Work as Play

It's been said frequently that play is a child's work, and it's so true.  I think, though, that it can be reversed, too.  Work is also a child's play. When the kids we see are engaged in a job that clearly benefits those around them, and especially when they are working as a team, they love it!  It's fun and stimulating and rewarding. They are contributing to their environment, which is a key component of the Reggio philosophy.  They are also getting a message that the adults around them trust them to make a real contribution.

Now that we're starting to be outside more, we have some real jobs for the kids to work on.  We've been moving our compost pile from one corner of the yard to a new bin by the garden.  This involves breaking up the compost with real hoes, shoveling it with real shovels into real wheelbarrows, pushing it across the yard, and emptying it into the bin.  Both in loading and unloading the compost, there were some who took on the job of counting (and catching) worms.

A couple of the kids said they were "partners" in their work, and called themselves the compost superheroes.  A few kids branched off into other work.  One, who needs the stimulation of heavy work, loaded bricks into a wheelbarrow, and transported them over to a new pile, another served as project manager, saying, "Yes, okay, now A- , you take them from there, and stack them in piles. . . " The third  took the directions and happily followed them.  I heard one kid say, "It's a good thing we have real boots like real farmers who do real work." Another noticed how the work was likely to make us hungry for lunch and tired for nap.  She then pointed out that the worms who are working for us in the compost must be hungry and tired, too, and that they are probably getting ready to take naps in their homes.

When kids are left to play freely, they find these roles on their own.  They feel the trust we are giving them, and that experience makes them more likely to give each other trust.  It's a wonderful thing to witness.

Garden Work Day

THANK YOU, parents and staff! We really appreciate all the help you provided on a Saturday, despite cold temps and icky weather.  We were able to get our raised bed built, the compost bin assembled, the tunnels for food vines made, and the teepee put together.  It was a great morning, with a mix of kids of all ages and adults working and playing together.  We had music, garden crafts, and playtime inside while the workers got busy outside.  It was also just fun to be together and to see the families mixing up a bit.  Here's a few pictures from the event.

Role reversal

I just love thinking about how comfortable she feels in this room, and with us as teachers.  She brought a book to circle time and confidently announced, "I will be reading you a book." It was just wonderful. Oh, we adore this little one. 

Furry visitor

We got a special visitor at school this week.  Her name is Pansy, and she is a 5-day-old goat! What fun for the kids (well, all of us) to have the chance to watch and touch and listen and sense what a baby goat is like. We learned that she won't bite us, that she's not very interested in grass yet (just Mama milk), that when she gets excited, she jumps up and down!

Thanks for visiting, Pansy!

Animal track

 Here's an idea for a cold, rainy day: Making our very own animal track, and then testing how the different animals in our school respond to it. We built a track as long as we could with blocks.

The first to try it was the baby chick.  She wasn't interested in obediently walking down the track.  Instead, she did this:

Next, we got out the guinea pigs.  Before trying the track, they both got a lot of cuddles.

When we put one in, he went a little ways, then just turned around.

There was an attempt to try to keep him going in one direction.

Then we put them both in, and . . . well, they just wanted to cuddle with each other.

New chickens

We started out with 4 chickens.  We lost two.  All through the winter, we had the 2 that were left, but come Spring, we have gained 4 more chickens!  Three are full-grown and are getting fully oriented to life at a preschool/day care.  Their little legs are probably not at all used to all this running! The new hens are very tame, letting the kids touch them, pick them up, hold them.  There is nearly constant comment about gentle touches and what we should not touch them with (sticks, feet, etc.). The kids are really enjoying this new batch.  They are collecting fresh worms for them, and of course, holding and stroking them as much as they can. So, welcome Amelia, Cordelia, and Hawkeye. We will soon have the baby chicken out in the yard, too, and her name is Chicken.

I can't help but think this picture looks like the hen is lecturing all of them!

April Preview

One thing that sets us apart, and that brings us pride is our commitment to being green.  This includes green lifestyle choices, like recycling, re-using, cloth hand towels, green cleaning products, avoiding plastics, re-usable tableware, cloth diaper usage, healthy snacks, and also a curriculum choice to involve lots of time outside and foster environmental stewardship in the kids.  We strive to instill a sense of wonder and respect for nature in their everyday lives.

All this to say that April, the month that holds the celebration of Earth Day, is our month to shine!  We are looking forward to our classroom choices as well as the preparation and beginning of our wonderful new garden.

This month, we will be discussing issues related to taking care of the Earth, such as loving plants, loving animals, good/bad garbage, etc.  Our goal is to increase awareness of why and how we can care for the Earth.

Here are some of the materials we'll be using to bring this message to the kids: