Inclusive.

This term used to mean "everyone gets a turn at kickball," or "we all get to have our names on the clubhouse wall."  It still does, just in a different way. 

It now means everyone.  EVERYONE.  The 10 year old with a wheelchair, the 2 year old with a speech or hearing impairment, the 5 year old with an SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder for those that don't know.).  

It means we include everyone's names in our classrooms, our childcare's and our preschools.  But what does it look like?  

Let me tell you...

Sometimes it's magical.  

There are days when the child that has an SPD and is VERY sensitive to sounds, textures, or activity levels comes up with a new game or method of doing an art project that suits him personally, because finger painting literally makes him throw up (I mean projectile!).  It is an incredible moment to be part of.  I stand awestruck as my little one on the "Spectrum" and non-verbal grabs a nearby car so he too can join in the painting.  He came up with it himself!!  This is big.  BIG!  It means he understands his own needs.  He desires to take part.  He is making a way.  It is progress toward independence and it is beautiful.

I type with tears in my eyes just recalling the moment.

Then there are days...

Lord, help me there are days.

Days when my two little ones with SPD's of varying degrees plus my little on the "spectrum" are feeding off of on another's energy like the monster from Scooby Doo.  You remember the one.  The gang tries to zap it, catch it, feed it, starve it out.  NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO IT GROWS BIGGER, and BIGGER, and BIGGER!!  Any amount of energy in themselves or the environment makes it grow.

These are also the days we can't go outside because the wind chill is zero.  

I think about going out anyway.  I think about taking up smoking.  I wonder if I should put the Betty Ford Clinic on speed dial. (I am JOKING!!) 

These are days when parents pick up their children and I have to wonder if they think I am losing my mind!!  These are the days when I feel like I just might be!

Then I research.  I read.  I pray.  I reflect.  I remember the good times.  I recall the magical moments.  I welcome a new day.  

Who knows what it will bring? 

Here is what I know.  

Inclusive environments are good for children.  It is o.k. for me to help children see each other as "not the same" as themselves AND the same.  It helps them understand why one child gets a peanut butter and jelly for every meal (because that is literally all he will eat) or he will go hungry to the point of pain. (Spectrum remember.)

It is o.k. for parents picking up to see the good moments and the bad.  They have them at home too.  We are all in the same boat. In those moments they get to witness, first hand, that Ms. Donna won't duct tape them to a wall.  I may chase, use my "firm" voice, even hold one on my hip and one by the hand to keep them from literally climbing a wall and jumping from the trim (I have one that can do this, no joke). 

And we will come out of it.  We will all survive together.  It is good for children to see other children not being "happy" at all times and know that everything will turn out o.k.  We get through it together; the tantrums, tears, meltdowns, crazy, excited times.  We do it all TOGETHER because we are a family.  When one of us hurt, we all hurt.  When one is happy, we are all happy.  We celebrate, grow, and learn together.

But what about the times we have to say goodbye?  Those days when we realize that a little one's needs exceed our ability to maintain a safe environment or maintain safety for that one child or their friends?  

Those days are the most challenging in my role as Childcare Provider, parent advocate and friend, "day-mom," because you know what?  I grow to love each and every child that crosses my path.  I pray for them.  I think about them.  I research on their behalf.  I study. I read. I try what the experts say, "This works everytime!" (and then it doesn'.t).  I realize that it isn't providing lasting effects for a child.

I stress, have headaches, and morn decisions that mean we will no longer be able to be part of that child's life on a daily basis.  I dream about that child. I dream for that child. My heart aches when circumstances or challenges or job statuses mean that a child will be leaving us. 

Why? Because we are family and it's hard to say goodbye.  So, I say, "See you soon." I say, "We love you." I say, "I wish you well." The hard truth is that not every teacher, classroom, environment, or school is going to be able to meet the needs of each child.  

But we try and we try and we try...

Sometimes progress comes from change.  Sometimes it means hard conversations with tears, doctor after doctor visits for little ones looking for answers, and holding a mama's hand when she is at the end of her rope and saying, "I see you.  You are amazing. You are strong."

It is being willing to admit that you don't have the answers to what they are facing, but you wish you with every fiber you did. Be willing to sit silently while that mama cries....

Isn't that what matters most, being there for each other in the changes, the challenges, the easy times and the crazy ones even when you don't have the answers, especially when you don't have the answers just so they aren't alone?

I think it is...

I wish bubbles and suckers made everything o.k., don't you?  

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today. - L

I am incredibly blessed by the families of the children in my care!!!  They are the MOST supportive, wonderful people I have ever known.  

Each year when the "big kids" move to school and a fresh batch of beaming new faces begin, it's the same.  

Maybe it's the community, maybe I am simply lucky, maybe it's God's hand of blessing on my life.  Whatever it is, I know it's amazing and I LOVE it!!  

This day was just another bit of proof of how incredible they are.  During our Community Helpers thematic unit from Mother Goose Time throughout the month of November, we were introduced to MANY Community Helpers.  We discussed the Postman (lady), Nurses, Doctors, Sanitation Workers, Teachers, Construction Workers, Factory Workers, and on and on.  For the entire month each day was fresh and new, yet all circled back around to those great folks we see in our community making a positive difference each day.   

Today was EXTRA special because one of our very own daddies drive this big rig!!  Mr. Scott Williams with MoDOT was given special permission to bring a great, big, shiny snowplow for us to climb on, get inside, and explore!!!

​We climbed under the plow!  We noticed that we are small and it is VERY BIG!

We then inspected the tires.  We touched the black surface that was smooth and rough all at the same time.  We noticed that it was warm, unlike the yellow metal and commented on the sunshine that was making it a different temperature. 

When our visit was coming to a close and we had asked every question on a four year old's mind (believe me that's A LOT!!) we received the coolest pencils EVER!!! 

We wasted no time finding things to "fix" and "hammer" with these beauties!!  Each child took one home along with a "Traveling Safely with Mo" coloring and early reader workbook.

We waived and hugged goodbye to the big yellow snowplow as we watched it drive up the lane to a great big, "HOOOOOOooooooooNNNNNNkkkkkk!!!"
 of the airhorn.  

What a special treat, incredible learning experience and all around great day of learning and play at Woolsey Academy for Young Learners!!

A special, "THANK YOU!!" to the Missouri Department of Transportation, Mr. and Mrs. Scott Williams, and all the amazing men and women that work to keep us traveling safely on the roads in Missouri!! 

THANK YOU!!!

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

Community Helpers is one of my favorite thematic units.  I love immersing our time with those around our community that make is great.  

We live in tight-knit small town USA and it is not at all unusual to spend a few moments at the mailbox catching up with the mailman (or lady) on their latest family addition. 

It is a common place in our town to hand the bus driver a hot cup of coffee through her window on morning routes. 

We know one another because it matters.  It is OUR community for better or worse and each day it is what WE invest in it that makes it a place we all lovingly call home.

So, when we study "Community Helpers" we are learning about our friends, our family, our neighbors.  THIS is what makes for real learning when children can concretely put a name with the profession of someone they waive too each day.

Our local fire department is VERY proactive to bring trucks, gear, and training to US!  

The children LOVE touring the trucks and practicing "Stop! Drop! Cover! and Roll!"  

​We played 911 during our dramatic play and practiced dialing and recognizing the numbers.  We took turns dialing the numbers and practicing what we would say.

During our firefighter demonstration we learned that even though they may look and sound scary, they are just dads on the inside and dads are not scary!! 

What do we do to daddies?  We give them BIG hugs!!  That is what we do to our firefighter friends if they are coming to help us during a fire, we give them BIG bear hugs!!

Each morning as we place our school kiddos on the bus this wonderful lady lingers a few moments to lean out her window, wave, honk and make sure these little ones are filled with anticipation for their turn to be "school kids" and ride the bus too.

She is one-of-a-kind and we are so privileged to have a community full of people that do their jobs as an extension of who they are with their whole heart.

Ms. Julie made time in her schedule to visit us during our "Bus Driver" Community Helper study.  We were able to open and close the doors, honk the horn, open and close windows, practice getting on and off the bus safely, get up and down from the seats, and have a conversation about what happens if the bus is in an accident and we cannot exit through the doors!  

We came back into the classroom and played "Bus Matching" pre-math matching game from our curriculum partner, Mother Goose Time, and then moved on to Creative Arts putting together our very own mini buses and little Julie's to drive them!  We used these during Dramatic play for days!!!  We stacked and counted them, drove them with full and empty loads, broke and taped them up again while using them as props to sing "Wheels on the Bus!" 

Community Helpers seem to be a thematic unit for any quality curriculum.  One may think that discussing them year after year may get a bit stale.  To young children, revisiting these themes gives them an opportunity to put their constantly developing sense of self, logic, reasoning, and skills to practice when restudying thematic units.

I came across this article about the importance of Community Helpers and I couldn't agree more.

"Parents constantly warn children about the danger of strangers.  In today’s society, that is an important lesson.  But what happens if the child is in an emergency situation?   Imagine your house is on fire and someone in a strange uniform tries coaxing you from your home and your usual place of safety. You can understand why children sometimes hide from fire fighters under a bed or in a closet.

These fears can be prevented when children  meet community helpers in a safe and fun environment before being asked to trust them in an emergency. When we think like a young child, we realize how alarming an unusual uniform or vehicle might be perceived. Rescue vehicles are loud and fast.  To see one up close and touch it while stationary helps children be less apprehensive when one speeds by with sirens wailing.

