As our weeks together fly by, it is rewarding to see how the children are increasingly seeking out one another for assistance with tasks and routines; for sharing their ideas during imaginative play; and for problem solving together. We frequently hear “I can do it for you!”, “time to wash hands, I’m the soaper!”, “How did you do that?” and “Let’s…..”. Comments such as these support our belief in the capacity of even very young children to develop empathy and respect for themselves and their peers. Enjoy!
Learning to sit attentively together at circle is not always easy, but visuals and action songs, and group games such as “London Bridge” are helpful!
Snack is routinely eaten outside, and children are often in charge of laying out the tarp and managing the wash stations with water and spray soap. Just before snack, Clark invited Winnie over to explore a puddle, and Lilja responsibly played with her long stick away from other people’s bodies.
It is hard to describe the scene of six to ten tired, cold, dripping, muddy children getting changed in the POD, but somehow we all pull it off by helping each other and allowing plenty of time to get through it together! Here Theo and Dion struggle with taking off boots before muddy buddies.
Anderson and Masa spent a long time creating this block structure, and letting others in the room know to be careful around it. Masa said “and then it rains and then the rain stops” while holding the rain stick above. Eventually the tower did fall after being nudged, and everyone had to learn that sometimes accidents happen, but also that we can recover from the disappointment.
Yi Teng was having a quiet kind of day resting on the little couch, but by doing so he welcomed younger children, Ryan and Roy, to share some soft moments with him as they tumbled around, smiling and giggling at one another.
Sshh, it’s a surprise! but we sure have been counting a lot of beans at Nature School!
Emily helps Soyon and Ashlyn to count out beads with the number puzzle as a reference.
New play dough is always a crowd pleaser. We have put the tops of dried up markers to a new use: with the play dough they became candles, counters, stampers, legs, and possibly even binoculars! Sloan asked Erika, “Hey, how did you do that?” and Justine and Darel traded colours.
Working alongside one another to create images, whether drawing with crayons or using loose parts, reminds us of how necessary social interaction is in the learning process.
Group hug! Winnie, Clark, Reya, Emma, Elizabeth, Lilja, and Atlas repeated this activity with one another several times over a few minutes, with many smiles and an easy respect for when someone wanted to let go and move on.
Warmly,
Kate