Why Not?

I love it when children make discoveries all on their own. It reminds me that the children's personal discovery can lead to new and amazing things. Reminding me that my job as a caregiver is to provide them opportunities and environment that is inspirational and promotes self discovery. 

So when the children discovered that the long big blue tubes work well to blow bubbles in the water, in a way that a straw can be used to blow bubbles in milk, I was eager to share it with our little blogging community.

So why not blow some bubbles?

Whaaaa?

We have been all inflicted with 'the sniffles' over the last few weeks, and it has made us all feel pretty miserable and sad. So I had to share the trick I used to get on the other side of the congestion. No, this post is not really related to our adventures, but it's worth a share.

It's called the Cold Sock Treatment, and before you completely write it off, I have to tell you it seemed to have worked for me. I have done it before, as a suggestion from a friend, so I thought i'd give it a go. Sometimes we just have to try things, just because nothing else works. I don't know the exact science behind it, but from what I understand it rushes the blood to your feet immediately, to counteract the freezing cold feet you have. It seems to be related to the swelling in your nose, and drains the swelling very quickly, thus making it easier to breathe again.

Who doesn't love a good foot soak? Foot soaks, even for children have their added benefits, they are especially useful just before bed time, as they are known to slow down anxiety, and that racing brain, which, let's face it, children do suffer from, just the same as adults. A good warm foot soak is great for everyone in the winter months, just to get the chill out of our bodies.

The cold sock treatment does a lot for the congestion, but still seems to leave the fogginess and tiredness behind, all the things that make us quite miserable... this is the part that breaks my heart when the children are ill.

To counteract the fogginess, I upped my vitamin D intake, and that seems to have REALLY helped.

Of course the best thing is to get outdoors. Breathe in the nice fresh air. Keeping your children inside makes them restless and lethargic, and it increases their chances of getting sick. Children need to be outside EVERY DAY!

Frost

“Frost grows on the window glass, forming whorl patterns of lovely translucent geometry.

Breathe on the glass, and you give frost more ammunition.

Now it can build castles and cities and whole ice continents with your breath’s vapor.

In a few blinks you can almost see the winter fairies moving in . . .

But first, you hear the crackle of their wings.” 

― Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

We have been preparing for the day, but it still tricked us anyway. We talked about how one morning we would wake up, and there would be white all over the grass. It will look like snow, but it won't be snow. We talked about what frost was, we talked about the sounds it would make, we talked about how it would feel.

So on the day that we got our first frost, it still tricked us! It goes to show that it really makes a difference when the children see, feel and hear it for themselves. It all makes sense now.

Under Observation

We discovered a weed recently. I don't know how we didn't notice it before... perhaps because it went the way that weeds go, and shot right out of the ground. It's right there beside our door. It's massive!! It's taller than some of the children. Rather than pulling out the weed. We have decided to use it for a science experiment. So we are observing it right now.

We have been tracking the growth over the last few weeks, and we are astounded to see how much it grows each week (at least 3inches!!!)

It was originally in our greenhouse, and we were measuring it on the greenhouse wall. Some children felt it would grow more if it got some rain on it, so the greenhouse was removed.

But.... a day after writing this blog post, while it was sitting in the draft box.... it suffered a rather sad demise. With the removal of the green house it was left to defend itself, and it accidentally got crushed under a fall. 

*Good news though, the children have still chosen to observe the weed. The prediction is: as long as it stays green it will come back to life, but if it turns brown, then... all hope is lost. 

So with the last few days being clear and sunny, the children have taken to watering the weed. The observation is still in process.