By participating in dramatic play with costumes and acting out behaviors of community helpers, children develop important social/emotional skills and are more comfortable with uniforms. It helps them understand the world around them and their place in it. It’s important for children to learn their role in a community and that there are safe, friendly people to help them if they get sick or have an emergency. It’s comforting for children to learn there are strangers outside of their family who have a concern for their safety and well-being and to understand who they can trust." - https://cdmfun.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/why-teach-young-children-about-community-helpers/

We are also able to introduce our little learners to those in their community that will be caring for them in the coming years to help ease anxiety about transitions and provide confidence that, "I am o.k., You are o.k.!"

This confidence builds competence.

And to think we get to do all this through play....swoon...

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!

-L

I don't think I have been this excited about a recipe in a LOOOoooooOOOOng time!  When I received this "mud dough" recipe from Mother Goose Time, I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on it!  

I was PRAYING it wouldn't be a flop. (Seriously, this happens to me ALL the time when I find cool recipes online, but everything MGT has been tried and tested so I was thrilled to grab the ingredients and give it a go!)

This one is EASY, but I did a bit of magic on my own and added coffee grounds (fresh, not used) to give this a bit more of a "dirt" effect.  The smell of the chocolate pudding and the coffee grounds was pretty amazing.  I did, however, warn my littles that it would NOT taste like it smelled.

This is even gluten free, so it was safe to send home with my preschool babes without worry.

We have been all about "Down On The Farm" here and each day discussing the different things we might find on a farm.  

We use our conversations to branch off into different experiences and discussions.  This is a GREAT way for me to see what they are thinking and HOW they are think!

I love this list!  We use list making as a part of circle time to give the children a more concrete circle time experience.  Everyone loves having their words printed and read and reread to them again and again throughout the day.  This is great for letter and word recognition and emergent reading naturally.

My favorite on mud day was #2. "Dirty pigs, NOT stinky pigs" was an observation made by one of my little 4's of his favorite part of the farm.

I followed his statement up with more probing questions like, "How does a pig get dirty, but not stinky?"  His reply was great!  "Make mommy clean up da' poop!"  He had already thought about the fact that pigs poo and somebody was gonna' need to clean that up!  He was also confident that it sounded like a job for a mama!!

After reading, "I'm A Dirty Dinosaur!" by Janeen Brian and Anne James we brought out the "mud", pie tins, rocks, and sea shells to make "mud pies."  (these items were lovingly provided by Mother Goose Time!)

They sniffed, pressed, squishes, and even tried a bite (o.k....maybe a bite or two or three!) of their mud.  This was the consistency of homemade dough and the added coffee ground gave it more of a dirt look and feel.  The "dirt" mixed in well as they kneaded and pounded the dough into the tins.  

We added a bit of math to our sensory and science by lining up shells and rocks and counting how many we had of each.  We patterned rock, shell, rock, shell, rock, shell around our mud pies to make beautiful pie creations that we bagged up and took home with pride!  

We moved and grooved to this cute little diddy by Dancing Beats, "Stuck In The Muck!"
and "Catch The Pig!"

We use these little brain breaks to get us up and moving, because when we move, we learn!

Dancing Beats songs and dances are easy for our preschooler's to learn, repeat, and sing along to.  They feature catchy tunes, easy rhythms and easy motions that are slow enough to be repeatable.  

They are also dressed age appropriate and their movements are preschool appropriate!!

This is a very important feature for little bodies!  Nothing is more disappointing to a preschool age child than to not be able to follow along easily to dances that look fun and inviting and Dancing Beats understands that need by providing motions that involve large easy to follow movements. 

Songs and dances are a vital part of the preschool child's education which is why we include them daily. 

Studies show, "Singing songs is a powerful way for young children to practice language. When children sing, they practice pronouncing words and putting together sentences. Learning the lyrics to songs is also an effective way to remember information." http://articles.extension.org/pages/25592/music-activities-teach-important-skills-to-children-in-child-care 

The benefits of dance cannot be ignored and should not be dismissed.

"Dance is basic to learning. Children learn most readily from experience. John Dewey understood this when he asserted, “Action is the test of comprehension” (Dewey, 1915). To learn by “doing” and to act on knowledge is the basis of kinesthetic learning. Kinesthetic learning is becoming more widely understood through the work of Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Howard Gardner (1944- ), and other cognitive theorists. 
  
Dance, in particular, integrates kinesthetic learning with understanding. Preschool children do not conceptualize abstract processes (Piaget). They primarily learn through physical and sensory experiences. When children are provided with creative movement problems that involve the selection of movement choices, they learn to think in the concrete reality of movement. Thus, learning the art of dance helps young children develop knowledge, skill, and understanding about the world. "  http://www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=55419

Sensory, science, literature, music, movement, dance and play!  All in a day, "Down On The Farm!" 

As always, we wish you well and we hope you get to play today!

-L

Yep...that's one of my little "family" members!

This little guy loves dress up.  He loves the Hulk and princesses, and Thomas.  He loves to play.  

Exuberant, energetic, joyful;  even at nap time!

One of the things I love about Family Childcare is the "family" part of it.  There are opportunities each day for togetherness, conversations, and connections.

With a mixed age group we get to watch the babies become toddlers, then send them off to "big school" filled with pride and excitement.  

Often, we get to remain in a child's life well into their adult years (showing my age ;) ).  That's the way a community should be.  That gives children a grounded center and memories of good moments shared that builds trust and confidence that the world is a good place.  This is the way I want to raise my children AND the children in my care.

I love beginning the new school year with a study of social/emotional skill builders and awareness of ourselves and our family units.  

Children LOVE their families and families are all unique.  Welcoming new little students each August means that we get to know new friends and their families.  Our curriculum partner, Mother Goose Time understands how vital it is to validate a young child, their emotions, and their unique family units.

We do this through songs, games, conversations, and language arts, science, math, and creative arts!  We do this through lots of opportunities for solving conflicts and understanding that tantrums, conflicts, and the presence of emotion does not mean the absence of a good parent, good teacher, or "good" child.....it is simply an opportunity to teach and that is a VERY good moment!

One of our favorite games this month was the "How Are You Feeling?" game.

We have an awesome game cube with replaceable picture pockets from Mother Goose Time and we have used it again and again.  

It's soft smallish size is perfect for even the tiniest of hands!  

We replaced these with our emotions faces and took turns passing it from person to person observing and discussing how the child on the cube felt as we rolled the "dice" and it landed on sad, happy, scared, etc.  

​We then discussed what makes us feel that way and made some dog-gone cute faces!!

This little learner has "angry" down!!  We then talk about how we can help ourselves feel better.  We decided that we don't like feeling scared, angry, sad, or lonely, but we WILL feel that way from time to time and it's o.k.  

What is not o.k. is to STAY feeling those emotions.  We like feeling happy, excited, and surprised (in a good way) better.  We made a list of ways to help our friends and ourselves feel better.  We observed that singing, hugs, blankies, and taking time away from others to play alone all can help with feeling mad or angry.  We also discussed that we can play WITH a friend, a teacher, a pet, or parent when we feel scared, lonely or sad to feel better.  

As usual, as we moved throughout the day there were many opportunities  (tantrums, conflicts, and power struggles ;) )  We used these as teachable moments to try out our list.  We made choices between singing a song or hugging a friend; waiting for a turn or taking time to self; asking a friend to play or playing with teacher.  

We noticed that when we made choices, they worked and we felt better.  We also made a very concentrated effort to record, "Caught ya's!"  We "caught ya'" sharing!  We "caught ya'" taking turns!  We "caught ya'" being a helper!  As we focus more on the "caught ya's" and less on anything else, the "caught ya'" moments become more and more contagious, fun, and sought after by each age group.  The children's moods switch from "self focused" to "others focused" and we had a board filled full of "caught ya's!"

Why?  Because what you focus on you get more of!  

Children loves games so this little cube gets used by all ages and for many uses!  Here we made a letter recognition game that we played over and over day after day this past week.  

Our letters this month are A, M, and T; upper and lower case.

Our Many Colored Days by Dr. Suess is one of our favorite books.  It teaches colors and emotions in a safe and accepting manner that little readers can understand and identify with.  

After reading this recommended book we used our Invitation To Create example and many colors as we discussed and painted how we felt.  The resulting artwork was beautiful!

We had colorful rainbows and murals of black with swirls, shapes, and figures.  We also had lots and lots of excited chatter as they each explained their masterpiece!

Part of our Me and My Family study included pets that make up our families.  We have many, many types of pets.  Some have cats, dogs, birds, fish, even bunnies!  

I think bunny day was a hoppin' success!!

Part of helping children understand their emotions is giving them special ways to learn how to positively calm themselves and express their energy in a safe manner.  

Our very own Mr. Ninja is beloved by our children!!  This is the perfect way for our littles to use their muscles to feel strong and empowered!  It works, just look at these sweet faces. 

Ms. Melissa comes to teach us yoga with songs, dances, stories, and special poses that correspond with the seasons and our thematic units!  We practice these poses  during each week when we need a brain break or as a calming transition to another activity.  Even our little 2's know "Tree Pose!"

This is such a small sample of the week.  We love, laugh and learn together.  There are challenges and victories.  We grow a bit taller and a bit stronger with each passing day.  

Providing children with a solid basis of learning is a small portion of what we do.  

Giving them more....making a difference in their lives daily is where the reward lay for me.

Yoga, Karate, Zoo Encounters, Librarian Storytime, and Community Visitors all comprise our whole child educational program.  I believe that when we give children an safe environment where they can experience the world around them that we, as a community become an extension of "family." 

This is a vital part of healthy children and healthy families.  

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today.

​-L

One of the main goals with this blog as a whole is to educate families as to the importance of the deep and meaningful aspects of play and how "play" is actually the very important business of learning for little ones.  It is further to dissect the actions of educators, like myself, that provide experiences specifically designed and engineered to provide certain outcomes for children to make observations and build skills from, that they may not receive in any other setting.

