Are you having a tantrum?

It was time to get dressed for the day and she insisted on wearing yesterday's dirty pants and her blueberry-stained pink nightshirt, which was now soaking wet due to her post-breakfast sojourn washing dishes.

Frog is 2 1/2 years old, so "insisted" is very evident - you see it on her face, hear it in her voice, watch it explode throughout her body. 

I set out some clean clothes choices on my bed, for her to choose from. This was a bit of a 'redirect' move on my part - she loves to jump on my bed and hide under my pillows, so if I could get her to the bed, perhaps she'd stop digging in her heels about the clothes.

Ha.

She ran around the bedroom in circles looking for the dirty pants of yesterday, while yelling "I want those pants!"

I moved to the bathroom, prepping her toothbrush, knowing if I just moved ahead with the next thing on the agenda, we might lessen her wrath and dispel the impending tantrum. Frog enjoys brushing her teeth. Completely ignoring the pants request, I cheerily called out "Let's brush our teeth!" 

She runs to the bathroom door, glaring at me, and yells "YES, PANTS! YES, PINK SHIRT!," as in I WILL NOT ABIDE ANY OTHER IDEA THAT YOU MAY HAVE, NANA! and I turn to look at her, instantaneously taking in the full beautiful roaring picture -

• not quite three feet high
• not even thirty pounds
• that precious, beautiful face 
• head full of brown hair
• wearing nothing but a pull-up and that soaking wet dirty pink shirt

Have I ever seen anything sweeter? I want to smile, she's so adorable, but I don't want to minimize the frustration she is obviously feeling. Then she throws in a STOMP of her foot. This stomp was obviously quite new to her - it looks more like an old lady exercise for the hips, where you raise your knee wide to your side. Yes, a stretch not a stomp. Seriously.

How was I supposed to keep composed? 

I couldn't help it, I couldn't hold it, I burst out laughing - she was just so darn cute! 

I said, "Frog, are you stomping your foot? Like this?" and I mirrored her move, throwing in an additional sound effect as I raised the knee to the side, "woo HOO!" 

She took one look at my move, and started laughing, too - finding me oh so silly. She said, "Yes! Stomp! See!" and then she repeats her wide stomp again, and I do it, too, and I dared to repeat the move with my other leg, alternating back and forth, leg to leg, and she laughs more at how funny this looks and stomps more and we are dancing together and laughing. 

I said, "You are so funny and amazing and I love you so!," as I gently pulled the pink shirt off. 

She chose new clothes without protest.

That was the most unexpected and delightful way I have ever diffused a tantrum - and it's made me chuckle so many times, thinking of that sweet image of her. 

Bev Bos conference

I had the good fortune to attend Bev Bos' "Good Stuff for Kids" conference at Roseville Community School in Roseville, California this past week...I have no doubt that there are several blog posts that I need to write/share with you. Until I can sit with these thoughts a bit, let me share some photographs of art and science fun. Bev believes the best experiences for young children have no instructions - just set out the materials and let the children play!

Enjoy these!

Happening upon a love ritual

Giggles from one corner of the twos classroom...
A little voice, "Do it to me again!"
Another, "No, me, now!"

I see Ms. Karen, with one child at a time, saying softly,

Bar bumper (she touches the child's forehead, lightly)
Eye winker (she touches above the child's eye, lightly)
Nose smeller (she touches the tip of the child's nose, lightly)
Mouth eater (she touches the child's smiling lips, lightly)
Chin chopper (she touches the child's chin, lightly)
Giddy, giddy, giddy! (she moves her tickling fingers under child's chin and up to the ear)

Lots of giggles - from both child and friends.
Adorable!

These lucky children receive lots of love!
Lucky me, to work with Ms. Karen.

Did the day fly by?

Let's contrast my earlier blog entry - about the pressured environment of public school preschool classrooms - with one about my cooperative preschool. I am wrestling with how different these programs are. Why must they be so different?

Let me tell you about yesterday - we had such fun!

On Mondays this month, I am teaching a "2s theme class," focusing on art and nature...meaning, I spend the morning with a delightful group of 2 (and newly 3) year olds, exploring and playing together.

I only see these children once a week, but I know many things about them individually and developmentally:

- they like to move and act, especially like animals,
- they don't always come right to the art table but prefer other toys in the classroom,
- they think scissors are a very interesting tool and want to practice cutting everything and always,
- they don't land long at any one thing but will return again and again to favorite areas,
- they love music and dancing,
- they laugh and sing as they work, and
- they love it when I am silly with them.