Barefoot Benefits in the Cold Months

WE LOVE BAREFEET!!!!
We've talked about it before... going barefoot has HUGE benefits. I believe in walking barefoot. It try to do it as often as I can... and I try to do it as much as I can outside.
A friend of mine is a Reflexologist, and her and I have had some rather exciting conversations about the benefits of barefoot walking, and the improvements it makes on our general well being. Another friend of mine is from New Zealand and is living here in our lovely province. When I look at her, she is always barefoot. So I asked her about this one day. She explained that in New Zealand the children are always go barefoot. Even at school. It's pretty typical for the children to walk into their classroom in the morning and take off their shoes and socks and go barefoot for the rest of the day... inside and out. This explains why every Kiwi I meet seems to be chill and relaxed. *wink, wink* At first I thought, "it would be nice to have such a mild climate, so we could do that year round." But i'm learning a bit more about New Zealand, and it's not that far off of our own climate.
So with that being said, I was looking for alternatives to reap the benefits of going barefoot for these unfavourable months. So when my reflexologist friend shared this fantastic video, I wondered how I could get my hands on these health pathways, or even how to make this into a project with the children.
In the mean time, I perhaps by fluke, came across these fantastic foot massagers. I probably bought too many, but there is a project a-brewing!

Celebration

Whoooeeee, it's been a while. The children and I are 'hopefully' on the other end of this nasty cold that has been going around. For those of you that were lucky enough to have missed it, consider yourself blessed! It was a doozy! It's been hanging on with a couple of the children, and it's a bit hard to kick, not to mention it made us all feel miserable. It breaks my heart to see them ill, and sad, so i'm glad we're nearing the end *hopefully* Heading outdoors has been the best form of defense, I can offer, these last few weeks, it really clears our heads, and revitalizes us!

Now back to what we've been up to. Thinking back a few months now, the children and I came across a picture in a Nursery Rhyme book we have. It corresponded with the Rhyme that goes like this:

"Hoddley, Poddley, puddles and fogs,the cats are to marry the poodle dogs.

Cats in blue jackets, and dogs in red hats, what will become of the mice and the rats."

The children were fascinated with the picture, and this fascination welcomed some inspiration.

So it took a few weeks of planning, but we put together a tea party to mimic the picture. The plan was to include the mommies and the daddies, and it was to include EVERY food item in the picture. Including the wedding cake (with three 'apartments' aka tiers). The children wanted the juice in a bowl, and tarts, and sandwiches. And most importantly it HAD TO BE OUTSIDE!!! (children after my own heart!) Some children wanted to wear red hats... and sadly this did not happen, my bad, I completely forgot about this part.

So it took a bit of preparation and planning. It took me a while to figure out how to include the children in the wedding cake process. In the end, I think they did a fabulous job. Because we had lots of prep to do, and also because I wasn't sure how to make a wedding cake have 'apartments' I baked and covered the cakes, and got them ready for stacking. The children decorated the cake with silk flowers.

It was the first real 'Fall Day' so it was a good thing that we did it when we did... it was chilly, but dry! It was lots of fun!

Hopes and Dreams

"Stay Strong" ~ Amanda Todd

I tried to access a link to another caregiver's blog the other day, but I could not get to it. The title of the post that was written was "Two Heartaches~One Hope". I knew it was a post in reference to two stories of heartaches that were in the news this week. And without reading the post, I know that one of those stories was in reference to Amanda Todd's suicide. 

While I don't like to share such horrible news, it's something that has me wondering where things are going. While I am no expert in this regard, her story touched me deeply, and one that made me think about the future of each one of the children in my care.

We have alot to learn from Amanda's story. She was hurting, she was in sad, she had unimaginable feelings of worthlessness, and pain. It became too much for her. 

In a world of social media, and instant communication, we have so much more to watch and be aware of when it comes to children's well being. The base of the matter is: children's self esteem needs to be fostered and their self worth needs to be nurtured. Self Esteem does not come naturally, so it needs to be developed from a young age. For further information on how we can build up self esteem in young children you can read more here. 

So it is my hope and dream for children everywhere that they grow to be individuals that know their own uniqueness and their importance in this world. It is also my hope and dream that they grow in a world that is free from this terror and turmoil. It is my hope and dream that boys and girls everywhere grow up in a world that values them and cares for them, and they value and care for others in return. It is my hope that, in the words of Amanda Todd, they STAY STRONG!

“Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” 
― Judy Garland

Solitary Play

"Play is the highest form of research' ~Albert Einstein

For a few months a 9 year old boy named Caine has had a video circulating about his little arcade he put together out of boxes. It's a touching video with wonderful inspiration and hope behind it.