The phrase "invitation to play" has long been a buzzword in the Early Childhood Education community.  It is an "engineering of play" to provide such outcomes and play based learning experiences for young children. 

In simple terms, it is designed to draw a child in.  With a true "invitation" the child will naturally WANT to explore, discover, and have the freedom of time and materials to make a valuable impact on their own education.  The teacher literally sets up and sets out materials in an impactful manner designed to make the play irresistible to little minds and big hearts!

But, in most instances, I think we are missing the true intent...

The true "Invitation to Play" or "Invitation to Create" is as old as play itself.  In simple terms is means, "Come play with me."  It is designed to signify importance.  It's purpose is to communicate a time of togetherness to the "invitee."  

However, this simply is not the case in most instances.  In most of the articles and images I have researched regarding the "Invitation to Play or Create" the MOST important aspect is missing.  

Time and togetherness. 

This is a sad portrayal of the American child's preschool (and often home life) experiences.  
We can provide beautiful materials arranged, balanced, and researched.  We spend time and money purchasing these, setting them up and then watching little eyes as they bound toward the awaiting objects, the tea party, the finger painting with loose and unconventional parts, the mud kitchen, the science lab filled with ladybug larvae or worm farm.  

We photograph the excitement, label it, post it and we are DONE!  

Mission accomplished, drop the mic, we did it!!  We brought them joy and encouraged play (aren't we amazing teachers/parents/care providers?!?)  PAT ON THE BACK and an A+++++ for effort!

Then it happens, "Will you play with me?"

"What?  Ummmmm....I mean look at all this fun STUFF you have!" the child looks at it and looks at you and again asks, "Will you play with me?"

What most of these valuable experiences are missing is YOU.  

Recall above when I noted true meaning of an "Invitation to Play?" The true meaning to a child is "I want to play WITH you."  The child is drawn to the beauty and possibility of the mud kitchen, the tea party, the marble run, the leaf painting, the worm farm and what they want more than anything is to share it with you.  

Without the conscious and deliberate presence of a caregiver meaningful conversations and authentic, lasting learning stagnate.  WITH the presence of  a parent or caregiver we can open up an incredible world imagination and understanding into how this little personality thinks, moves, and defines their world.  It is nothing short of miraculous.

It takes patience, dirty hands, lots of paper towels (usually) and a willingness to be part of the mess.  It takes the adult making observations about what they see and asking the child what they see, then listening and reflecting. 

The best part?  It really is so simple and easy to do.

This Invitation to Create is from our curriculum partner, Mother Goose Time, who has an amazing variety of "Invitations" that span science, math, language arts, and creative arts.  

They have paperbags, cotton balls, black paper, and sticks.  They also received (post pic) brown, white, and black paint and glue.  Their inspiration piece was an owl family in a tree.  

Now....how are children 1-4 going to make something that resembles owls with those?  It actually turned out beautifully....  I was asked to help on several occasions with cutting, mixing, holding this here or there while it dried.  We had cotton and brown bags stuck to everything!  ​

Here we were talking about the dark and how things look different or "scary" because it is dark, but dark is just.....well....dark!  In this "Invitation to Create and Play" we made "dark" animals (common ones that might be found in our room at night) with cut-outs from Mother Goose Time.  These allowed us to have many conversations about dark and light and pretend and real.  Every child needed my help creating these.  Does it look like we are getting any less benefit from them because I didn't make the children, "do it themselves" so that it would be "their own creation?"  

I ask them to show me how they are creating their art, if they would like to do it together, if they would like help or to do it themselves.  

Their answers vary based on the idea in their heads.  Helping a little one cut out a shape or use scissors, or create just the right shade of brown is not "doing it for them" and does not stunt growth.  Helping with tape, glues, and glitter and assisting them in creating what they are wanting to rather than frustrated little ones quit because, "I can't." is an incredible experience in cooperation.

​.Rather, it creates a spirit of cooperation and confidence that they know if they cannot do it themselves, they do not have to sit frustrated.  They can simply come to me and I am always willing to help.  

Isn't that what we all want?  Someone to come along side us and lend a hand as we are reaching goals that may at first be out of reach?  We still learn.  Often, we learn more as we get to experience the help of an "expert" and watch and again and again allowing ourselves to be taught and coached.  This is true for little ones as well.

Being present.

Being willing.  

Being a part of the "Invitation to Create" is a vital component to the education of young children whether one chooses to provide open ended, child-led play  or project-based, teacher-facilitated materials.  The MOST important part of the play is time and togetherness.

As always, I wish you well and I hope YOU get to play today.

​-L

Our study of force was probably my favorite day in Science Camp for the month of August by our curriculum partner, Mother Goose Time.

When a science lesson is THIS fun, solid learning through sensory play is taking place and a love of learning is taking root in these little learners.

We began our lesson on force by passing out straws and blowing air hard and slowly through the tube.  Some straws went up noses and the children noticed they could blow that way too!  I explained that when we blow hard or soft we are using air as force.  I then passed out the paper and gave each little one a pile of colored sand.  I wanted them to be able to experience "force" for themselves.  I placed a glue barrier at the top of each paper so the sand would not be blown all the way across the table and into the face of another child.  

I then asked the children to move the sand using nothing but the straws.  Some blew slowly and cautiously, others tore loose and the sand went flying!  I explained that both were an example of "force."  The "force" of the air is making the sand move.  They asked for more and more and more sand.  They practiced blowing at differing speeds and making designs in the sand by blowing very softly.  They began to realize that when they were blowing soft, they maintained control of the direction of the sand as opposed to blowing hard.  

AMAZING!!!

As you can see we have a mixed age large group from 6 months to 4.5 years.  This lends itself to the little children being exposed to concepts that they may not get to do in a same age traditional preschool setting and for those children to advance at their own pace.  Further, it allows the older children to help the younger children experience and understand by example.  ​
We are like a great big family and that's they way we like it!!

There is a TON of research why a mixed age setting is actually a better way for children to learn over segregating children by age.  One of my favorites is by https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200809/why-we-should-stop-segregating-children-age-part-iii "Older children are excellent teachers of younger ones, partly because they are not too far ahead of the younger ones."

"Daniel Greenberg made this point in one of his books about Sudbury Valley, where he wrote: "Kids love to learn from other kids. First of all, it's often easier. The child teacher is closer than an adult to the student's difficulties, having gone through them somewhat more recently. The explanations are usually simpler, better. There's less pressure, less judgment." [2]"

​But that is for another post!!!  

This little fella' is the very definition of force.  He is force.  

He has force.

He does everything with force!!

He exudes energy and enthusiasm and makes each lesson more fun with his "outside of the box" thinking.  

He had enough of the straws and decided to experience the sand with his hands and face!!

We will just pretend that was part of the lesson plans!!!  

He LOVES to get messy because he LOVES water and a mess always means he gets to wash up in the sink!!!  (clever little learner!!)

We are not afraid of messes around here.  That is a sure sign of a valuable lesson that made it's mark.

Sand, straws, glue and paper - simple ingredients that equaled another great day of play!

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!!

​-L

"STEAM is a movement championed by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and widely adopted by institutions, corporations and individuals.
The objectives of the STEAM movement are to:

• transform research policy to place Art + Design at the center of STEM
• encourage integration of Art + Design in K–20 education
• influence employers to hire artists and designers to drive innovation "(stemtosteam.org/)

Simple enough, right??!!  And how amazingly cool is it that this has trickled down into preschool, childcare, and pre-k programs all across the country?!  

Let me answer that... AWESOME!!!

The materials are simple, but the concepts are complex.  Allowing children to work with everyday items brings these lessons home and makes them concrete.  

​This was just 4 days of our Science Camp with Mother Goose Time.  We are learned new words, new concepts, new "laws" and even what a "law" is!

The best part about incorporating S.T.E.A.M. into preschool is that it is such an easy fit.  The children LOVE asking questions like, "Why?" and "How come?" and this gives them many opportunities to do so.  

From connections to circuits, from magnets to molecules, it is all in a day of play with Woolsey Academy!

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

Have you EVER seen anything more amazing??  These were painted by children ages 1-5 years!!  (Breathe, breathe, breathe...the readers may not understand that you get hyper about art!)

We began with variations of blue; light blue, dark blue, and aquamarine, and the children and I observed and discussed those differences in light and dark.  We added greens to our paint palettes as we carefully looked at the original artists work.

​Our preschool curriculum partner, Mother Goose Time,created a masterpiece (oh yes, pun intended!!) with July's thematic Art Camp unit.

These were painted over the course of  three days because the children kept begging, "Can we paint 'Water Lilies' again, Ms. Donna?" "PAAAAAALEASE?"  

​Drop the mic.  We are done here...they asked to paint it by NAME!!!

So,,,a couple of things that just get me all giddy about that.  

First, they REMEMBERED the name of the painting!!  

Second, they had a genuine desire to create it again and again and again.  I imagine that is what Claude Monet himself felt as he painted "Water Lilies" 250 times over the course of 30 years.  (cool fact :))

But why bother?  Why not just let them paint?  Do they really need to know who painted what and what the painting really is???

YES!!!  It is vital to the development of young minds to expose them to all forms of art.  It gives them confidence in their own abilities to create and creativity is at the core of who we are as human beings. 

“Exposing children ... to art is absolutely essential in the development of their sense of self,” Amanda Selwyn, Director of Community Arts at the West Side Y, explained to HuffPost. “As well as observation skills, a sense of creative self-expression, self-confidence, collaboration, physical movement and vocal skills." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/16/kids-talking-about-art_n_5806614.html

It was interesting to watch them work.  Those that were older liked order and sequence to their paintings.  They took liberties, like painting the bridge and this little artist even added people to her bridge!

