Deep Thinking

Some weeks you do a lot of deep thinking. And, this week was one of them. As a team we had lots of conversation about our programming, reflections and questions. We also discussed some key points with our parents at our second parent evening. Each conversation brought new insights- but wow, the work is hard. We are still figuring out our whole documentation process– when to document, what to document and how to document. We have many ideas- and I mean many! But of course, we cannot possibly implement them all so we kept returning to our core values to let them guide our practice. The week ended with some clarity and direction which we are all feeling quite positive about in terms of moving forward. This work we do, teaching young children, is so amazing. The bumps, the intellectual conflicts within our own minds, the ‘not knowing’, the confusion, is all wonderful– truly. It is only from these experiences that we come out on the other end with understanding, resolution and the commitment to an authentic practice. We also know that in about another week or so, the cycle may start all over again!

Here is a glance of our week. There were many other beautiful moments including two volunteers from McMath Secondary that helped on their pro- d day. One volunteer was a preschooler of mine many moons ago and both of them had been big buddies at my previous school. It was rewarding and heart warming to see them in this new capacity. Look for some photos and comments from Heidi; you will notice Vanessa in the photos, our practicum student, who is working ever so hard!

Listening to Heidi tell us about how to play our icebreaker game. parents are open to a new experience. It can be hard to jump into a group but games such as these help to alleviate shyness and make everyone feel welcome.

Ross shares his drawing with the group. Parents go out on a limb, telling us about things that have a lot of emotional meaning to them. Thanks for sharing!

LOVE this lego structure that Nikolas built. He is showing me the different design features and then exclaims “This is the compost.” Nature School kids know about compost!! Awesome!

Haymie, Anna-Sophia and Thomas hide during a game of Eagle. This is the first time we introduced this game to this group of children and they are enjoying it! It seems they are ready for games with rules, a whole new stage of development.

The Owls gather around to talk about our next activity. This simple act of making a circle, holding hands with the person beside us, requires a lot of skills- social, listening and body control.

Kate invites children to measure the circumference of the tree with their bodies. Will this form of measurement be used again by the children in the next coming weeks?

I forget to bring paint brushes for these water colours and we are far from the Cottage so… finger painting it is!

A request by the majority of the Eagle children to take a class photo on this sculpture.

Nicole notices the leaves on the buttercups. She tells me “They are beautiful.”

The Eagles are ‘journaling’- they are documenting their observations about the flowers and plants growing in the garden beds. Some children have very astute observations but are not yet able to visually depict their findings. Others draw with more realism but are basing it more on what they believe they know rather than what they see. it is interesting watching the different ways of working.

Clayten makes a home for an animal. He is so caring and kind to the creatures on the land.

Making a tent with the small group. (Heidi)

Running and hiding in the tall plants (Heidi)

Sophia was determined to catch a butterfly, she tried both chasing and stalking. (Heidi)

Aidan is stock piling rocks for a project. The others are all very engrossed in their individual activities.

Ella is experimenting with wool and embroidery threads. Is she interested more in colour, texture or the thickness vs thinness of the material?

Owen and Clayten wonder what happened to the dead snake that was found the week before; they decide to find it! They notice it has changed, and that it smells.(Heidi)