Tuesday SOL: What can you do with a cloth?

I am participating in the
Tuesday Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day.

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity

for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

What can you do with a cloth?

Well, what do you imagine?

If you are a preschooler, there's no end to the possibilities.

Why not make a fort?

Or a gown?

How about a cape for a superhero?

Let's be robbers and bad guys.

No, how about Mommy?

The baby needs to be swaddled in a blanket.

The baby needs a crib!

I'm making a bear cave.

It's a lake!

There are dolphins in the water.

All the animals live in this part of the zoo.

We could pretend they are rocks on a mountain, and go for a hike.

You might slip and fall!

It could be ice.

It's my sled.

A bed for me.

A hospital bed, because I am sick.

We can all have ballet clothes!

Remember, at Halloween, there was a ghost?

If you sit in the barber's chair, you need one of these.

I'm going to be a firefighter.

No, a policeman!

It could be like walls of a house.

Or the floor.

It might be the window, maybe the curtains.

Or the door.

You have to come in this way.

It is a very soft place.

A few years ago, a family gifted me a large bag filled to the brim with cloths...a big bin of fabric, each piece measuring approximately 1 yard square. Honestly, there are probably three dozen pieces of fabric...I've never counted them, and I suppose I should, one day! I think these cloths might be my favorite element in my preschool classroom. They bring endless fun!

Tuesday SOL: What if we paint at the easel?

I am participating in the
Tuesday Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day.

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity

for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

Our painting easel is an oasis of quiet, focused creativity. There's only room for two children here, one on each side, and the painting is unhurried and free. The first day that the easels were opened this school year, I gave children "timed appointments" for painting, rushing them through, so that everyone in the classroom might get a turn during our centers time. Now, settled into our seventh week of school, the easel is organically paced...sometimes empty, sometimes full, often one artist lingering on their masterpiece. Teachers can guide from the side, helping children to label the page with their name, converse about the work, move the artwork to the drying line, or provide refills on paint. Let's look at some of the children's work...

Yellow, red, blue

Blue, red, yellow

          

Children are curious about the colors in the paint containers. We have begun the year with the three primary colors of yellow, red, and blue. As our school year continues, children will help me pick the colors for the easel, allowing for a more diverse palette. As the children learned in our guided discovery, our easels are set up with one brush for each color and children are encouraged to work with the same brush for the same color (in hopes of leaving a good solid color for the next painter). I love how frequently I find children's work that simply shouts "colors of the day." These two were painted many days apart, by two different artists. The paintings seem to ask, "What do we have today?" as the artists investigate what colors are available, developing one color at a time. 

More paper needed!

But, of course, separate, distinct colors are not the only way to paint. The very first week we painted, one introspective child discovered the thrill of covering every inch of the paper with paint. The preschooler worked quite a long time at this, mixing, swirling, stretching the paint. What was the original goal? To escape the tumult of the classroom and find a quiet spot to work alone? To discover what happens if you mix two colors? Was it simply to use up all the paint in the containers? Or maybe to create a puzzle for the teachers by covering one's name entirely? This early investigation has led to much imitation - daily, someone paints every bit of their paper at the easel. It is as if the preschoolers have an insatiable thirst for painting, it is never enough. Alas, the three colors are no longer distinct...however, the art is magical!

The surprise of working together

This next picture is one I call "The surprise of working together" - here, one child was drawing with pastels and wandered away from the easel. Pretty soon thereafter, another preschooler came over and began painting on the same paper. In these early days, children are developing their agency - just beginning to realize how to ask a teacher for a new piece of paper, how to move one child's artwork off the easel, how to ask a friend if they can work with them on art. I loved the combined effort! However, both children seemed surprised at the idea that their art was shared. As the year continues, children will begin to purposefully create art together, but this magical piece was happenstance.

The art of avoidance

This beautiful artwork celebrating the color red was created during our classroom clean up. Yes, this clever preschooler slipped to the easel corner of the classroom while our clean up song played and classmates were busy tidying up the room. The preschooler successfully evaded teachers' eyes, as we focused on putting away blocks, dolls, and other toys. I call it "The Art of Avoidance" and it makes me smile - it does show good focus and persistence.

