Friendship Soup 2015

Every child brought an ingredient of their choice in to share. We all worked together to prepare the soup and then had a feast. The children were very proud!

Day 1

Day 2

Group Block Building

Today we practiced a lot of skills at our group meeting time. 

We had a platform in the middle of the rug that the children were gathered around.

Each child waited for their name to be called (mostly in groups of 3 or 4) and they sneaked through our secret entrance into the block area to choose two blocks to add to a group structure. 

My goals were for children to practice patience, turn taking and to create something as a team.

As I watched and guided the activity I realized that there were so many more skills being practiced. 

We talked about what we thought the structure reminded us of.

 Most children agreed with each other that it was either a maze or a city.

Making space and taking turns through our secret entrance.

I learned a lot about a few personalities when I realized many children were choosing only certain blocks from certain shelves, while a few were more interested in finding something unique to add.

As the city continued to become more complex, children needed to be more aware of other blocks that were already in place. 

Several children knocked over blocks which started a chain reaction of other blocks. Some children took the time to set other people's blocks back where they were. Only a couple children almost became upset when they knocked a block over or when something they had placed was knocked over. Some interesting observations about their social emotional development.

Some children reached very carefully through blocks to try and retrieve those that had been knocked, while others were unaware and knocked several more over in the process. Lots of observations about spatial awareness.

We talked about when you work together as a team on something, than everybody has to decide together when is the right time to knock it all over. We took a vote and destruction hit the city along with laughter and giggles.

Clean up and sorting. The children all worked together to deliver and sort the blocks on to their proper shelves. They continued to manage squeezing through the secret entrance. Not only were we managing our bodies and focus in a small busy space, we were practicing to put things away where they belong. 

Blocks are one of the items in the classroom that can be frustrating and overwhelming for children to clean up, but suddenly it was fun.

Every year it happens...

Every year around January, I start to panic about the children who will 

leave us for Kindergarten in the Fall. 

Where did the time go? Did I do enough?

Are they ready? Am I ready?

Do they know enough letters? Can they write their name?

Do they express their feelings? Are they too shy?

Am I just being overprotective?

Will they adjust to a larger group?

How will the group change without them?

Every April and May they grow up!
 Suddenly, like somebody has flipped a switch. 

They are too big for preschool.

Are they bored?  Are they anxious about Kindergarten?

They are wild. They are independent.

They are READY!

Their last week comes...

They are ready. We are ready. It's time.

Their last day comes....

They are ready.

I am not ready.

The last hug comes...

The door closes...

Tears come...

I am thankful that they don't all leave me at once, like many preschool programs. 

I am so thankful to live in a small community where it is nearly impossible to 

lose touch with these children. 

I am thankful for Facebook that helps me see their First Day of School photos year after year. 

I am thankful for families that want to bring them by to visit. 

I am thankful for being part of their lives.

Most of all I am thankful that they are part of mine.

May Day Festival

Our teacher Angela planned a wonderful celebration for the children and has shared the experience here for everyone to read about. Thank you Angela for all the loveliness you bring to our little community.

Despite all of the recent illnesses and other setbacks, I still set out to do a small festival with the children as a part of my Lifeways training. Thankfully, festivals are a source of healing and harmony for a community, in our case the children were the community. It's very easy to forget that what is central for a festival is really to come together to celebrate, in one sense our togetherness, and in another more specific sense, depending on the festival, spring.

May Day is a wonderful chance to welcome the joys of spring and to come together after a long chilly winter. I brought a very simple small version of this to our preschool. The children don't need long explanations or fancy decorations, they really just need a few drops of magic in what is already there. We spent a majority of our festival outside on the most beautiful spring day in which the blue sky, rays of sunlight, singing birds, and budding flowers were all the decoration I needed to make it special, and of course their favorite place to be. I imbued a little magic into the celebration by introducing Lady Spring who had finally awoken from her long slumber and began to spread her springlike ways with flowers, berries, and more. These two things were really the platform of our celebration, magic and magic outside.

We started the morning with a short story about Lady Spring (whom we had the chance to meet briefly), a song, and finally a joining of hands to gather outside for the activities. 

We joined the birds, blue sky, and dandelions, to craft our own magic wands to fly in the wind, join in a spring snack of berries and coconut cakes, and finally to dance around our maypole decorated with ribbons in the many spring colors. 

A lot of these activities, small, but meaningful were special to the children. One child even suggested that before we dance around the maypole we collect as many dandelions as we could and all throw them in the air at the same time, what a small yet joyous activity inspired by Mother Nature for our festival. It was really the simplest parts of the whole celebration that brought them great pleasure; plucking dandelions from the ground, waving wands in the wind, joining on our rock for a special snack, and singing songs together. 

One of the most amazing things about sharing this day together was watching the joy in the children's faces, seeing them engage with each other happily, and playing outside joyously with what Mother Nature provided for them. We certainly felt a sense of healing and harmony in our tiny community for that time spent together.

Check out more Outdoor Fun at the...