See that one on the bottom right?  See the little people?  She has taken the original artists work one step further and added people enjoying the view of the water lilies from the bridge.  I love all the unique views from the original painting.  I can see how their little minds work, the stages of emergent writing they are in, and their level of interest.  

It is also amazing that all our artists from the oldest (6) to the youngest (1) observed and recreated the foliage at the top (green) and the water at the bottom (blue).  

But notice the bottom right....it depicts a more 3d scene of water that goes under the bridge and keeps flowing past the bridge with the land masses at either side.  This artist has understood the depiction of the art to real life settings.  

As educators, parents and caregivers, we must give children time.  Time is the greatest gift you can give any child.  

They must have the time to create, to think, to make sense of what the world is and their place in it.  When we do this, we give them the freedom to form opinions, test those and interpret results.  It is amazing to observe.  Stepping back and watching will give us insight.  From that insight, we can effectively teach what THEY need to learn.  This will be different for each child and that is where the job of teaching becomes real.

​Exposing young, even very young, children to great works of art gives us the opportunity to observe their interpretation.  We get to see the art with the freshness of a child.  

Encouraging them to recreate it gives us a window to how they view the world around them.  

Giving them the time and materials to create art again and again without imposing our ideas and agendas and without trying to move them along gives them the freedom to express their thoughts, stories, and emotions and create their own masterpiece.  From this conversations about how they feel, what they believe, and how they see things will enlighten our understanding about who they are and individuals.

Isn't this the true meaning of art?  Self-expression...

​As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L 

We received these amazing little stick on pearl earrings from Mother Goose Time, blue napkins for the servant's "scarf", brown paper bags for the brown scarf portion, some pre-cut ovals for the face, and black "canvas."  As I was placing the art in the center of the table for everyone to see, little minds were already at work making placement choices for the earrings, drawing eyes, and observing the servant girl's smile was "serious" and "sad" as one of my little ones described.  They wondered what she was doing??  "Is she mad??  Is she sad??" they surmised as we discussed the possibilities.

This thought crossed my mind as I was laying out the month of July for our "Art Camp" theme with Mother Goose Time.  If you have read very many of my posts, you know that I love to introduce big concepts.  Children do have the capacity to understand when we take the time to show them that even big ideas come from simple beginnings.

"... when gifted kids solve problems in their areas of giftedness, there is increased electrical activity in both hemispheres.  It appears that for the brain to be efficient, the two hemispheres of the brains must work together.  By stimulating and exercising the right hemisphere of the brain, the arts strengthen the connection between the hemispheres. Kids should be exposed to the arts as their cognitive skills mature so that their right brain will be as developed as the left, and both hemispheres work in tandem, thus achieving the full potential of the mind."  http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/33-benefits-of-arts-to-kids

So...basically, if you want to raise smart kiddos, you must give them experiences in art that go beyond the crayons.  These must be significant and make an impression.  

The New York Center for Arts Education says:

• "Your kid learns to think creatively, with an open mind
• Your kid learns to observe and describe, analyze and interpret
• Your kid learns to express feelings, with or without words.
• Your kid practices problem-solving skills, critical-thinking skills, dance, music, theater and art-making skills, language and vocabulary of the arts
• Your kid discovers that there is more than one right answer, multiple points of view
• School can be fun – playing can be learning
• Your kid learns to collaborate with other children and with adults
• Arts introduce children to cultures from around the world
• Your kid can blossom and excel in the arts.  Even with physical, emotional or learning challenges, can experience success in the arts.
• Arts build confidence.  Because there is not just one right way to make art, every child can feel pride in his or her original artistic creations.
• Arts build community.  Schools with a variety of differences can celebrate the arts as one community." http://www.cae-nyc.org/www.cae-nyc.org/

Big concepts, simple lessons, and amazing results.  All in a day of play at Woolsey Academy for Young Learners.  

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

Happy Independence Day from Woolsey Academy!  

Independence Day celebrations can be confusing, overwhelming, and scary for young children.  When I know we are coming upon a holiday that may produce results other than, "Ooohhhh and Ahhhh..." I do my BEST to prepare our little ones with stories, songs, conversations, and art that they can understand and participate in. This gives them a sense of control over what is happening.  

This inspired our very own take home "fireworks"! 

We made our own "fireworks" with this simple Creative Arts project using our prickly "urchins" from Mother Goose Time "U is for Urchin" lesson during our A-Z Animals theme!  

I LOVE to manipulatives and the children do too!  They are perfect for building fine motor skills and always come in handy for dough, paint, and sensory play.
The "urchins" fit little hands beautifully and  encouraged exploration at the sand and water tables.  They were just right for making "fireworks" that our preschool babes could take home!

We began our day outside with PERFECT 70 degree weather, paper, red and blue paints, and these SWEEEEET little "urchins" that we adapted into "fireworks!"

If you look closely you will see that no sooner did I set out the plastic spiky balls, the children returned with some made by Mother Nature (instead of Mother Goose!)!!  We have a beautiful Sweet Gum  tree that completely shades our outdoor classroom.

Truth be known, I DESPISE this tree and it's spiky green balls.  We literally have thousands of them.

The children LOVE them.

They play with them daily.

They become tea party "food." Balls for target practices, currency for shopping, math manipulatives for adding, subtracting and making into rows, and perfect for making towers that stick together. 

I hate the tree because I can rake and rake and rake and still have thousands Sweet Gum balls littering the yard.

Today, I welcomed them and the results were fantastic!

When we give children control of things that may be scary to them through literature, music, and art, we give them something concrete that they can understand.  This helps ease their fears and gives them understanding of their environment.

Purdue Extension office put out a brochure that you can read here that deals with helping children deal with fears.  

" Use play to talk about fears. It might help to use dolls, puppets, stories, and art to talk about being afraid. The children could act out their fears; this gives them a sense of control. Ask them to talk about their drawings or other creations." (https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/cfs/cfs-169-w.pdf)

Anticipating anxiety and fear during the holidays and making preparations with stories, play, art, and songs is a fun filled way to ease your child's emotions while having fun with family and friends.  

​As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

We are always on the hunt for fun new ways to bring our letter learning to life!  

I am always amazed when a good plan comes together and results in amazing learning.

Aren't you?!

I wish these were my idea.  They would be SO easy to cut out and have around all the time, but these are from Mother Goose Time.  They are from heavy card stock and are made to look like a magnifying glass.  They help us "focus" our little eyes and minds on what we are looking for.  

This time it is the letter "C"!

So simple!  Look at the results....

This recipe works VERY well.  If I were making it for one child, "No PROBLEM!" "Got this!" (For gluten free make certain you use a high quality corn starch.  Most of them say, "Gluten Free" nowadays, but just be sure.... ) 

This is not the case in my world.  I am always making everything for 10 children.  ALWAYS. I can't cook a meal for my own family without making tiny burgers (thankfully we can call them "sliders" when I blank out and forget I am cooking for a full grown man and teen!)

So this recipe was a bit challenging when making enough for 10.  I quadrupled it, made it during nap and it was ready for play!  This SWEET recipe book comes from 

The Rainy Day Activity Book Paperback – September 1, 1995 by Jennifer Rader 

It was soft and malleable, perfect for a new sensory experience.  Our children have played with store clay, but it is much harder for little hands to shape and mold.  This clay was firmer than dough, but soft enough to mold easily.  

The reviews from the children ranged from, "WOW!" to "This has a funny smell?"  It was made with cornstarch, baking soda, and water so it did have a bit of a different smell than our flour based dough recipe.

We made lots of letters, including our "C", as well as "C"ircus animals, "C"lown fish, and pop"c"orn!  We sent the clay home with each child so continue the learning and play at their own pace. 

I love simple, hands-on experiences for my littles. This one fit the bill and encouraged LOTS of imagination, conversation, and learning.  

Just what the teacher ordered!!

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

It is SUMMER!  Finally.....

The long winter and cold weather months have given way to some bright sunny days and we are ready for PLAY!!

We have been studying letters A-Z for the month of June with our Mother Goose Time curriculum as a review of what we learned all throughout the year.  As always, we build our units around play. 

So what do you get when you mix the letter "B" with summertime?  Beach, bubble, babies, and blueberries!!!  We tried many, many different bubble recipes and landed on this one that works VERY well.  So well, in fact, that we actually had to dilute it a bit!  

Here it is for all you mama's and daddies out there keeping kiddos busy this summer!  Keep reading...I have a clay recipe for the letter "C" coming too!!

Simply, S.T.E.A.M. is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math.  It used to be primarily referred to as S.T.E.M. play.  Arts was brushed to the Creative Arts category of education.  However, more recently the Early Childhood Education community has added the "A" for Arts recognizing that Art is intermingled with Math, Science, Engineering, and Technology.  I agree wholeheartedly.  Lucky for us our Mother Goose Time curriculum provides many oppotunities for play built around S.T.E.A.M.

We observed through our bubble experiment that a colors (Science and Art) swirled around the sphere.  We introduced the vocabulary word "sphere" (Math and Art) yet again as recognizing 3 Dimensional shapes is a Kindergarten readiness requirement.  This is an EASY sell for preschoolers with bubble play!!  

"Look at THAT sphere, Ms. Donna!!  It's HUGE!!"  

S.T.E.A.M. play allows children to make connections between these and further build on them with other medium.  Here we built with pipe cleaners, wire hangers, plastic wands, our hands.  We used many different recipes and hypothesized which would work and therefore be our FAVORITE!  