Saying goodbye to Dad 

I happened upon this masterpiece early one morning, as children were just arriving for school. It had clear lines and a distinct silhouette - not at all typical for my preschoolers. I asked the artist, "What are you painting?" and he answered emphatically "An elephant!" Well, yes, it was! I hurried over to my Teaching Resident and whispered, "Did you see the painting at the easel?," realizing we were working with a budding Picasso...and she said, "Oh yes! His father painted the contour of an elephant for him when he dropped him off." I had a good laugh! A fabulous artwork of family love and connection.

Preschoolers love to paint! Each day, our art corner is simply bursting with their creativity and imagination.

SOLSC #15 Is it fair to compare?

During the month of March, I am participating in
the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers.

Check out the Two Writing Teachers website for many more reflections on teaching.

Is it fair to compare a 30 minute visit to a classroom of 4 and 5 year olds (Pre-K) to my years of experience with 3 and 4 year olds (preschool)? I had the delight of doing a peer observation in a Pre-K class, and was blown away by the difference from my day in/day out. Here's what struck me:

• Most children stayed in one place, working at one activity. Children had the freedom to move around, freedom to choose a new activity. But, they were very focused and engaged in their play, enjoying what they were exploring, and there was very little movement in the room. 

Three year old children are all over the place, moving about all day, starting something in one place, doing something else for a bit, returning to the first place, moving on again.

• No one was playing on the floor. Maybe it was just the day, but the large carpet area where blocks were available remained empty while children chose to do a wide variety of table top activities. 

In my classroom, it feels as if half the children are on the floor all the time - there are markers, Magna Tiles, and other toys to retrieve, there are roads to be built, there are animal homes to create - three year olds love being on the floor.

• The dramatic play corner, with its dress ups aplenty, featured children getting dressed in one costume, while standing. The floor of the dramatic play area isn't covered with discarded socks and shoes.

In the three year old room, children are rolling around on the floor to get clothes on. There is a constant changing of clothes, because new play ideas are imagined over and over.

• Two children worked at the writing center, writing in their journals, focused on a single page. They were excited to show me the work they had done thus far this school year. There were lots of alphabet letters printed legibly.

What a minute? They haven't scribbled on every page of the journal already? Very few three year olds will work at printing alphabet letters, most prefer to draw - and draw on every single page.

• A teacher called from across the room to a child that was misbehaving, and the child looked up and stopped what he was doing.

I'm not sure that the children could hear me over the din in our room!

• When the children gathered in whole group, they were all sitting pretty still, listening to the teacher.

Remarkable! Three year olds have so many wiggles, so many immediate needs that are different from those of the teacher ("Ms. Ingram, my shoe hurts!," "Ms. Ingram, I can't see," "Ms. Ingram, my water spilled.") Most days, whole group is one enormous juggling act.


Yes, I was astounded. What a huge difference in children's development in this one year! The Pre-K children showed so much more self-control. With three year old classes being added to elementary schools (as mine is!), I hope that we remember and respect these developmental differences.

Expect things to get a little messy

This is a Tuesday Slice of Life for Two Writing Teachers. 

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.





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My centers time is such a delightful mess.
Really.



I love how the children get deep into everything.

We need these and these and these.

We need this and this and this and this and this.

The children begin playing in one place and move on to another,

taking materials with them as they go,

dress ups to the blocks,

dolls to the writing center,

science materials to the dress ups,

around and around and around the room they go.

We need these and these and these.

We need this and this and this and this and this.

Twenty minutes into centers and the room is 

in total disarray

but there is a beautiful hum.

So many blocks,
let's build houses for ourselves,
let's build roads,
let's build an animal world,
let's make ramps,
let's play together.

We need these and these and these.

We need this and this and this and this and this.

Let's go off by ourselves

and make believe

I'll drive, and 

you be in the backseat with the baby

We'll go to the doctor's,

We should stop at the store and buy those.

We'll play together.

We need these and these and these.

We need this and this and this and this and this.

We need it all.

Let's play together.

Tuesday SOL: What do adults do during centers?

This is a Tuesday Slice of Life for Two Writing Teachers. 

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.


______________________________

My dream:

The room is rich with materials, and these are open-ended in their use -
blocks of all sizes, used in building and make-believe,
art areas with possibility - so much paint and glue and paper and cardboard and tape and clay (with a sink nearby, making cleanup easy)
dramatic play centers rich with costumes, fabric, dishes, babies, more,
a science area with things to measure and mix, things to observe and hold,
books, books, books, and
tools for writing - paper, clipboards, pencils, markers, crayons.

Children are settled, engaged, wondering.
There is a fabulous hum in the room.