It's has had me thinking, since the time I saw it, about solitary play, and boredom. I remember a simple phrase that a wonderful and passionate contributor to the childcare community share at a workshop I attended with her, "Children need to be given opportunities to be bored." I don't know if she realizes the impact that simple statement had on me, but it has stuck with me. Boredom promotes creativity and imagination. Children that are given these opportunities are more likely to think 'outside the box.' They are presented with more opportunities to learn through play. They are also pushed into a mode of looking for something to do themselves, something to play with, or thoughts to reflect on. They are not told what to do, play or think.

Children that are given opportunities to engage in solitary play also develop their own unique personalities and develop their own identities, it takes the pressure off. Engaging in group play is important and provides opportunities to problem solve and feed off of each other's imaginations. We are social creatures, so we thrive on interaction.  But often we forget that solitary play is as equally as important. And Boredom encourages solitary play and self reflection AND self regulation.

So back to that simple little video of Caine's creative and impressive arcade. It is an amazing creation that young boy put together, essentially out of something to do. I can't help but think that it's something impressive because it's somewhat unusual these days. In the days of multitudes of commercialized toys and games, children struggle to play in an open ended fashion. Items that promote creativity and imagination provoke learning, and spontaneity. There is no limit to the play that a child engages in.  

I've spoken of the environment being the third teacher before, and it's something I am truly passionate about. The children at Perfect Harmony are starting to get used to coming in after a weekend (or an evening of spontaneous inspiration) to a classroom that has been flipped around and back to front, and inside out. It certainly sparks the children's thinking, and allows them to look at things in a different light. It also encourages them to contribute to the layout and furniture configuration. 

So with all that in mind, boredom awaits and with it comes inspiration!!!

Children Inspiring Children

We are very blessed to have the Wonder of Learning Exhibit in Vancouver right now. I have been twice now, and plan to go back at least once more before the exhibit moves on in December. It's an inspiring space, and there is so much to take from it. I love how the exhibit shows how valued the children are. It is something I try to work towards.
So I decided it was an opportunity, this last time, to invest in the Wonder of Learning book. I felt the exhibit has so much to offer and it is overwhelming. The book is on display at our centre. It's not obvious, but it's there. It has been my intention to share the book with the children. I would prefer to take them to see the real thing, but it's not possible at the moment.
So this afternoon, the children were waiting their turn for the bathroom, and one child spotted the book. So we sat and flipped through the book.
The children in our program are creative, critical thinkers. They learn through play, and their play is valued. So I was interested to see how the children would react to seeing other children play in an environment similar to their own. The children of Reggio are in a group centre much like our own, they play just like we do, they have struggles just like we do. There is nothing 'special' about them, they are as unique as we are. So I was curious to see how the children would react to the pictures. We have only looked at a small portion of the book, as it's something I hope to return to as we go along.
The first picture was of children in an empty room. I asked the children what they would do if they were in an empty room. The response was unanimous: RUN!!! We then looked at the next picture, and the children in the photo were clearly running. Aha!
The following page showed children running through a room full of columns.  The children sat wide-eyed looking at that photo for a long time.... silent, just looking. This group is not silent EVER, so something has touched them. I asked them how they felt about that picture. It was apparent that each of the children seemed to have transported themselves into the picture, imagining. I asked them if they like to run like these children, and the response was Yes!
So I wonder where this will take us? We have some thinking to do!

'Pyramids.... I mean, Apartments!'

'It is never too late to have a happy childhood.'  ~Tom Robbins

A number of months ago I scored big time on my daily search through craigslist. I found a wonderful, amazing, fantastic, incredible set of blocks! Blocks are one of those things that as the classroom environment changes and rotates, they remain a constant. They are always there. In some form. Although there are days that they sit unused, they are generally the most versatile. This week our little class pet, Velveeta, needed to stretch her legs. So the children worked together to make a little enclosure for her to jump around in. There's a plethora of ways blocks can be used!

But, to enhance our block experience, we have some old cable reels donated to us by a dad. They too, have been a constant in our centre. They are used quite frequently, and mostly because they make the BIGGEST and TALLEST tower.... quickly and efficiently. On a side note, they also make the LOUDEST and EARTHSHATTERING sound as they tumble to the ground. 