We even brought music and counting into the mix with this sweet song...

This SWEET idea came to me from Mother Goose Time as a part of our S.T.E.A.M. play.  This was SO FUN and a great workout for little lungs.  I didn't get pix of this one as we had socks flying off of little feet as they tried to make more "bubbles."  What would have been great would have been a picture of me trying to keep socks and shoes on while chasing giggling, wiggling tots!!!

We tried just about every Pinterest recipe out there, but when it came down to it, our oldie but goodie from the book, "Rainy Day Activity Book," by Jennifer Rader. You can still get it on Amazon and even though it is over 20 years old (man am I showing my age!!) it is FULL of recipes I have been using for a very long time.  

These bubbles last in the air, in our hands, on the ground, are able to be caught and released again!  This makes for happy kiddos and happy days!!  

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!!

​-L

Teaching letters and phonemic awareness is a natural part of play.  

First, what is "phonemic awareness?"

Simply it is "...the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in words."  (http://www.readingrockets.org/reading-topics/phonemic-awareness​)

This must take place before a child can learn to read, which is why it makes sense to begin in preschool.

Our Mother Goose Time curriculum recognizes this is a necessary precursor of reading and provides LOTS of games and play-based opportunities for little learners to engage in recognizing not only the letters themselves, but the sounds of the beginning, middle, and endings of words and how they go together (blend) to make a word.  

Our first "A" activity was "A" is for Animals!  

Before each child received their chosen animal face, they each pointed out the letter "A" from a choice of three letters (A,B,C).  We practiced some letter formation with dough and our letter dough mats from Mother Goose Time!

These are actually the letters that go with our monthly curriculum, but we have laminated them and they are the perfect size for play dough letter formations!

​

I LOVE the instrumental arrangement!  "This instrumental song is designed to help young children hear the change in music from slow to fast, low energy to high energy. By dancing and responding to the music builds self-regulation skills needed for managing emotions later in life." - Mother Goose Time

Isn't it amazing that so much of play is DESIGNED to build self-regulation?  Isn't it also interesting that with the loss of play in preschool's we are seeing an increase in lack of self-regulation and disorders in elementary schools?  

I believe the two are directly linked.  Children need play like they need breath.  It is a NEED, not a reward, not a privilege, a NEED and should be encouraged, allowed, and promoted as a BEST PRACTICE.

The NAEYC says this about play, "The idea that play provides a context for learning and development in education is similar to the use of play therapy for children coping with traumatic experiences; in both cases, play as place provides a natural, comfortable setting for young children to develop." (http://www.naeyc.org/content/research-news-pretend-play-is-important)

Play helps young children make sense of the world around them.  It is no wonder that when it is severely limited in preschool programs that processing disorders seem to increase.

What a great beginning!  The letter "B" is for Bubbles will be up tomorrow!  Don't miss it!!

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!

​-L

Simple lessons make for big results!  Little learners are captivated by things we adults overlook.  

Leaves, eggs, trees, clouds, a piece of yarn........

These provoke questions.  They provoke thought.  Sometimes they drive us nutty with the, "Why?"

It is here that preschool teachers make magic.

It is in the simple that we find wonder.

We had been discussing "oviparous" animals and insects this week.  Everything that lays an egg is "oviparous."  While we play outside they ask, "Is a butterfly obipus?"  "YES!" I say.  

"Is a mommy oviparous?" asked little M.  

"Well....let's think about that." I said.  "Do mommies lay eggs or have live babies?"  

"THEY HAVE BABIES!!!" they squealed with glee!  

Being able to answer questions is a BIG DEAL in pre-k land!

In the this day's lesson we had been happily playing with our plastic octopus, whales, and fish in the water tables outside and the questions started again.  "Ms. Donna, is a fish a mammal or oviparous?"  There is NOTHING I love more than hearing them use their new words.  This means learning is happening!  Vocabularies are building.  Concepts are sticking!  (be still my beating heart!!!)  

This is science in action.  S.T.E.M. is happening organically through play...

"They lay eggs." I replied with a smile.

The questions continued with the octopus, the whale, the stingray, the frogs.  "What about this?"  "Does this lay eggs?" "YES!" older children would chime in while younger children ran off to grab another creature and ask another question. 

Mixed age learning is amazing! (but that's another subject) read about the benefits here

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/200809/why-we-should-stop-segregating-children-age-part-i

With a mix aged group, everything becomes an opportunity for learning.  Since we were discussing fish and eggs, we decided to make our own fish laying eggs!

I cut out ovals and triangles for the younger ones. 

The older children wanted to cut out their own (yay!).

As I passed out the glue sticks we brought our conversations about egg laying animals back to life.

"What is an "oviparous" animal that swims in the water and lays their eggs in a the water?" I asked.

"FISH!" several children exclaimed.

"That's right!!" I smiled...

"Le'ts make a fish laying eggs!" I said.

"YAY!!!" they yelled.  They LOVE glue!

We layed out our ovals as I asked what shapes they had to work with.  "Oval!" "Triangle!" (pre-math) 

We quickly worked.

Once all the little ovals bodies and triangle tails were in place I passed out the paint and explained that we were going to help our fish lay eggs with one finger.  We used our little finger tips to make dots for eggs.  We counted, We pressed.  We painted.  Some smeared. (Creative arts)

We observed that some of our fish laid many eggs and some laid few (math concepts and vocabulary).

We weren't done discussing "oviparous" animals and eggs, but we were done with Creative Arts, so we moved to Music and Movement with Dancing Beats by Mother Goose Time.

 Aesop's Fables for Preschoolers from Mother Goose Time was a popular choice (as always) and I love anything that introduces classic literature to little learners.  We read the stories we continued to ask which animals laid eggs and which animals were mammals?  We answered.  We asked.  We read.  Classic tales are an important part of Language Arts in Preschool.  They teach life lessons.  They introduce new words.  They provoke thought about who we are in the world and who we are becoming.  

The study "Children’s understanding of Aesop’s fables: relations to reading comprehension and theory of mind"  discusses the value of children's exposure to fables and the importance of being able to dissect the meaning of the story in relation to life principals and lessons.  

This starts young.  The more exposure they have to complex theories made simple, the better their reading comprehension and logic become in more complex themes in later academic years.

Last week we studied, "Animals of the Savannah," using our Mother Goose Time curriculum.  With the heat coming on full blast it was a perfect time to discuss animals that live in hot, dusty, sandy terrains.  
We observed camels, lions, zebras, and elephants while we played in the sand, added water to see what would happen and how the sand absorbed it readily.  

We reviewed the letters E, Z, L, C and S (sand), their sounds and we practiced finding the letters at the beginning, middle, and end of the words and books.

This week, we again took to the outdoors with one question.

"What do you see?"

The results were instant.  (Small beginnings....major progress...)

"EGGS!!" squealed two children almost simultaneously.  They were standing atop of our swing set fort searching the leaves and all the children excitedly joined them.

We discussed eggs, animals and insects that laid eggs and the vocabulary word, "Oviparous."  We discovered that "oviarous" creatures all have the same thing in common, they lay eggs.

That spawned more questions...

"Are puppies "obipus" (yes I know the spelling is wrong :)) Ms. Donna?"

"No...puppies, kitties, and people are "mammals" because they have live babies, not eggs." 

"Oooohhhhh!!!" 

You can literally see their little brains churning as they raced around grabbing toy animals and bugs while asking if they were mammals or "obipus!"

Once it was time to return indoors the play continued with our dough.  They made dough leaves and eggs.  They counted the eggs, hatched the eggs, and added and subtracted the eggs (no papers required).

​This is math and science at play!

"Ms. Donna, how do you spell "egg?""  

"E....G....G..."

I wrote it on the chalkboard and they practiced on paper.  We furthered the learning with a letter "E" review, phonemic awareness, and more writing practice.  

It sounds like this took up an entire day.....

Really, it has taken up several days.  They want to know more and I am happy to make that happen through play.

I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!

​-L 

Assessments in Pre-k....

I hate them.

They turn commonsense parents into flash-card wielding crazies trying to stop their itty bitty from licking doorknobs long enough to learn their numbers in Chinese!  I have avoided 99% of standard assessments for this very reason.

Twenty years ago when I began my career as a licensed in-home childcare provider and preschool teacher, Pre-K assessments were unheard of.  

Preschool was a place for learning to share, walk in line, speak to others with manners, sit at a table and use utensils, napkins, and a cup properly.  We learned to clean up after one-self.  It was a place where block towers and rainbow yarn creations were the indicators of success.  


​Happy smiles, giggle filled days and dirty feet meant a GREAT day of learning and play.  

They still do for me...

However, increasingly, assessments are touted as indicators of preschool success and further predictor of academic readiness for an ever intense game of high-stakes testing resulting in whether or not schools receive funding.  Making certain that a child can perform certain tasks by a certain age has taken the place of a self-paced childhood and it makes me sad for children.  

I get it though.

As the mama to a newly graduated 5 year old, I wanted to make certain my child was keeping pace as well.  I got sucked into it for a little while.  I allowed myself to judge her learning curve by dates, graphs, and skill's checks.  

Then I remembered one of my favorite quotes, "Childhood is a journey, not a race."  (if you know who said this, let me know and I want to give them credit and hug them!)

I understand the need to intervene for children that may have yet to be diagnosed learning exceptions.  Assessments help hone us in to those and become aware of patterns of development for an individual child.  But make no mistake, they can be dangerous.  They can turn a parent or educator into a flash card dictator and a child into a mini-adult sputtering out memorized responses to obtain the attention of their affections.

It makes me sad, it truly does.