How do we foster this palpable learning?

It is the adults in the room.
Adults throughout the room,
working alongside small groups of children,
nudging, nurturing, negotiating, narrowing, noticing.

"Guiding on the side."

Children initiate the play,
adults build on it.

The adults listen for children's questions,
observe their curiosity, and
find ways to extend the learning.

The adults
intentionally
deepen the language and conversations,
grow the focus and engagement,
expand and instigate the play.

The adults
help students to join in,
offer support in solving conflicts,
shine a light on the possibilities of friendship and teamwork.

When the guiding is right,
children are settled, engaged, wondering.
There is a fabulous hum in the room.
And the adults are making plans about how to build on this fun tomorrow.



It's the beginning of the school year and we are working our way towards this dream.

I forget how unique this adult role is for new teachers,
how unsure one feels without a script,
how uncomfortable it is to learn to watch,
how hard it is to build on students' choices,
how challenging it is to know, show, do
what you have never experienced.

Slowly but surely,
we will work our way towards this dream.

SOLSC 2015 #8: What about the floor?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

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At a conference at Teachers College a few weeks back, Haeny Yoon spoke about "Taking Play Seriously - Tools and Strategies to Observe, Analyze, and Strengthen Young Children's Play." These words really stood out for me:

Play is contradictory, uncomfortable, tense, and very messy.

(Haeny Yoon)

This poem attempts to grapple with this...my classroom, full of play.

The Floor 

Strewn princess dresses, toy stethoscopes and a firefighter jacket, 

a bowl filled with Mardi Gras beads, 

four baby dolls squished together under a blanket,

one child lying on a carpet square, a make-believe hospital bed,

and others bent over her, all dressed like doctors.

Magna Tiles and toy people in total disarray,

and several children crawling under the table to retrieve them,

laughing delightedly,

at how high their structure had gotten before it fell. 

Sand flowing into a small hill,

as a child works with a funnel,

and misses his mark.

A floor puzzle begun,

many pieces thrown about, and

children working side by side, 

on its solution.

Droplets of water from the sink, 

as children soak sponges,

to clean splatters of bright blue and purple paint 

underneath the art table.

Science goggles and magnifying glasses, 

acorns and pebbles,

discarded, idle, forgotten,

with a new challenge now in mind.

Children nestled together,

heads on pillows,

sharing and reading a book.

Colored pencils and markers that have rolled from the table, 

papers set aside and dropped,

as children draw, write, and create. 

All kinds of blocks, 

squares, rectangles, cylinders, arches, tunnels,

long cardboard and wood pieces,

plastic balls rolling about,

scattered about on the carpet,

vestiges of runways, ramps, and roads that have been built, and others still to come.

Tuesday SOL What about the Art Center?

This is a Tuesday "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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I am loving the art center in my new classroom. It is an ideal space, with a beautiful big window right nearby, giving such great light to all that we do here. Plus, it is equipped with a sink, cabinets, and counter, allowing me to set up and clean up with ease.

This area includes a table for small group work, a clay station, and two easels. There is a place to hang art that is drying. There is a small shelving unit, filled with art materials that the children have learned how to use through various "guided discoveries" this school year - glue, paint, scissors, collage materials, oil pastels, yarn, recyclables and other "junk."

I am slowly but surely making it into a space where children have total flexibility with their creative explorations.

We make sure there is paint set up at the easels at the start of each day. I love the way children wander over to the easels, sometimes grabbing a smock from the bin, sometimes not, and they just begin painting. The easels are in almost continuous use from the moment the classroom door opens each morning. 

The clay table has ample room for three artists but I've noticed that it is often home to just one artist at a time. How nice this is for the artist! Here, the children enjoy pounding and cutting the clay, making designs with clay tools, and rolling and patting it back into balls…I think it is a very nice corner for solitary exploration. The children are also intrigued by how to take care of the clay, enjoying the responsibility of adding water to it, keeping it moist and pliable. 

At the small group table, we set up a variety of process art activities, with materials for the children to create and explore with abandon. There aren't specific rules for this work - children consider what they want to do with the materials at hand and begin creating as they desire. It is magical and free-flowing work. 

Typically, we'll do the same exploration all week long. 

The children love this area of the room and it is in constant motion.

 

I love how they are free to choose between so many creative activities on a daily basis…

paint? clay? glue? cutting? three-dimensional? mixed media? 