Today, I set up materials to create bird nests, based on a fun learning experience I had seen at a workshop at the National Zoo, wherein you provide a variety of materials for children to create bird nests in their own way. My materials were red clay, ribbons, wire, pipecleaner, yarn, and tape, plus a couple natural items that I thought would last (sticks from by-gone day lilies, and narrow, slender branches from a cedar tree).

Knowing how much young children enjoy scavenger hunts - and knowing that birds are scavengers, too - I decided to "hide" each of the materials throughout my classroom in a variety of oh-so-obvious places for them to find. I took care to set each supply on identical cloth napkins, to help the children focus on the "new, found" item.




When the children arrived, they found a ball of soft red clay at their place at the art table and a pair of scissors. I invited them to be like birds and fly around the room to find treasures with which to create a bird nest, just as birds do. I had special classical music playing, to help us move like birds.

The children were delighted, instantly throwing their arms out to the side as wings, and saying "tweet, tweet," as they raced to find a treasure and bring it back to their clay base. I flew around the room with them. They cut the materials that they found and placed them as they thought best. They molded and mashed other materials into the clay base. We got out a little more clay, to roll and mash and mold like eggs. The children wandered off to play with their favorite toys and then returned to the table to add some more details to their nests. (When they wandered over to the easels, they found feathers had replaced the usual paintbrushes.) We overheard:




"I have a tree in my nest."

"My bird likes pink."

"I need eggs for my nest."

"They have blue eggs."

"Where did you get that?"
"I will show you!,"
and off two children flew together.

As we worked on our nests, we discussed what birds like to eat, where they live, what real nests look like (we saw two in Ms. Jennifer's PreK classroom!), what cats do to birds, what would a mother bird feed her baby bird, what do birds use to build their nests, and many other bird topics. Later, we read many special bird books, including Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert and Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman.

Pardon me - but the morning just flew by. :-)

What about smash bugs?

Another easy-going, happy day with the Twos. We made zillions of smash bugs - and the children really loved it.

For prep, I cut regular photocopy paper into small squares (3"x3"?) and gave each child three colors of paint plus some q-tips for making dots. They dot the paper three times (I usually intervene and say, "time to smash!" before they make that fourth dot) and we fold the paper and press down; open up - voila! bug!

It's also fun to say - "One - head; Two -thorax; Three - abdomen"...and teach them about those bug body parts as they work.

There is something about working so small that is addictive...one student made more than thirty bugs.

With one child, I "let the mountain come to Mohammed," as they say. He insisted he wasn't interested, so I sat down on the rug with him, by his trains, and said, "hey, watch this - head, thorax, abdomen" and I made three dots, and invited him to help me squeeze the paper. He was thrilled and had to try it himself. He, too, made many "scary" bugs.

Simple, but delightful.

What are we interested in today?

"Sculptures - Part II" was a bit of a bust. I brought a variety of wire, ribbon, pipecleaners, and party streamers for the two year olds to explore. I thought they might enjoy revisiting their sculptures, wrapping and tying these pretty extras onto last week's sculptures.

There was a very brief exploration of the wire by a few children - Toby bent a long piece over his head and declared, "I have a hat!," but this was the extent of his interest in the wire this morning. He paid no attention to his sculpture from the week before.



Eva was thrilled when I showed her a curlicue I made by wrapping the wire around the end of the scissors. She and Greyson both had fun trying to do this, too. Eva loved the ribbon and added many pieces to her sculpture - "I love pink!," she declared, as she wrapped her sculpture in pink ribbon.

Greyson enjoyed the wire the most - mashing it with his hands, adding it onto and into his rocket. He wrapped the wire around his wrist and we scooched it off and he studied the large, loopy ringlets it made. I loved watching his hands bend, smush, fold, and stuff the wire - Greyson exploring its properties, what it could do.



Rather than work on their sculptures, Henry and Toby worked together building a long Duplo train.
We had a special math moment:
"Wow, look at all the train cars! How many do you have?," I asked.
We counted together, "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9."
"10!" I added, counting the engine.
"No! That's not a car," Henry corrected me, "That is an engine. There are 9!"
"Henry, you are right - the engine is pulling 9 cars," I agreed.
Henry gave me a big smile for this correction.

It was a gorgeous spring day, already in the 80s, and bright sunshine. These sculptures and wire had to wait - we needed to be outside!

We rolled the sensory table outside, into the courtyard, and the children played in its birdseed.
We discovered ants in the cracks of the concrete landing, running every which way, and they made us think about our families - "Is that a mommy? A daddy? Look, another!"
Ms. Karen brought Ron Weasley, the guinea pig, outside to play. Henry, Eva, and Toby enjoyed petting him, laughing as he scrunched up his face in response to the breeze.
We drew on the courtyard in chalk.

