International Fairy Tea Party 2015

This was our third year participating in the International Fairy Tea Party. Every year looks different from the last. This year was a very hot day and eating outside comfortably was not an option. 

We started the day by decorating a fairy house with sparkles, which can be seen here.

We shared a fairy book down in the woods, before we came up to our classroom.

I told the children that I had seen some flutters and flitters up by the school and suggested that maybe the fairies had arrived to see the new house they had created. 

When we arrived inside the school, we couldn't find any fairies, but we did find a wonderfully decorated lunch the fairies had left behind for us to say thank you. 

Storytelling: Who? What? Where?

This week we have been focusing on the parts of a story. This includes both storytelling and also investigating the books that we are reading.

We have been focusing on the Who? What? and Where? of the story. 

When we create the story, we start with "where?" and create  a scene. This can be as basic as setting out a piece of fabric to stand on. 

Then we move to who. Who is going to be there? We choose fabric or costumes to show our characters. 

And then finally, what are they doing there and what props do we need? 

One of the stories we worked on was our own version of "The Big Turnip."

Each child got to choose their character and the costume they needed to represent that character. We also practiced taking turns being in the audience and clapping at the end of the show.

Group One

A bear planting the seeds in the garden.

Bear's friend Chicken watering
the seeds.

The sun shining on the seeds.

Bear pulling on the vine of the giant berry, but it was TOO BIG!

Bear, Chicken and another Bear trying to pick the berry.

Two chickens, two bears, and a blue monster all working together.  And the sun up in the sky.
"And the pulled, and they pulled, and they pulled..."

Group Two

Blue Monster planting seeds in his garden.

The sun shining on the seeds. 

Blue monster, a bear, a duck and a red monster trying to pick the watermelon.

Along came a tiny green chicken. They pulled. And they pulled. And they pulled.
Until FINALLY! Pop!

The children continued the storytelling after I stepped away. A couple of the children took turns being the narrator/director of the play. I can't wait to see if the same story line appears again during free play. This has been just as much of a learning process for me as it is for them and I look forward to taking it further with them.

Projections of Ourselves: A Preschool Out-of-Body Experience

The other day I took out a projector for the first time with the children. I was using it to show them photos of Iceland. 

They were more interested in making their shadows on the wall. Obviously.

I decided to turn my laptop's camera on and point it towards them. It was very exciting for the children to see themselves on the wall.  

A couple days later it was too cold and windy to go outside so we decided to do some dancing instead. This group has not been especially interested in dancing and I decided to connect the projector again to see if watching themselves would make it more interesting. This was a different group and they were very excited to see the "TV," since we don't have one at preschool.

I am not sure that it actually increased their interest in dancing, but it was certainly an interesting learning experience for them and myself. 

It was fascinating to see who watched themselves, who watched others, and who still looked over towards the radio where the music was coming from. 

During the beginning of our dance party, I decided to hit record on the laptop camera to show it to them later. I have watched it so many times. I watched it once for each child to watch what they were doing. I love some wanted to see their whole bodies move and others just wanted to peak or twirl their hair. They were all trying out different ways to observe themselves.

Without really knowing why, in the middle of the song I decided to stop it and hit play. 

I wish I had a video of their faces when suddenly the same song was playing and they were still on the screen, but the images were not following their movements.  They all looked liked they were having an out-of-body experience. 

Some of them just stood there and stared and others tried to imitate what their "other self" was doing on the screen. They kept looking at the screen and then down at their own bodies with amazement and confusion.

Finally a four year old said:

"But who is controlling us?"  

I didn't answer...

"Wait it's doing what we WANT to do..."

"It's doing what we WERE doing..." 

When it stopped they asked me to show it to them again...and again.  They loved narrating what they were doing. They remembered the actions from the first time they had done them. It really encouraged a lot of language and conversation between them.

Then they moved on to costumes.

I can't wait to see what happens the next time we use the projector. There are so many learning experiences that can come from it: science, movement, technology, sensory, creative arts, social-emotional and so much more.

  The most obvious thing I have noticed so far is a huge increase in language and conversation between them. What 2-5 year old doesn't love talking about themselves? :) 

Play Iceland 2014: Simplicity

This is my second post following my adventure to Play Iceland 2014. My first post can be found here.

Two of the days in Iceland were spent visiting "playschools." The schools were much different than most that we have in the US. The buildings I visited looked similar to a miniature elementary school. They had about eight classrooms with children ages two to six years old. Both schools that I visited were incorporating inspiration from Reggio Emilia schools of Italy.

The major thing that I noticed right away was the simplicity of  the materials in the classroom. Actually what I noticed was the lack of things. The classrooms seemed bare.

Later when I had a chance to reflect on my photos, I realized that the "things" that really caught my eye were mostly re-purposed and simple. 

Almost every room had some sort of beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Some were made from natural materials and others were created from "Beautiful Stuff."