The choice is theirs. 

I know this area of our classroom is working well when I watch the children…

• Simona, lost in concentration, with the perspective of a scientist on the brink of a new discovery, holding a length of yarn in each hand, dipping the center into paint, pulling the strand taut, seeing her paper instantaneously covered in speckles; she greets this discovery with sheer delight and dares to repeat the process over and over, seeing nothing but beauty in the speckles that also cover her face, arms, and table. 
• Naima and Evan, together at the clay, mashing the clay with hammers, over and over, and then realizing that, rather than using the tools in the manner intended, it would be much more fun to puncture the clay with tools, creating a 3D sculpture of these; this pursuit unfolds and they laugh out loud at their funny creativity, begging each other to see what the other has done - "Look at this!" 
• Paxton, discovering the table set up for four potential artists but empty of children; he works quietly on one piece, using 'junk' (various wheels, balls, small cars, other) to stamp and press paint onto the paper…still no one else has arrived at the table, so he moves on to create a second painting, and then a third, and then makes his way to the fourth and final, delighted by his find, delighted by this exploration, delighted to have the place to himself.

This is the concentration that I love seeing in preschoolers, a direct challenge to textbook notions of preschoolers having fickle, "less than ten minute" attention spans. 

It is essential that our classrooms provide them with time, possibility, and choice. 

Yes, the art center is becoming a place that echoes my goals for my early childhood classroom. And, the best thing - the sink is right there for them to clean off those messy, creative hands when they decide they want to do something else!

Tuesday SOL Let's play with blocks

This is a Tuesday "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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The block building begins quietly, with Mateo and Julian suggesting a wall around the edge of the table, "for the animals." Lately, block-building means animal homes, as well. The children are loving all the small, realistic toy animals we have.

Often they build by themselves, but today I have chosen to build alongside, to see what I can learn about these sweet children and what I can provoke.

I am in the midst of the play,

• soaking in their happiness, energy, focus, and pursuit;
• listening to what interests them, and storing these for future read-alouds and other lesson ideas, what excites them?
• considering ways they might engage with a classmate rather than simply play alongside, fostering team work;
• cultivating friendship skills, ready to offer guidance should conflicts arise, helping them to be together, to be aware of one another and not hurtful; 
• repeating their ideas aloud, often paraphrasing with bigger vocabulary, trying to broaden and deepen their language skills;
• posing questions for more details, building conversational skills, sometimes suggesting ways to build or extend on another's ideas, letting them see what tremendous resources they are to one another;
• fostering their mathematical thinking - they do it instinctively, but I coach the terminology, such as above? behind? near? alongside? between? under? through? next to? and, similarly, there is lots of counting (how many blocks do we need to complete the wall?).

"The blocks go here, all the long way," suggests Mateo.

Me - "Another word for the edge of the table, is perimeter - we are building around the perimeter."

Malcolm, Simona, and Kaelyn join us. Katherine and Ella aren't far behind, and many small hands are at work. It seems as if no sooner than someone builds something, another knocks it down, usually with the expressed delight of the builder. When mistakes are made, the children work together to recreate the original design - or tweak it to be something all new.

"This fits here."

"This is a door."

"A wall will not fall down."

"I am making a house for the zebras."

"We need a house for the dinosaurs. And the sharks."

"Sharks need water."

Block building is fast, impulsive, ever-changing. Things exist for only a moment or two, intentions change, blocks morph from one idea to the next.

Making a wall around the table leads to finding groups of animals…several are searching for all the sea animals, others want the tigers, still others want a zebra area. Julian, Nicky, and Micah create Magna Tile airplanes and "hand-gliders" at a neighboring table, and they jump over to see if these can fly around the blocks. 

A big door is made in the wall, "opening for airplanes."  The next thing we know, many blocks have been hit by airplanes, tumbling to the floor.

"These are the forests," says Julian, standing many tall cylindrical blocks together. Almost immediately one falls over, toppling the others like dominoes, and this becomes the new goal - to build and see them fall over. "The forests are breaking!", he squeals with delight, needing to fix them again.

Wesley pops in, followed by Naima, James, and Dmitry. They set about building underneath the table (where many blocks had tumbled). This opens up new possibilities - purposefully getting things stuck in table legs and then trying to get them out. One thing leads to another.

"We need to make an animal hospital for hurt animals," suggests Wesley.