Greyson found a slug. He fed him a leaf. Then he wrapped the slug in the leaf. "He's not moving!" he exclaimed, concerned. I explained that slugs move very, very slowly. Greyson, Eva, Toby, and I practiced moving like slugs. Then we put the slug back into the ivy embankment - and it was soon beyond our eyesight. "Where is it?" Greyson asked over and over, unsuccessfully looking for it. "The slug is happy in its home," I assured him.

And, of course, there were books and songs and dancing. Don't forget the delicious snack. Plus, the big playground and being in the sandbox with our bare feet.

Yes, "Sculptures - Part II" was a bit of a bust, but we had a lovely morning together, all the same. That is how it is with two year olds - you set up the fun, but let them lead the way.

What about sculptures?

Today we made sculptures in the 2s classroom, starting with a cardboard base and adding all manner of recyclables of the children's own choosing. There were no time limits, no explicit rules, only free-form exploration and creativity, using the simple tools of tape and scissors. I was letting the environment set the limits - one bin of recyclables in easy reach, an open table with a place for everyone to work.



The children worked at their own pace and in their own way - and Ms. Karen and I stayed right there near them, working with children who needed extra help cutting tape or fastening one object to another.











Quinn had virtually two different projects - for much of the morning, he had a minimalist "one cork" sculpture. But then he saw the paint. "Oh, I want purple paint!," he declared...and immediately he began to modify the sculpture, adding three small boxes, painting each one thoroughly and enthusiastically. So thoroughly, in fact, the boxes lost all dimension and wilted into a flat purple mass. "I like purple, I like this, I am done!," he declared.






Several children knew from the outset what they wanted to build - and each idea was unique. Greyson, a rocket; Toby, "to see through" (I think a telescope?); Eva, a computer.





Henry started off thinking about James, the red engine from Thomas the Tank Engine. But, he loved all the paint colors and decided to add new parts to the structure and then more paint.






"Look at this - they match!" said Toby, noting a tape and scissors that were the same bright yellow. He decided these two objects belonged together and worked diligently with these for quite some time.




The children worked alongside one another and chatted, comfortably. "Wow, I like yours!," said Caitlyn, "It is so pretty!"
"Yes, it's really a computer!" said Eva.



Caitlyn could not get enough of the tape - and created a wild, spontaneous, free-form tape sculpture (Calder, anyone?).








We put all the sculptures in a safe place to dry. We will return to them next Monday. I am very, very curious what these 2 year olds will make of these - a full week away. Will the sculptures still have the same meaning? Next week, we will explore some all new "extras" to fancy it up and add special details - I'm thinking wire, ribbon, yarn, pipecleaners, beads. We'll see!

Our morning together flew by. The children were so happy and easy-going. This is the gift of open-ended exploration - no conflict, just curiosity and engagement. A delight for one and all.

What do you love?

Another wonderful day with two year olds - and Valentine's Day, to boot! So, I did all my "requireds" - created special "love" cards for their parents, made from their handprints and a sweet poem; let them explore creating their own pictures, using fingerpaints, cut out hearts, and any other materials of their choosing. They enjoyed this work very much.

But then, I got a little cocky. I attempted to have them share at circle time. In the interest of full disclosure, may I remind everyone that I have taught 3s and 4s for years? Two year olds are completely different beings....



I introduced a small heart container - letting them hold it, one at a time, and then, while holding it, I encouraged them to announce "what they love." Instead, these sweet twos were fascinated that the heart container opened up - what might be inside it? So, thinking it might help them focus - here's where I took leave of my senses! - I put some Cheerios in it and said

"Watch this - Ms. Maureen will announce what she loves, and then she will open the container and take a Cheerio."

Then I role-played it, saying, "Ms. Maureen loves playing with you at school" and I ate a Cheerio. Well, these little friends were so very, very excited by this! I had them close their eyes and I stuck the container in one child's hand and said, "Surprise! You have the heart, tell us what you love!" and one by one, over and over, they announced -

"I love Cheerios!"

This was hysterical. The other teacher and I could not stop laughing.

Here's evidence that I have forgotten lots that I know about two year olds developmentally: they are literal; they cannot think in abstract terms. They could not think past what was in the container.

Great chuckle of the day! Cheerios! Cheerios! Cheerios!

And I have learned again! Still loving my twos....

Happy Valentine's Day!! Here's the sweet little handprint poem:


Ten tiny fingers,
that always want to play,

That never stop exploring
the wonder of today,

Ten tiny fingers,
that from the very start,

Reach out for tomorrow
yet always hold your heart.

- Author unknown

What to do with 2s?