So in the last few weeks the children have been taking to building up the tower, and shouting, 'Take shelter, take shelter!' To which everyone (including me... I learned my lesson) runs for cover (it always reminds me of an earthquake drill). Meanwhile, one brave soul hangs back to knock the tower over. 

These towers have progressed into some amazing forms. They are no longer towers, but 'apartments' (sometimes confused with 'pyramids'... they sound the same, I get it). These apartments are thoroughly furnished and engineered. Gone are the days of quick stacking and knocking them over, it has become quite an art.

Lessons from nature

A brother and sister team arrived one morning with a large stack of leaves.
We were curious about the variety, but were also curious about the sizes, there were some rather large ones in the stack!
So naturally the children sorted them biggest to smallest.
Who says that we don't learn anything from leaves?

Beavers EVERYWHERE!!!

It appears we've been infested with beavers!!!! After noticing a curious little design on a friend's shirt, it turned into an all out search for all the beavers we have in our little school. Interestingly, I didn't think we had even this many. We recently introduced 'Bizzy Beaver' to our group circle, so that was an easy one, but it seems that it didn't stop there. 

Don't Forget....

We read a story about an elephant that forgets everything. In the story her friends suggested she tie a string around her trunk to remember to go to her dance class. 

Shortly after the story a child asked if I had a string he could use. 

Once I found some I gave him the roll of yarn. He snipped off a short piece and it was only when he struggled to tie it to his finger, and asked me for help, that I learned what the purpose was. He told me he needed to remember to look for something when he went home. 

A-Ha!

A Lesson in Gravity

A few weeks ago the children started making streams and river and inlets and lakes and and and and..... It was pretty apparent that the children discovered a new interest.
In our sand pit we have a rain barrel ready and waiting for the children to explore and play with water.
A few months ago I placed some rain gutters in the sandpit, and the children used them here and there, but didn't really take to them. In fact, when they initially used the gutters the children tried pouring the water into the low end, and the effect was lost on the children as the water immediately ran out 'backwards'.
So it was when I brought out the hammer and the nail, and a few pieces of wood, that the children's interest peaked. They came to take a closure look and soon the children started putting together a sluice way, and quickly became invested in creating a gravity fed stream/waterfall.

It took a while to perfect it, and a couple children remembered what we discovered in the last few times of creating streams. It was pretty obvious that the problem of gravity was solved.

Velveeta

This week marked an addition to our little school!

 

We welcomed Velveeta to our little group, and she is such a joy!

It's not really something I had talked to the children about, but rather a spur of the moment decision based on the fact that we were donated all the items necessary to have a class pet... minus the pet. So the children were so surprised on Monday when they walked into the room and there she was.

 

She's really one of the group, playing alongside the children indoors and out (although she has a little enclosure to make sure that we have her with us for a while, and to contain those 'natural bits')

The children have taken ownership of her, and really care a lot about her. She loves to eat the Kale from our garden, and the children love being the providers and caretakers.