The children build together and by themselves, self-selecting their fun, building both on and under the table, and at a second table nearby. Some stay for many minutes, creating and re-creating, while others land only momentarily, wandering in and out of the area, doing things elsewhere in the room and returning to the block corner for additional fun. They are filled with curiosity and investigation, trial and error -

• which blocks fit inside the arches?
• which tall ones stand, making the best trees?
• how to make a floor?
• how tall can we make it?
• what happens when you drive one block through the others?
• how to make a continuous wall?
• how to make it longer?
• which is biggest?
• how to make a seat or a bed?
• will these balance on top?
• what fits under?
• why is this stuck here? 
• how to get it out?

My note-taking cannot keep up with the story lines…so many snippets …

walls for our house, 
making homes for animals, 
the dinosaur is attacking, 
wind blowing through trees, 
hand glider flying on top of the buildings, 
making axes to chop things down, 
animals getting hurt, 
veterinarians taking care of animals in the hospital, 
a house for me over here, 
this is a city, 
people live here and animals live outside, 
train going through the station, 
this is the airport, 
these are big doors.

It seems as if everyone in the class stops by at one point or another, to check in, to play for a bit. Later, I'll consider who didn't visit and why that might be; but, in the midst of the play, there's no time for such reflection. The play is fast-paced, animated, and involved. I smile as their small bodies move in and around and over me, faster, faster, knock down, rebuild, re-think, new idea, try again, consider this, build, build, build...

They are playing,
they are working,
I am working,
I am playing.

I love the block corner.

New year, new school, new everything

Something happened to my blogging during August. 

It disappeared!

Here's the main reason - we moved to a new school, with construction crews still making final touches as we teachers were setting up classrooms. Here's what my room looked like when I first entered...the with both the ceiling and flooring still needing finishing touches by the construction crew:

This room has gone through quite a transformation. It is absolutely, hands-down, the best early childhood classroom I have ever had.

We will not be squished at gathering.

I am delighted with its spaciousness.

You can't see it, but there's a sink in the art area!

I am delighted with its natural light.

Plenty of room for blocks and building.

Science and discovery in natural light!

I am delighted with my views - green, truly green, space...a field, a couple trees, a playground across the field.

Behind that door is our classroom bathroom - yes!

I am delighted with its bathroom and sink...and, excitingly, a sink in the main part of the room, too.





I am delighted with its charm...not just a typical rectangle classroom, but one with special nooks and angles and other features, allowing me to set up centers and spaces in fun, new ways.

There is so much fun reading ahead!

Yes, I am delighted!

The children came through for "Meet Your Teacher" day this past week, while we were still in the midst of setting up the room. When I got home, I said to my husband - "Oh, you should have seen these kids! They are the most adorable children!" He said I say this every year.

My dining room table today - creating photo cards of all the children,
so that they will feel at home in their new space.

Tomorrow is the first day of school! 

Here goes!

What if we changed the room around?

It is Tuesday and this is a "Slice of Life" (SOLS) for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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Melissa and I changed the classroom around.
Not just one bookcase or some small corner - but, the entire room.
This isn't something I typically do in the midst of a preschool year.
Yet, there were so many things that weren't working with the old arrangement - the arrangement that worked so smoothly for me all last year. (Isn't it strange how each group of children has its own unique personality and needs? How what works in one classroom one year might not work the next time?)

So many things weren't working -

• there was the cubby near the doorway where some children hung their coats (and all the other children seemed to trample all over them),
• there was the quiet corner [or is it "peace" corner? No, "calm down" corner? or is it "comfort" corner? I seem to use all of these interchangeably!!] ...this was located too near the low table (and this low table had somehow become a hideaway from monsters, which is not exactly conducive for peace and quiet.)
• there was the large gathering carpet at the back of the room, near the blocks (which was turning into the favorite location for all the children to be during centers - making for a loud and rambunctious room rather than a building and engineering area)
• and more....

Something had to change.

I can't say that we took the most planned approach to this...we spent a simple hour after school one day, yanking furniture this way and that, thinking about what we hoped would happen once we were done. 

What did we want?

We wanted children to be more intentional in their play and less like "pinballs" - less zooming, more lingering. 

Pushing furniture this way and that, we created more small group areas - more defined centers, if you will. We moved the gathering area to a more central location, along our wall of windows, encompassing our dramatic play area (giving a defined space to this whole body, theatrical play) - and we surrounded this carpet with our small group areas.

We have had three awesome days of school since this room change!

