Given the major political event that occurred this week, it seems timely to discuss and introduce the idea of our preschool children being citizens of our community; our municipality; our province; our country; our world. This term is something we have discussed in depth at team meetings in the past as it is an integral part of the core teachings in Reggio Emilia. Now, more than ever, I think we need to see these young children as powerful and able citizens who can contribute to our community both now and in the future. Working together to create citizens who are open minded, respectful to the natural world, kind, generous in spirit, positive, deep thinkers, supportive of varying ideas and ideologies, and rule breakers ( in the most beneficial ways) are just some of the attributes we want to develop. Walk with us, please, hand in hand, to support this type of growth in our young citizens!
Jason and Sloan work together on their loose parts piece. They have started to form a large circle- will they fill it or leave it empty?
Nika and Yohan place the chestnuts in a pile: I believe they exclaimed there was a special item underneath.
Justine is shelling the scarlet runner beans, passing them to Hayden as he incorporates them into the design. Great teamwork! I wonder if Hayden asked Justine to shell the beans or if she offered or if it just happened on its own?
Mason continues working while his partner runs off to fetch another material. I wonder if the pile in the middle is part of the design or is it his ‘resource pile’?
Brianna and Tyler call me over to take their photo, obviously proud of their design!
This small group of Owls is working on communication and getting to know each other. Soyon and Ohnyou pass the beanbag to each other while Nicholas and Platon are in the background.Games, like this toss, support social learning as well as physical development.
Kingston and William fooling around together!
Stopping at intersections is a safety rule here at Nature School; Elsa, Yi Teng, Kye and Audrey show me an intersection with their arms. I am impressed that they are really starting to understand this concept!
Kate tells the Eagles the story of the Broken Tree and the tree doctor. Oral storytelling helps to create a bond between the past, present and future. We recognize and cherish the value of this form of literacy.
Shantelle helps to guide the children through an exploration of this tree stump. Erika notices “a spider” and helps to attract the others attention to the web.
Audrey and her family donated these super cool beady ball things which expand when you add water. They are marvellous for a sensorial activity and colour appreciation.
Lucky to have a fence right at the Cottage. Maliya, Araceli, Audrey and Elsa socialize together while working on balancing and negotiating space.
Misuzu shares a laugh with Ronan and Vino as they scrub our newly harvested potatoes. Will they think about this next time they eat potatoes at home? Will they make connections to their vegetables in new ways?
Looking closely: Anderson and Leo investigate something of interest- what have they found?
Worm hunt! Gentle with the spades!
I look over at the tarp and see one child drawing with Tricia beside her. Within moments, there is another and another and another child wanting to draw. It is interesting to see how interests spreads to others when in a group.
“We are making a volcano. There is hot, hot lava rock that burns you when you touch it.”, says Ludwig. Mason says “Yeah, its really, really hot.”
Ayleen takes a leaf and puts it in my hand. She asks me to make a hole in the centre so she can put her twig through the hole. Then she puts it over her campfire and tells me she is roasting a marshmallow.”
‘Till the next post,
Emily