Alpha Children- workshop review

Last Thursday I 'snuck' into a parenting workshop. By snuck, I mean, I attended a parenting workshop even though I am not a parent. I think it was a good move though.
It was a workshop entitled 'Alpha Children: Reclaiming our Rightful Place' presented by Deborah MacNamara, Phd. She is a part of the Neufeld Institute, and having heard Gordon Neufeld himself speak last year, there was a great deal of links to what he said in regards to children and the things he practices and has discovered through intense study.
As always, I leave workshops feeling refreshed, but somewhat antsy about my practices. It's a chance to hear a philosophy and what works and what doesn't and apply what works into your own method of working with children. Last night was no exception, I left thinking, I see where this is coming from, and it all sound easy, but is it? And does it work?
She spoke about attachment, and how it is key to a child's development and upbringing. She spoke about being the Alpha parent yourself and that children are the dependents, of course they are, anything that we are meant to care for depends on us. The children need that attachment bond strengthened by 'taking care of the child' not the other way around. She showed how alpha children are expressing themselves more and more, and that often we allow the children to tell us what to do, thus increasing the 'bully' behaviour in our society. By contrast, she talked about reclaiming that alpha position in the relationship, and showing children that we are there to take care of them and to keep them safe. An adult that depends on your children to meet their emotional needs (ie. mommy is sad, I need a hug from you), you are allowing them to take care of you.... a role that is completely outside of the realm of childhood.
In extreme cases of Alpha positioning, children are expressing themselves through hate and aggression.... extreme aggression. As an Alpha parent, you need to be ahead of the game... read the cues.... see the temper beginning to flare, and deflect the behaviour. One example she gave with children that spit, was to have a spitoon available. When you read that child's behaviour, you say, 'it looks like you've got lots of spits in you, here's a place to put them and you can spit all you want.' The behaviour is deflected into a place where that is acceptable. It's similar to a children's book about anger I read a while ago, it explains that it's ok to be angry, and if you are angry go and push the wall... push it harder than you've ever pushed anything before!
Deborah shared an example of a child at school, when the teacher seemed to have been dealt the hand of lots of Alpha children in her class. All of those children were trying to assert their authority and to be the one in charge, only to find that the teacher herself was at a loss, she was immediately put in the 'dependant' position, where she needed the class to listen, she needed the class to settle down, she was depending on them to make sure that the whole class got something out of the lessons for that day. It was at that point that a child, who expressed to her mom that night, wanted to stand up in front of the class and chop their heads off, because they were just not listening. To us, that seems drastic, but to a child, that was her solution. What the class really needed was a teacher that could assert her alpha role and take the reigns.
This behaviour is not only manifesting itself in young children, but also in our adult relationships, where one partner, whether husband/wife partner or work partner, depends on the other.

So what was Deborah saying?
She is seeing a trend: children are less receptive to being parented or taught
children are more resistant and oppositional
there are more alarms or alarm problems
there is more frustration and aggression problems
there are more eating problems
there are more restless and impulsive children
So her suggestions were outlined in the form of challenges:
1. Make it easy and safe for your child to depend on you: take the lead in the relationship and in taking care of the child
2. Convey a strong alpha presence around the child: give the child the impression that you can and will take care of them, and be careful about revealing you own needs, dependencies, or fears.
3. Read the needs and take the lead: meet needs and not demands, this is especially important in regards to issues of proximity and food (an example she gave, was rather than 'do you want cereal or oatmeal?' make an announcement to the child saying, 'It seems like a cereal kind of morning.' when the child says, 'No, I want oatmeal.' Then you say, 'I knew you wanted oatmeal, I just was checking to see if you knew you wanted that too.' In this case, you are making it YOUR idea.)
4. Assume the alpha roles with regards to the child: to make the decisions you believe are best for the child, even if they are upsetting to the child.
5. Avoid provoking or reinforcing the alpha tendencies: ie: using what they care about against them, or revealing yourself as needing to be taken care of.
6. Provide a legitimate expression for the alpha instinct: Especially helpful in terms of an older sibling alpha, place them in charge of feeding others and helping them get ready for heading out the door.
7. Win the alpha battles that you can and avoid the others:  by trumping or foiling demands ie: when a child is dawdling in getting shoes on, instead of harping at them, put their shoes on and their coat and their hat. Often we expect that children can do these by themselves, but sometimes they just don't want to.... trump that behaviour by going the extra mile to get them ready, do it all! It will happen eventually that they want to 'do it themselves' at which point you let them, DON'T DEMAND COOPERATION!
8. Set the stage for being the child's answer: arrange activities and interactions where you are clearly in the lead or need to be depended on.
So with that long winded review, I took from it what I wanted, chose to try to apply some techniques into my program. Some things I need to ponder further and make sense of it further, and some I just don't see the point. That being said, it left me feeling a bit empowered to remember to always remember that the children are in my care, because they depend on me, and I care about them. The last thing I took from the workshop is: it's not about perfection it's about consistency!  

Turning Something Old into Something New!

The last few posts have been about our 'Repurposing Days' and I thought i'd share with the children a little bit about the ULTIMATE repurposing place LITERALLY just down the road from our little school. I've contacted the place to see if we could possibly have a field trip there, and :( they said not likely. It is a place that is a bit outside of the 'safe zone' for a larger group of children. Although I know these children could handle it, I respect where they are coming from. So instead I took a few photos.
Our little community has a little gem. It's a haven for people renovating their home, and for an Early Childhood Educator.... it's well.... a bit of a happy place!