I can count, personally, many adults that did not do well on ANY academic assessment that have gone on to do amazing things as adults.  I am certain I am not alone in this...  

Regardless, assessments are the grade cards of Pre-K.  They have become the accepted practice of preschool teachers and programs all across the country.  I have seen many.  

 Most I cannot stand.

They make a child feel exhausted and embarrassed for what they cannot perform.  Maybe, this is the result of teachers that test instead of observe.  Maybe, it is the pressure to make certain little Jane's parents don't give them a bad Facebook review when Janie scores below a certain level on her entrance exam and (Don't even get me started on Kindergarten entrance exams...  When I was little if you were 5 and could keep your boogers out of your mouth, you were a shoo-in!)

Do you know that Princess Diana dropped out at 16?  Einstein didn't speak his FIRST WORDS until he was 4, he would have had an I.E.P, and an I.F.S.P., and a team of interventionists in today's world.  Even Colonel Sanders was forced to drop out of elementary school to take care of his family.  In my own extended family there are those that did not do well in school, dropped out, and are leading very successful lives. 

However, for properly trained teachers utilizing an observation and communication method, they can be helpful identifying areas of strength (and need) for little learners.

In my search to find those that fully allowed just that, I have come across a couple that I really to like and believe are beneficial to children and families.

http://www.mothergoosetime.com/assessment/progress-monitoring-reports/

These are my favorite (forget the fact that I am an MGT blogger for just a moment).  I decided to become a MGT blogger last summer after trying their curriculum.  It was so comprehensive.  It spanned all ages and always had something new and different.  There were days that we skipped it because it was a perfect 70 degrees and sunny, but overall, we used it up and wore it out!

They have also provided me with their assessments to critique.  I was skeptical when I unwrapped the "booklet."  I thought, "NO WAY!"  "This has to be a mistake...there are like 20 pages to this thing."  

Then I read it.....

Hallelujah!!!

Someone actually gets it.  Here is why:

They cover things like block building, puzzles, and math reasoning (not just numbers, adding, and subtracting).  They put Social/Emotional and Physical Development FIRST, right where I believe it should be...first and foremost.

They give it just as much emphasis as the academics portions of the assessment.  

Further...

The choices are not pass/fail.  The choices are developmentally appropriate, "Developing." "Meeting," and "Exceeding," because that is the true measure of a preschooler's development.  They are ALWAYS either developing, meeting, or exceeding a skill.  There is no such thing as "failing" at preschool and Mother Goose Time makes that obvious.

​Order it here:  http://www.mothergoosetime.com/assessment/progress-monitoring-reports/

This is the front and back of a one page assessment from Carol's Affordable Curriculum.  They have done a great job here of condensing main skills into a clip board size assessment that one could do throughout the day while observing their little learners at play.

The back side is for children from infancy through age 2 and covers milestones of development succinctly.

I can see using this one on a monthly basis and the Mother Goose Time assessments on an annual or bi-annual basis. 

​Get a copy of it here: ​http://www.carolscurriculum.com/

Assessments are to be seen as nothing more than snapshots of a moment.  They are not, in my opinion, an indicator of success.  They are a useful information to aid educators and parents of exceptional indicators and pinpointing areas of development.  

We should not, however, sacrifice childhood at the alter of assessment and that is what I fear for all children.  

​As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today... - L

Keeping fitness fun and active with a mixed age group can be a challenge in the winter months.  Climbing sofa's, chairs, and tables are a natural choice for toddlers, but not a safe one.  So, in fun fitness style we MAKE time for fitness play in pre-k!

We use these several times each day!  When the children begin to run in circles, or just dump toys (and not proceed to play with them), it is a physical signal to me that they are done with their current activity and are getting bored.  Taking a "brain break" is a perfect way to refocus that energy into a constructive and positive skill building activity that allows them to move, groove, and get their self-regulation back!  Any activity that engages multiple senses is good for this.  Brain breaks include listening and full body movement making it a perfect way to learn new songs!

These are the ones we use most often in our class!

Our Food and Fitness theme from Mother Goose Time curriculum has brought us lots of opportunities for new songs, dances, and fitness fun!  

Our children LOVE to dance.  They LOVE to be able to dance to these sweet videos and it gives the plenty of opportunity to develop body awareness, coordination, and balance.

Ms. Melissa brings new yoga games, poses, and music each month right to our class.  Our children then spend time several times each week recalling and practicing the lesson she has taught us.  We practice our listening and observation skills, our coordination and balance, our breathing and focus.  She uses shapes, songs, ribbons, game cards and makes each lesson achievable for our mixed age group.

Most of our children participate in the group lessons.  We do have a few that just rather observe from the side than participate..  (And that's just fine too!)

Mr. Ninja makes his lessons incredible for our little one's aged 18 months-5 years.  Ever tried holding the attention of 10 children of that age span?  Mr. Ninja does a super job.....  The children just light up when they are allowed to punch, kick, chop, break boards, and yell (and it is encouraged!!!)  What a great confidence builder for our sweet babes!

Keeping little bodies busy when the weather is less than cooperative can be an opportunity for music, movement, and lessons that result in increased skills, balance, confidence, and fitness for preschool children.  We love the indoor winter months when we get creative and get moving!

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

In the summer I set out to find just the right curriculum for my little mixed age group.  It always seemed like I was burning the midnight oil prepping for the upcoming days.  That journey led me to researching the top rated children's curriculum that were hands-on with activities that would prepare my soon to be Kindergartners to be ready for school as well as meet the needs of my little toddling ones.  
I finally settled on four top companies, wrote to them and asked if they would be interested in an honest review of their products.  They all were delighted and quickly shipped out the curriculum.  This review is the final one of the four part series and will go into detail about what you can expect from Carol's Affordable Curriculum.

First, let me say, "WOW!"

I could tell that Carol, the CEO of CAC (Carol's Affordable Curriculum) had to have been a licensed in-home childcare provider in her previous life.  

That's not to say that it wouldn't be suited for a center.  It absolutely would.  But Carol takes painstaking efforts to come up with daily lessons that appeal to a wide age range and ability.  Not only that, she provides a monthly menu (that looks to me like it would be approved by the food program saving the provider HOURS of food planning), tips and tricks for growing your business, and a self-assessment checklist that really makes you stop and think about how you are presenting yourself to your children and clients.  

This page right here.  This one made me squeal out loud!  This was also the ONE SINGLE PAGE that told me Ms. Carol had walked in our shoes.  That she understood exactly what the day of the in-home childcare provider was like.  

Why?

Not one other curriculum included this page.  This is a major time saver for me.  A menu.....FOR A MONTH!  

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!

Maybe I am easy to please.  Maybe I should get out more often....maybe....just maybe....Carol get's it!

Yep...that's the one.  She has walked a mile in our shoes.  So she includes this major time saver.  I can take this bad boy to the store with me and use it as a meal planner AND my shopping list.  You know what?  She even includes recipes!  

Carol's Affordable Curriculum is amazingly affordable.  There are monthly child and self assessments, training, printables, books, projects, songs, fingerplays, puppets, crafts, language arts, math, science, and social/emotional skill builders in a well organized, easy to follow, and age appropriate curriculum.  For just a bit more than a buck a week, your program can have a professional grade, prepared curriculum!

http://www.carolscurriculum.com/_

We value the process of art here at Woolsey Academy.  Messy hands, messy faces, mixed colors of paint, play dough and glitters.  We seldom have any project that doesn't involve some sort of clean up.  This "process" of creating is where many respected associations in ECE will say we need to remain.  They will say that , "It is the process of creating that is of value, not the end result."  The will further ascertain that "No two projects should look alike, as no two students have the same abilities."  

The NAEYC - National Association for the Education of Young Children says:

"Characteristics of process-focused art experiences• There are no step-by-step instructions
• There is no sample for children to follow
• There is no right or wrong way to explore and create
• The art is focused on the experience and on exploration of techniques, tools, and materials
• The art is unique and original
• The experience is relaxing or calming
• The art is entirely the children’s own
• The art experience is a child’s choice
• Ideas are not readily available online" - http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences
They state the following about "product-focused" art:

"Characteristics of product-focused art experiences• Children have instructions to follow
• The teacher created a sample for children to copy
• There’s a right and a wrong way to proceed
• There’s a finished product in mind
• The children’s finished art all looks the same
• The children experience frustration
• The teacher might “fix mistakes”
• The whole class took part in an art project at the same time
• Patterns and examples are readily available online" -http://www.naeyc.org/tyc/article/process-art-experiences

Do I believe that the NAEYC is wrong?  Nooooo.....maybe just over simplifying "product-focused" what children can gain from "product-focused" art.  Maybe we should rename it "step-by-step process art" that is appropriate for preschool aged children, remove the assumption that teachers "fix mistakes" and insert the understanding that many older preschool children really do want to make a "project." 

First, let me explain that I don't believe that it's all "project" or "product."  I don't know of any teachers (personally) that create a picture, tell a child there is a "right or wrong" way to do it, fix "mistakes" or are only interested in the finished product.  That sounds a bit too "black and white" to me.  I do believe, however, that there is a happy child somewhere in between.  I further do not know of even one preschool that doesn't have cute "similar" pictures from it's students lining the halls.  Why is that???  If children are only "frustrated" by "product-focused, done-at-the-same-time-group-art?"  Are hundreds of thousands of children being forced to "art?"  

As children get older (in my experience), they want to know, "What are we making today?"  They WANT to create something with a discernible beginning, middle, and end.  I believe that product art gives children that are seeking this predictability  an outlet.  Just try telling some of my 5 year old's, "Make anything you want!"  They will get together, discuss what to make, then all try to make something that looks similar!!  Sometimes they want "process art" but often, they want a step-by-step process.  They are "rule" seeking as is appropriate for their age.  They exhibit this in their pretend and play through games, assigning roles, and making up rules.  This is beneficial and typical of a 4-6 year old.  