Whooo hoo!

The children were initially surprised - astonished - by the room's differences, but they embraced them.  They began investigating every part of the room, seeming to re-discover it. We had a great discussion about what was the same and what was different - noticing the details, like all writers, scientists, artists, scholars, thinkers do!

We see children playing in a whole new way. 

Yes, they are much less frenzied and much more focused. 

Children who were stuck doing certain challenging behaviors have not yet repeated them in this new space - for example, a couple children would hide at whole group time. Well, the new room means that those old hiding spots are gone (and they have not yet discovered new ones!). The new arrangement has caught them off-guard, allowing them to join us...and I believe they have discovered that whole group time is fun. 

Now, when we dismiss the children to centers, they first share aloud where they plan to start their fun. This simple, orchestrated act of choosing a center helps the children work with a sense of purpose in each area. We find ourselves, as teachers, being the "guide on the side," standing back and observing - a sign that the environment is working for the children. 

It is right for them.

It is just the change these children needed at this time of year.

It is just the change we teachers needed, too!

SOLS January days

It is Tuesday and this is a "Slice of Life" (SOLS) for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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Due primarily to the fickle January weather, the Big Cats have been spending a lot longer time in centers and going on shorter walks. It is a great time of year to have longer centers. Since winter break, the children are beginning to truly play together, and this emerging cooperative play needs much time, space, and guidance. Centers are just the structure!

During centers, children work in small groups on a variety of activities, playing alongside one another. Often, the task needs to be done "together" - requiring children to talk, share, and work together.

For me, the main purpose of centers is for fostering healthy, friendly social-emotional interactions. Oh sure, I can name the specifics of math, literacy, science, engineering, or other learning that is happening in my classroom; I can even cite the particular learning standard that is being worked on in any given center. But, what excites me and drives me is helping children work with one another.  Since winter break, and the children's renewed and accelerated interest in being together, I've been on overdrive....

The children are in constant motion, moving readily from one interest to the next...learning to share, learning to take turns, learning to be aware of others, learning to have fun together. I'm their "guide on the side," noticing...

[   ] looks sad - is there a way that she can play, too? Have you asked her if she would like to play? 

Is that a safe way to use that?

Does [  ] have enough materials? Look at how much he has and how much you have - which is more? 

I see you really want to play with this, but [ ] had it first. Ask her if you can use it when she is through.

You bumped into [ ] - have you checked in with him, to see if he is okay?

How might you two play this together and have fun?

Slow your engine down. You are moving very fast! 


Did you build that? Remember our classroom rule - you build it, you may knock it down. You should help her rebuild that. Next time, ask if you can knock that block structure down.

Tell him you didn't like it when he did that. 

In board games, we take turns with the dice. Have you finished your turn? Who is next? Hand the dice to [ ].

I saw you cover your ears; was his voice too loud? Tell him that his voice is hurting your ears.  

You want to play with a toy cell phone, too? Let's ask if [ ] if you can play with one of the two he has. 

Do you want to use that next? 

Ooops. [ ] is hurting. Let's go together to get ice.

Even the children seem to know that social-emotional learning is the most important work in the room.
Example, many preschoolers were exploring ice and salt; I asked one student,
"What happens when you add salt to the ice?"
and she immediately responded,
"[  ] bumps my arm."
My laugh for the day!

Today, we had one real sign that it was a rainy day and we were trapped inside - an impromptu game of ball began in the classroom, using a very lightweight, soft, fuzzy ball [we had used this same ball to throw to one another at Gathering, to say good morning to each other].  I'm not sure if the children were playing soccer or basketball...it was a spontaneous, fast-paced, motion-filled game played by Micaela, Evan, Zuren, Alyja, Ada, and Hughie – but only briefly. Jasmine, dressed in an apron and tutu, and playing "family" was surprised and disturbed by this impulsive game and yelled in her most authoritative voice, “Boys! I am angry! Don’t play basketball in the house!” [Of course, the list of players assures you that this was not a boys' game!] Before I could even respond - to either the game or her upset - the ball went soaring through the air and became trapped in the ductwork of our classroom ceiling, some 12 feet above us. Silence came over the room.

We now have an on-going inquiry – How to get the ball down? Today’s suggestions: A tow hook (Hughie); a ladder (Zuren); I’ll fly up there and get it (Seymour); a lasso (Shaan).

January days, January learning, January fun.
Rich and varied moments together.