This lovely, happy shout resounded from the backyard as we poked sticks in the sand and dug out a wheelbarrow full of dirt. I am sure there will be a powerful puddle there tomorrow, just beckoning some small person to jump into it.
We noticed the suet cage was empty. The plants are at rest, last summer's grapevines brown and barren. We poked some long bamboo poles into the earth in a circle shape and added a few sticks at the bottom. Tomorrow we will start the weaving of a little shelter out there. In the spring, perhaps, we will plant some fun vine-like plants to crawl up its sides.
Our second week has been very pleasant. The approach to the schedule is still relaxed as the children are so busy learning how to be at school and be together. What's been lovely to see is the willingness of the children to practice the language of taking turns. Further negotiation skills will eventually follow, but for now, just recognizing that something is being used by another person is the first step. Coaching language includes phrases like "I'm using it now" and "Can I have a turn when you are done?" as well as suggesting they offer another, similar option to their playmate. When a child has a collection of things and seems reluctant to share, they are asked to choose one or two of these items that the other child may use. This is working out very well.
One of the conversation starters we have at our Morning Gathering is a foam puzzle of shapes. Each shape has a front and back in two different colors, and the children are given pieces to take turns putting into the puzzle frame. The children named the shapes in their own ways: A star was dubbed a "starfish" and a circle an "o", and the colors were called out.
Children need invitations to explore writing, and today we started creating our mailboxes. The children were delighted to "write" their names in scribble on name cards to label their boxes; I included a second tag in "my writing" as I told them, and we sprinkled bright and colorful crayon shavings onto clear Con-Tact paper to complete the decoration. The looks on their faces at the end of the day as they discovered a little note in their boxes was quite satisfying, and I have the feeling these will be checked regularly.
If you had peeked in at our school today, here's what you might have seen:
~ a dollhouse with the doll family all seated at table
~ shapes in tape all over the floor to create a 'hopping' course
~ children decorating felt cookies for our kitchen with markers, including a "blue cranberry" cookie...and "cooking" them in a plastic mailbox-cum-oven
~ children gathered close to hear stories
~ a variety of nuts being rolled down ramps onto the floor
~ busy, busy children!
Next week: Ice sculptures
