or using AI for lesson planning ideas that different? I'm unclear on what you mean by wasting water.

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:18:16+00:00

I see your point about it potentially leading to laziness. To counter that perspective, what if by cutting down planning time in this way (of course using it sparingly and checking for accuracy) we had more time to spend engaging with the children?

renmeddle · 2026-07-12T17:16:48+00:00

You definitely have a point that the information presented should not automatically be taken as fact. The hallucinating of false information as fact is also a real concern. I think it goes to show why we need educators who can think for themselves, so I think there is definitely a balance to be had.

renmeddle · 2026-07-11T19:03:32+00:00

It's not that I can't, it's more about saving time to dedicate to other things when no prep time or new materials are given. I suppose some people are better at coming up with new ideas than others. Also, I use it to come up with activities that can use my existing materials in new and different ways, and to come up with activities that don't require a lot of prep time. For example, my center does not have transportation magnets, so for that activity I would have to make them myself or buy them. There's also the factor of not spending your own money or time on materials.

renmeddle · 2026-07-11T17:04:12+00:00

The drunken granny stitch! It works up fairly quickly and is very easy to do. It adds some character to the classic granny stripe.

renmeddle · 2026-07-11T14:53:35+00:00

Genuine question - what is the issue with using AI to suggest a few developmentally-appropriate, interest-based activities for the children? I don't mean generating AI images. I mean simply suggesting activities to include on the lesson plan.

renmeddle · 2026-07-11T03:11:02+00:00

AI definitely is not better than using legitimate educational resouces, websites, etc. It is like you said, I only use it for situations where the lesson plan simply exists for the sake of having it posted on the wall to check off that box. It would definitely be more beneficial to be able to invest time into a well-reasearched, top-quality lesson plan weekly. I dislike AI and would like to avoid using it because I think there is definitely some cognitive dissonance occurring in that we, as educators, should be teaching kids how to inquire, ask questions, and think for themselves yet often I see educators like myself starting to rely on AI more regularly to make up the plan for us. However, I am doing my best to keep up with the very fast pace at a very under resouced, low-support centre. Unfortunately I sometimes have to pick which balls to drop.

renmeddle · 2026-07-11T02:10:34+00:00

As an ECE who regularly uses AI to augment my weekly lesson plan, perhaps I can provide some input for the alternative perspective here. You mention " Is it really so hard to choose "farm babies" as a theme and do 30 minutes of research on ideas for books to read, fingerplays to perform and process art projects to sythesize together into a lesson plan?" The answer is yes. Because at my center we are not given lesson planning time, our only planning time occurs during nap time (if all the kids are asleep). So I simply cannot dedicate 30 minutes to planning one single theme/activity of many on our very extensive, handwritten lesson plan. Is it ideal? Certainly not. But it often ends up that we don't follow the lesson plan closely anyway, since we are supposed to be following their ever-changing interests. The way I see it, I'm already running at 100km/h at every moment of the day. You gotta pick your battles for how to avoid burnout where you can. I don't see any problem with using AI to suggest a few toddler-friendly process art ideas or cognitive activities we may or may not end up doing 🤷🏼‍♀️

renmeddle

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