In each of the above photos the children have received similar art materials to create with.  These projects are primarily provided by Mother Goose Time and go along with their MANY opportunities for process-focused art.  There is a picture available of what the "product" looks like.  They are then allowed to glue, cut, stick, color, paint, tape, and place parts where ever they see fit.  

Yes, sometimes a child becomes frustrated.  However, in my experience, children with a "process only" free art center also deal with frustration when their picture, painting, dough mold, or taping process isn't turning out the way they wanted it to.  I have come to believe, in my 20+ years as a child care provider and preschool teacher that it is the focus of the teacher and how that individual teaches the child to handle frustration that is one of the most important factors in the process of art, math, science, social/emotional skill building, literature.....DAY of a preschooler or toddler.  

You see, each and every moment in the life of a toddler or preschooler is a process of learning and a product of experiences.  

In the article, "Why We Should Stop Segregating Children By Age" in Psychology Today, author Peter Gray, PhD explains, " Children are especially interested in, and ready to learn from, those others who are a little older than themselves, a little farther along in their development, but not too far along."  Product art is just one of the ways younger children enjoy learning from older children.  I find that when I allow older children to assist younger children, frustration is GREATLY reduced regardless of whether we are engaging in art, science, counting, circle time, etc.  

I believe that both product art and process art have a place in the ECE setting.  

One allows a child to put together a project like reading a recipe.  When we bake, cook, make pizza's, cookies, etc., we read the recipe.  My little bakers are all there to lend a hand, pour, measure, and stir ingredients, hypothesize about what will happen as we mix, measure, stir and pour.  Likewise, I believe there is value (age appropriate) in learning to follow directions by cutting out the circle first, placing it on top of the rectangle, and then placing the ovals we cut out yesterday around the perimeter of the circle to make a flower.    

Will my one year old's be able to do this?  No.  I wouldn't expect them too.  Will they have a 5 year old sitting with them, helping them excitedly?  YOU BET!  This benefits both children.  The younger child gets to participate as he or she wants as they come and go from the table at will.

 The older child that has grown up with me and now understands words like "first", "second", and "perimeter" gets to make their flower and then enthusiastically hand their little partner his/her flower while exclaiming, "Here's yours!!"  "Look what I made for you!!"  Both children are excited.  Both children get to participate.  Both children benefit.  This is one of my favorite things about a mixed age group.  As the younger children gain more understanding, they begin to say, "Me do!"  and the "process" of independent art creation grows.

All art whether it has an end product or not can be beneficial when freedom of time and expression are provided by a loving and educated teacher that is focused on a child's engagement and sensory experience.  

As always, I wish you well, and I hope you get to play today!

​-L

​

We're not afraid of messes around here.  Dough, paints, glue, cooking.....they are all a part of our daily play.  Age doesn't matter, ability doesn't mean a thing....everyone gets to play.  Everyone gets to explore.  Everyone has opportunities to experience making a mess.  

It is healthy.  Kids will wash.  This pic was taken during our paint your own beetle project during our study of the Savannah by Mother Goose Time.  These experiences actually do grow their abilities, build pathways in their bitty brains, and expand their motor skills, and engage their senses.  What could possibly be wrong with that?  

Adults...

All too often the response to messy play is, "Not on my watch!"  We want clean classrooms, quiet children, glowing hands and faces.  I have been guilty of this myself.  There are times when you look at the paint bottles and think, "10 children x 10 fingers + 4 bellies + 30 paint brushes (add walls, tables, chairs, squealing toddlers running in glee while outwitting 2 experienced teachers) = 2 weeks of cleaning.....ummmm...let's read a book!  Yeah...books are good for them...let's read!!"  

But, just add coffee (to the teachers) and get out the paints.  It's time for some LEARNING!

Fortunately, the parents of Woolsey Academy kiddos know that their children WILL get messy.  They will have play dough fingers, painted ears, markered little lips, and a glue smudge here and there.  Best of all, they encourage it!  

This is a "hands-on" place of learning.  A place that loves to take lots of pictures of messy kids, crazy clean-ups, and giggling teachers with a little bit of fear in their eyes (the rebels are staging a coup!).  

It's all good "clean" fun!!  

Best of all,,,,it's the OPTIMAL way that children learn.​

See that....there isn't a sad face in the bunch.  When the learning is hands-on, the emotions follow.  We don't have to make the children "sit at the table and learn" when the play dough, paints, or glitter glue is in the mix.  

Why is that??  What draws them in??

This article from Dyslexia Support Services at the following link does a great job of explaining the various learning aspects of the simple art of finger painting.  Why it is vital and what it teaches.  At the bottom is the paint recipe I am making right now!

http://dyslexiasupportservices.com.au/pdf_files/FingerPainting.pdf_

"Personal, Social, Emotional and Language Development

When children paint with their fingers they can create whatever they want. It’s easy to succeed and children gain great satisfaction, self-esteem and confidence through participating in this activity, especially as there is no pressure to produce a recognisable end product. As well as being enjoyable it is also a very calming, relaxing activity. If more than one child is painting they learn to share materials, observe and learn from each other and give feedback to each other.

They will be developing their language by discussing what they are doing, asking questions, talking about colours and textures.

Physical Development

Finger painting encourages the development of hand–eye co-ordination and spatial awareness. It will develop fine motor skills when the children are working on small areas and develops gross motor skills when working on large areas.

Science and Art

Through finger painting children are learning how to express themselves, their ideas and emotions visually. They are learning about texture, colour and shape. They will learn, by discovery, how colours combine to produce a new colour, for example mixing red and yellow will produce orange. If they help you to make the paint they will be learning about how materials can change and react together.

Finger Paint can be quite expensive therefore I have provided a recipe that is really cheap and easy to make and just as effective and enjoyable:

Finger Paint

1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. corn flour
cold water to dissolve the cornflour
Food colouring

Method  Dissolve the cornflour with a little cold water in cold water in a cup.  Boil ½ cup of water in a small pan, then turn down the heat  Add the cornflour mixture to boiling water, stirring constantly  Heat the mixture until it thickens and becomes glossy  Add food colouring and cool completely before using. "  ​http://dyslexiasupportservices.com.au/pdf_files/FingerPainting.pdf_

Painting, play dough, mud, water, sand play all have the same effect on the learning process in the brain.  They are valuable and vital to early childhood.  

This is why we do what we do and have a TON of fun in the process.

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!

-L

Even when the winter winds blow, we find a way to fit moving and grooving into each day.  Ice, snow, no matter.....from Karate to Yoga, we've got it covered!

The winter months can present such a challenge for large muscle play in Pre-K.  On days when the temperatures dip too low for outside play, we make a way for little bodies to stay healthy, fit, and active.  

There is no sadder child than the one stuck at a table doing worksheets all day; nothing that will induce, "I'm boooooored!" faster than a five year old tracing letters and numbers on end.  Heaven knows we can't have that!!  

This awesome child's yoga poster came from Mother Goose Time as a part of their Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day "Peace Party" pack.  It is now a permenant part of our classroom and posted on the wall above our "Safe Place" or cool down area.  This is the little bench were children relax and regroup if they are out of sorts.  We have our calm down jars, our Peaceful Poses poster and game spinner, some books and soft dolls and the children seem to respond to this very well.  

The children in my mixed age setting are 16 months - 5 years.  The littlest ones simply move in and out of the group, sticking little bums up in the air during Downward Dog and joyously hopping around during Warrior Poses.  It is an incredible experience for them to have such a child focused teacher.  She makes it even more fun with "Snowman Pose," "Sled Pose," and making "Snowflake Soup."  I can't think of a better was to incorporate music and movement into some indoor large motor play.  Kuddos to our AMAZING yoga instructor Ms. Melissa!!

Mr. Denton Henrichs, aka Mr. Ninja, gives these kiddos a great outlet for punching, kicking, chopping, and using those big powerful muscles, especially when we can't make it to the slides and swings.  Look at that focus!  These children are aged 3-5!  Mr. Ninja also teaches at The Squatting Monkey.

We freeze dance, bunny hop, work out the wiggles with silly songs and chants, take "bear hunts" and don coats, hats, and gloves for even a few minutes of outdoor play as much as possible.  There are so many fun ways to engage little bodies and get them away from table time.  It is essential for growing brains and actually aids attention for children to PLAY!  

We are so fortunate to have a community that loves it's children and are willing to provide lessons that are preschool appropriate with love. 

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!

​-L

This time of year the natives are RESTLESS!  It's cold.  It's icy.  It's icky, rainy, stuck-inside, too-cold-to-breathe kind of days of winter. 

The children get grumpy.  They get cabin fever.  I get cabin fever.  We are a "play in the muck with flip flops and trucks" kind of crew.  

But we can't....

This is the time of year that tests the most creative teacher.  If the "dog days of summer" are long and hard, these should be called the "wicked days of winter." It's charge is to keep the rebels at bay with arts and crafts, songs a plenty, and enough play dough to drown a Weebles bus!  

Fun studies like our Animals of the Savannah by Mother Goose Time help keep little minds learning and busy bodies moving!  

Ohhhh.....Emmmm....Geeee.....  

​Too much cute to bottle up in one little pic!!  These kiddos just keep up hoppin'!  They LOVED making some toilet paper roll binoculars!  As you can see it didn't take them long to use them...

This was such a simple little project from MGT.  It just took two toilet paper sized rolls, a strip of paper long enough to wrap around them, a long piece of yarn and glue.  