Leikskólinn Aðalþing 

This playschool had a lot of building materials that were made from recycled stuff. The room that stands out in my mind the most had lots of boxes and tubes for the children to build with. The young group that was playing in this room was enjoying building towers (taller than themselves) and knocking them down. There were photos on the shelves to help the children organize the materials back into their places.

Leikskólinn Stekkjarás 

This playschool had a room that was based on the idea of Reggio Emilia's Remida. A whole room full of organized collections of things to create from and learn with. This was a room that teachers could use for gathering resources, but also children could visit to collect things they need for artwork and projects. There were bicycle wheels, fabric, jars, cardboard, wood, broken electronics, and so much more. I would like to have been left alone in that room for hours.

Remida Inspired Room

Lesley from Takoma Park was part of Play Iceland 2013 and wrote about her experience with materials. Materials #playiceland

Play Iceland 2014

I have just returned from Play Iceland 2014. This is the second year this event has taken place, planned and started by Hulda and Tom of Fafu. 

The group consisted of 29 people from different parts of the world. Many were from the United Kingdom, two from Northern Ireland, one from Sweden, myself and one Icelander. I learned so much about the educational systems of not only Iceland, but also those of the my travelling companions. Some of the settings that were represented were Child First Nurseries, Naturally Learning, Filosofiska, The Factory Where We Build Anything, Serendipity Preschool and also some private early years consultants and practitioners.

The first day of the trip was about getting to know each other. We spent the morning at The Blue Lagoon soaking in the geothermal heated pools and sharing our first of many meals.

The second and third day was our chance to break into our groups and visit playschools.

Leikskólinn Aðalþing 

Leikskólinn-Stekkjarás 

On the evening of the third day we hosted a two hour conference for our own group, but also invited early years teachers from near Reykjavik.  

There were six presenters, including myself. Despite difficulties with technology a lot of information and inspiration was shared. This evening really tied together a lot of the conversations that we had been engaged in over the course of the trip so far. It also gave a chance to connect further and begin more dialogue for the remainder of the trip.

The last day in Iceland was a touring day. We all travelled together outside of the city. We visited two nurseries in seaside villages. We were also able to stop by a few landmarks. The long bus rides gave us more opportunity to connect and chat about all the things we had seen and learned.

There will be more specific blog posts to follow over the next week or so. I have learned so much and made so many wonderful connections. I have already received invitations to visit some of my new colleagues at their settings in other parts of the world. I love reflecting at all the photos, but it is the many conversations that took place that I wish I had record of. 

Many of us plan on keeping the dialogue going and staying in touch.

Here are a couple other posts I have written about my experience in Iceland:

Dining Inspiration

Play Iceland 2014: Simplicity

The Leader of the Pack: Giving them time to be the role-models.

I think one of the best parts of our preschool program is having the one multi-age classroom. I love having the 2-5 year olds all mixed into "one big family." It has such a home-like feel to it and everybody is learning something from everybody else, just like siblings do. They are learning patience. compassion, nurturing, leadership, empathy and the list goes on.

Recently during a Montessori session at the NAEYC Conference the presenters talked about the benefits of the three-year groups that Montessori children are in. They remain in the same classroom for three years. As they spoke I realized that I follow a very similar philosophy when it comes to the benefits of a multi-age classroom for preschoolers. 

When they enter preschool they are able to observe and learn from the older children who have attended the program longer. As they move up the "totem" and become the bigger kids of the group, it is easy to see the changes taking place. Suddenly they are the big kids. They get to be the leaders. It is time for them to pull together everything they have observed and learned and use it with confidence. 

They get to lead the play. They are the teachers. 

For some children this opportunity is key to allowing them to build confidence and to feel comfortable in their own skin.  It is important that I recommend to each family whether they should move on to Public PreK (4 year old program in public school) or whether they would benefit from having the extra year. The extra year allows many to become the leaders in an environment where they are already comfortable. It is necessary to look at every child as an individual. Some children really benefit from moving on to the public 4 year old program, after just a year or two of being in a multi-age program. Others really need that final year to be the role models and learn valuable leadership skills that will follow them through their school years. 

Are they still learning after being there that long? Of course. They are solidifying all the concepts they have learned as they model them to younger friends. Kids like to feel smart! They get excited when they are finally the ones who are always the "experts" before the littler kids get a chance to answer. They are also gaining critical social skills. 

This is an important conversation for the parent-teacher team to have when advocating for what is in the best interest of the child.

Public Prek is often a bigger group and usually a bigger school. Many parents feel the need to introduce their children to this experience before kindergarten so they are not overwhelmed. I think what is often not considered is, if they wait their child may be entering Kindergarten much more confident. They may be really READY if they are given another year to develop their self-esteem further.

"Character formation cannot be taught. It comes from experience and not from explanation.” -Maria Montessori