Recipe for fun:

Start with
at least one willing teacher,
dressed to be messed,
a half dozen 2 year olds,
adorned in smocks, and
some bright blue construction paper...

In a tub,
stir together shaving cream and glue,
mixed half and half.


Be sure to add a bin of warm water for rinsing,
and some towels at the ready.

What do you get?

A whole lot of active, fun, tactile "snowy" pictures...and discovery, to boot -


Oh, I had so much fun this morning, watching these 2s touch and explore this mushy mixture. Older children will create some fabulous almost 3-D snow scenes with this stuff, shaping it into snowmen and snowballs, for example. But 2s are on the early side of that artistic control and purpose - they simply want to wallow in it. And they have so much fun doing it!

They first mashed and manipulated it only with their hands.



"Did you hear that? It squeaks! Look!," exclaimed one child, laughing.

"It's not snow, it is soap," one child explained to me.





Then, they got curious - couldn't we use something besides our hands?

What kind of designs could you make with that paint stick?
Couldn't I use that spoon you scooped it out with?
Hey, what about a paintbrush?






And what about that bin of water? Back and forth they went, from the shaving cream/glue picture to the water tub, back to the shaving cream/glue picture, and back again to the water tub...creating an all new concoction on their art papers.





Then - one child's lightbulb moment:
"We need paint!!"
In went pink paint and then some blue.
It was fascinating to watch this child's precision with where the paint should be placed on the paper.



And, of course, the tub of water was transformed.

"Hey, the water is blue now!"






We soon had a big exploratory mess...and still more fun, wiping up the floor with towels, wiping down the table.

Two year olds want in on all the action. When we let them help, they become more and more competent. It is exciting to watch.

Somehow, I think this was one of those endeavors that parents are thrilled we do at school (and is not expected at home).

Here's to two year olds!

What about 2 year old energy?

One of my friends - a teacher of 2 year olds - recently asked me, exhaustedly, what to do about a little 28 month old child in her class who couldn't keep his hands to himself. He's a busy, busy, busy little guy in a small physical space with nine children. When he gets too close to classmates, he swats at them, moves them out of his way, and continues bustling by. "What would you do with this little guy, Maureen?"

Well, she posed that question wrong! I answered with my Mom voice, not my teacher voice - "What would I do? Oh, I'd throw him into my jogging stroller and we'd go down to Sligo Creek; after I finished a quick run, I'd let him out to explore the creek. We'd pick up rocks and toss them in the water, we'd look for bugs and ducks. There are beautiful herons nesting there now - we'd have to check those out!"

Because my friend is responsible for nine children - not just one child - my response was not really helpful. But, I believe the underlying message is important - we need to be aware of how we define "educational" success with two year old children.

Two year olds - think about it - they are really, really young! We're talking 24 -36 months of age only. And two year olds have the added developmental stage of being "all about me" - meaning, the concept of sharing and playing WITH others is simply not present. They are not only new to sharing - it's another language that their brains aren't yet open to learning.

Teachers of twos work with a range of abilities and personalities - the "running roughshods" to the "lap sitters" - and this range of children play parallel to one another not together. Teachers of "running roughshods", or "frisky" two year olds, are forced to stretch themselves to find ways to keep everyone safe and happy. These teachers find ways to shadow these little ones a little more closely, to spread out the adult staff in their room so that there are many hands and eyes.



That, I think, is the educational goal of a twos class:
Helping children feel safe and happy among others, and, therefore, cultivating the very first seeds of love of learning.

It is NOT about the ABCs.

The ideal two year old classroom is large enough for children to explore and play individually, on their own. Additionally, the ideal classroom has a very small child to adult ratio - providing enough loving adult presence to softly remind, guide and model correct behavior, and has non-pressured "circle times" that provide a positive opportunity to learn how to gather and work together - to be a community.

That's why the best classrooms have activities that echo some of the fun, simple, open-ended fun you might have with a child at home, including but by no means limited to:


- Digging in the dirt (or playing in sand and water at a sensory table),
- Playing with water (washing baby dolls and other toys),
- Squishing and rolling playdough,
- Helping with cooking (pouring, stirring, mixing),
- Dancing, moving, jumping to music,
- Listening to books and stories, and
- Plenty of outside play that lets you run, stretch, jump, and swing at your own pace.

It is a luxury to be at home with your two year old. However, for many families this is simply not feasible. Therefore, it is essential that our learning spaces for these little ones still reflect some of that luxury of being at home - from a child's perspective:

the freedom (and room) to roam from activity to activity, and
the ability to choose your own fun, with a loving adult following your lead.


And teachers who provide these busy little folks with a happy and safe environment should know their job is well done!