LOTS OF GLUE!

As a HUGE believer in letting littles DIY, each child is provided their own bottle of glue to squeeze, squish, and puddle when the project calls for it.  This one was a huge hit due to the "glue factor" of a solid 10!  It took a LOT of glue to get the paper to adhere to the rolls well enough for the binoculars to take shape.  We then poked a couple of holes, tied off the yarn and BINGO was his NAME-O, we have some Savannah worthy binoculars!

No study of the Savannah would be complete without some fierce lions!  Here we are busily making our lions masks and practicing our lion ROARS!  

This easy peasy project from www.mothergoosetime.com was the perfect mix of arts and crafts, fine motor skills, and science.  We discussed the lions mane and that the lioness does not have a mane.  We observed the colors and sounds of lions.

We used the provided yellow construction paper and cut them into many strips of differing sizes.  After instructing the children to glue the strips "around" the paper plate circle we just put it all in the middle of the table and watched them pretend, play, and create!!

  
We listened to the sounds that a zebra makes and the children were all chatty and giggly trying out their ability to make a zebra sound!  This is the Youtube video we used in class to practice being a zebra.  

This led to ALL sorts of questions about zebras.  What do they eat?  Where do they live?  Can we ride them?  We learned that zebras stay together for "camouflage" (new science vocabulary word) and that no two zebra's stripes are the same.  They are each unique just like us.

We learned that zebras eat grass mostly, but also like leaves and in the zoo will eat fruit as well.  We visited this site that has a TON of great animal facts for children 

http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/mammals/zebra

In addition to all the fun animal studies we did over the past two weeks. We also practiced the letters "Z: for Zebra, "S" for snake, and the numbers "9" and "10."  We made new play dough and observed our animal tracks in the dough along with truck and train tracks.  All in all we have had a busy two weeks of PLAY!  

As always....I wish you well and I hope you get to play today!

​-L

During the holidays children are exposed to so many new sounds that are unique to this time of year.  Children that may never otherwise hear violins, pianos, harps, an orchestra or live band have the opportunity to explore new sounds, make observations, and investigate experiences that they will have to wait another year to again be acquainted with.  We don't mean to deny the sounds of live music...it just isn't as present as it used to be in our culture anymore with the invent of the internet.  Concerts, songs, and instruments that they may not hear during the remainder of the year can be an immersion lesson that can spark a new found interest in music and instruments.

I even strive to include these experiences in their circle times during December, but I never have made the sounds a primary focus.  I was thrilled with this sweet little study called, "The Sounds of Winter," by Mother Goose Time, and my children were as well.  

LOOK AT THAT!  

This little cutie pie is only 3 and learned that a violin has a bow, a neck, a body, and strings!  She had the opportunity to "play" her violin, make it glittery (we are all about the glitter!), and hear music played on a violin.  I no longer owned my childhood violin (frowny face here), but we pulled up some stringed arrangments on YouTube and allowed the children some time to experience the difference of the music they were hearing as they watched the orchestra play.

Our Christmas "show" is coming up as well, and the "Sounds of Winter," has given us lots of opportunities to bang on our pots and pans, listen to guitars, drums, violins, cello's and trumpets.  a

The "Sounds of Winter" has been a perfect fit for the very first week of December.

During our week of the "Sounds of Winter," we made a kazoo, a tambourine, a drum, a bell and a violin!  We listed to instrumental arrangements of these as well and even brought out the pots, pans, and spoon band to practice for our upcoming Christmas show as we discussed and practiced  rhythm.  

During this week we have also introduced the letters "V" for violin and "M" is for Music by practicing letter recognition of both upper and lower case letters, writing them in our journals, and pointing them out during our daily reading times!

We have been diligently rehearsing our drumming (on my very pretty and multi-functional pots and pans to this little tune.  Our "version" is heavy on the drumming....but pretty light on the actual singing!!

Our newest book, Mississippi Musicians was the perfect compliment to this study and the children LOVE the plot twist at the end!

Leslie Falconer hit another home run with this fun book, "Mississippi Musicians!"  It has great illustrations and is LONG....but the story line goes along so well that my little preschooler's ask for it again and again.  It gives them lots of opportunity to ask questions as we read like, "Why did the farmer say the donkey was useless?"  

The story is a book about some misplaced animals that no longer served their purpose to their owners, so they set out to follow their dreams of becoming a blues band.  Along their journey they run into a band of thieves and have to pull together their courage and imagination to defeat their fears and realize their goals.  Its a filled with adventure, animal sounds, silly moments, and sweet success of helping one another at the end!

I had to snap a quick pic of this one PRIOR to the play!  This is such a fun and simple way to add a bit of science into the learning week!  In this little lesson we discussed how different levels of water is called "volume" (great vocabulary builder!!) and we observed that with different volume's come different sounds.  This eventually did end up ALL over the table, but it was very fun while it lasted and well worth the clean up!

It is my usual fashion to explain the research behind every activity we choose to spend our time on here at preschool.  With a mix age group ranging from 1-5 years, we have lots of opportunities for experiencing education through play in a variety of ways. 

Music in the early years play a special role in brain development.  It has been proven to increase listening skills which is imperative for young children learning self-regulation.  Researchers have found that, "songs and chants that enhance rhythm and rhyme; opportunities for aural discrimination — listening skills — that strengthen neural pathways for language learning; tonal-pattern and rhythm-pattern dialogue for improvised musical conversations; movement emphasizing flow, weight, space and time; playing and exploring simple instruments; and use of props, such as scarves and bean bags, to nurture rhythmic and expressive awareness.” - See more at: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/07/041.html#sthash.1WDnCLDE.dpuf

That's powerful!

Music grabs the attention of the listener and creates the pathways for increased listening and learning skills. 

We have experienced this again and again at Woolsey Academy as the children are easily excited, soothed, or transitioned with the help of songs, chants, and music.

We will be continuing our "Sounds of Winter" far past Christmas, but for now, it has been an energetic and fun filled week that has easily engaged all ages!  

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today! - L

Unplanned teachable moments happen ALL the time in our little world.  But one little lesson that I believe holds a significant amount of value is "repairing the broken."  

It's so easy to want things to be black and white.  It's tempting to want to apply a "one size fit's all" rule for everything.

If it's broken get rid of it.  

I have been guilty of this.  With 10 children in my mixed age, licensed childcare and preschool, it's EASY for things to become a bit less than perfect.  With good intentions I often will put the broken aside on a "to be fixed" shelf, awaiting it's turn for repair, new batteries, a little tape, and sometimes the hopes of my graceful father to give me much needed advice on those things beyond my ability to understand and repair on my own.

And so they sit.....waiting.....

Then, after months of being on the "someday I will," I throw the broken...along with all my good intentions to the curb.  

Then the questions begin, "Ms. Donna, why do you frow (throw) dat (that) out?"  "Ms. Donna, where is 'such and such' toy?"  "Mr. Donna, I wiked (liked) dat!!!"  (no the Mr. isn't a typo!)  

Those broken things had special meaning to the ones that loved them.  Meaning that I didn't understand, but they did.  They held memories, attachments, and yet to be uncovered potential that I had not realized.  

Those responses do not trouble me as much, however, as the ones I begin to see in my older children.  A toy breaks and they respond with, "It's broke!"  "Throw it away!!"  Instead of even asking or trying to fix the item, they assume that a tear, a misplaced doll arm, or slight blemish means the item is now worthless.  THIS is the outcome of my rash actions that is concerning.  

The attitude that imperfections, problems, loss of original purpose = trash.

Further, that everything is dispensable if it is no longer perfect.  

It concerns me that my lack of follow through or quick decision making when a toy is broken to the point of being unsafe is so easy to throw away.  I don't like seeing the resulting "unplanned teachable moment" of instilling life lessons into little hearts that could spell big trouble when real life problems arise and the determination of "worth fixing" is taken so lightly.

After all, play is simply children practicing for adulthood in a way that they can comprehend, right?!

It's a bit hard to tell what's happening in the above pictures.  We received this sweet little book from Mother Goose Time.  It was about a duck that needed help to get some creme for his hurt webbed feet and all the ways he tried to catch a ride.  The children LOVED it.  The problem....the third time we read the book, the binding fell apart and pages scattered on the floor.  They are a great company and offered to replace it.  "No....I like it just the way it is." I said.

The children squealed, "It's BROKEN!"  "I don't want that book anymore!  I HATE it!" (preschoolers have a way of wearing their tiny hearts on their sleeves when they feel scared or disappointed)  "Frow it away!"  "What if we fix it?" I said.  

Ahhhhh....is that opportunity I hear knocking?  Yes, yes, it is.  I used this an an opportunity to teach the children that no matter how bad it looks, we can make it better by our choices.  (Big lesson for little hearts.)  

Out came the fix and out came the helpers.  Tape rules in Pre-K world!

Each child insisted on taking turns helping once they saw what the tape could do.  Once they understood HOW we were going to fix our problem AND that it really was working, they ALL wanted to take part. All they needed was to see it working...they needed a little understanding to WANT to make the effort.

PERFECTION in the imperfections....that's a wonderful feeling.

They had such a sense of pride in their accomplishments as an itty bitty team.  They did a great job.  Sure the book wasn't the same, pages were a bit out of order, nothing lined up quite like it had before, and it was certainly far from perfection, but they were beaming!  We saved our book and it took it's proud place among our other beloved treasures....imperfections and all.

We can take the broken and make it better.  We can handle imperfections.  Life, and all it's challenges, doesn't have to be perfect to be worth it.  

Isn't that what we want to teach them....even through our play? 

As always, I wish you well and I hope you get to play today. - L