Learning the Ropes

Re-connecting!

The first week of preschool is always interesting; returning students often feel excited and shy about seeing everyone, sad that their graduating friends are no longer here, cautious, and energetic. The new students feel much the same although everything is new. Imagine being in a whole new place with all new people and you are only 3 years old? It can be hard, really hard and they have to be brave! Adding to all this excitement is all the parents, who also bring many emotions and feelings with them. As well, not be overlooked, are we educators, who are filled with that bubbly nervous feeling that is there no matter how long you have been teaching.

Our first days were filled with both the predictable and the unexpected, all a welcome part of this journey together. Lots of laughter, questions, wonderings, and of course, crying. Through the years we have grown to accept and acknowledge that these tears are part of a healthy process; that soon the tears really will turn to laughter and our relationships with children and families are all the deeper for these experiences.

I am just getting back into the ‘photo groove’ so I only took a few photos this week; I promise there will be more Eagle and Owl shots in future posts.

Brianna and Ludwig harvest an oddly shaped carrot. Digging vegetables straight from the garden connects them to food in a profound way and makes them more likely to try the vegetable.

The Eagles sit down for their first journalling session. The work is detailed, thoughtful and astute. They take time to notice what is around them in this particular place.

Tyler, Ashton and Mason experiment with the watercolour pencils they used the day before to make their name tags. Allowing multiple opportunities to use the same material opens the door for children to understand a material and its many uses.

Will, Maliya and Nika fill the container for water play. It is quiet while they are doing this job and I wonder if they want to speak to each other but feel too shy. Or are they happy just being beside each other working on this joint task?

Zoe and Ken play with colour mixing and are intrigued by the way the brush sometimes make thin lines and sometimes makes thick lines, depending on how they hold it. Unrushed time at the art table is so important.

Reading signs is a popular activity along our pathways. Hannah and Mason connect for a brief moment while ‘reading’ the words together.

Cutting up the veggies from our garden to make our soup. Cooking and eating together has so many learning outcomes; Nature School kids will cook a lot!

We sing our Eating Together song, a ritual before we eat something we have made in class. We all wait for the entire group to be seated before we commence so we can enjoy our food together.

Discussing and figuring out ways to harvest the apples from this tree. This will be an ongoing study over the next few weeks. Some of this group were here last year and faced the same challenges. I am curious to hear their ideas about how to reach the apples- will they draw on their previous experience?