It's a new and used recycling centre. It's always new and changing, and it's full of many treasures. If you are renovating your home and looking for that EXACT bathtub... you may luck out, or you may need to rethink your plans, it's really whatever is available. It's a place that old kitchens go in the hope of becoming someones new kitchen. It's a toilet graveyard, door collection, and window waiting area.

So when I went there a few months ago, hoping to find some patio stones, what I found was a place that would quickly become a threat to my bank account.

The children looked long and hard at the photos and spotted items that would be useful to our school. So mommies and daddies, if you are redoing your tile and making a trip to this glorious place, I know of a child that would be UBER excited to tag along!

So when I said I went to look for paving stones, who knew that I was going to leave with THIS MANY PAVING STONES???

My dad's poor trailer.... it didn't know what hit it!

What did we do with those paving stones? Take a look.....

The paving bricks themselves were rubber, so the children were only too eager to help, and it was easy for them too!

The finished product.... so nice!

Repurposing Days

As I mentioned in a previous post about our new tradition of Repurposing Days, we've been bringing an object from home that is far from a 'toy' and reinventing it's purpose as a play thing. We're into our second week, and it seems to be hitting off well. It's a challenge for some of the children and their families as it's hard to look past the surface and find a new function for things. What I find makes this easier, is that I don't think too hard about it. That's the job of the children. There have been so many times that i've put something down in the classroom, not really to motivate the children to play with it, but often that item becomes such a big hit, that it's become a fixture in our classroom. For example, our dustpan has become many things in our classroom over the last year. So the trick is.... don't think too hard about it (as long as it's 'safe', it's a plaything ;))
But it's been fun so far. I've decided to hold off on the photos, until we have a little more experience under our belt, then we'll share what we've 'repurposed'!
In the ECE community we use terms such as loose parts, and open ended play, these are all ideas that build from the foundation that we are trying to achieve through the repurposing days. The hope is that children will start the revolution to look at an item and give it a new life. It's similar to the upcycling that people have taken to. Really it's not a new concept, but rather a bit of an endangered concept. So let's encourage those infants who go through the tupperware drawer!!!!

So with that in mind, I wanted to share a video with you. It's from two guys that I can't seem to get enough of these days. They are the 'Piano Guys'. Quite often we listen to their music at daycare, and the children love their music probably as much as I do. I wanted to share this video because they seem to get the whole point of repurposing! It's a new way to look at a piano, and look what they did with it! It's truly outstanding

Water...

I have a theory.

I imagine that world peace would emerge if we had enough water to drink, as well as play in!

Well, probably not, but it's a nice thought.

It's actually a thought that stemmed from a rather difficult day, for both the children and myself. We were just not on the same page. There are days like that, it's completely normal. I was just not myself, and the children just seemed to sense that, and were really pushing my buttons. Hmmm, let me rephrase that, because I was probably pushing their buttons. They were laughing and having a great time, aside from a few moments of tension amongst the children. It was me.... completely me... I will stand up and say it was me! I was just not feeling the excitement of the sunny and warm weather, and just wasn't in it. So when the children were happily playing and moving about the outdoor classroom, I just found myself kiboshing their fun. It was not intentional, I just wanted 'an easy day.' Try as I might I just couldn't get them to just 'take it easy'. Of course not, what was I thinking? They weren't doing anything untoward, they were merrily playing, and exploring. They were taking risks, they were creating their own fun, they were PLAYING!!!

So I had to shake myself out of this funk.

That's when the water came out.

For no other reason than I needed something to play with myself. Something I could engage in, that would bridge the tension between the children and I. Out came the water tables, and the water, and suddenly the world just settled into place. Similar to my theory.

The tension was gone, the nagging stopped, the laughter continued. The children that were engaged in play already, continued their play, but I found something that 'calmed me nerves', and motivated me to get down and dirty with the children and have fun.

I guess the overall message is, if you're finding yourself nagging and annoyed.... just pull up your britches, and PLAY!!!! I think that on a small scale we saw the solutions to the world's problems.... just PLAY!!!

FUNK.... BE GONE!!!!