West Richmond Preschool

It had been years since I personally went to Burkeville and we had never been with our preschool class. It is such a lovely community of people revealed by their attention to their homes-gardens, innovative fences,  rocks, and artistic shrubbery are just some of the ways it is apparent people like living here and take pride in their abodes. There is a playground, which truthfully could be updated but still works well enough. At the end of the road, a very cool new place called The Larry Bird Flight Path Park was recently built. Our time together was magical. I had taken lots of notes… lots of snippets of conversations and when I re-read them later that day and looked at our pictures, I realized that the day really was about trust and friendship. Trust: belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc I think as Early Childhood Educators, we sometimes take for granted how much trust people put in us to care for their children. Each day, parents le...

We were all looking forward to visiting Paulik Park again, a hidden little gem within our own city. Last time, we had a lot of fun exploring and seeing things for the first time. I wondered what the children would remember. What made an impression? Was it Jeanette Lee's art? Was it the garden stones inlaid with poetry? The unique and diverse forest of trees? Was it the playground? Our team discussed ways to make the trip go a bit deeper, perhaps setting out with an intention. Many ideas were tossed around and then Bonnie came up with a great idea. She took photos of park elements to create a sort of "scavenger hunt". Children would be put into pairs and tasked to find the 'real' item. We thought this would support learning around the idea of 'looking closely' as well as create new friendships. The teams sat together on the bus and it was a really great choice. The bonding started immediately and teams were secure before the game even commenc...

The week was full, beginning with Snowy Monday! The snow was perfect for creating a wide variety of snow creations- chairs, slides, angels, castles, forts, humongous balls, and tiny balls. Snow was tasted by many little tongues, reaching out to feel its coldness, its lightness, its whiteness. Eyes gazed up at me, looking for approval or disapproval– I let them decide for themselves if this was a good choice. I think we need to allow them time and power to make small decisions for themselves. Children are often given what I term 'calculated choices' such as "Do you want to brush your teeth before or after your bed time story?" or "Do you want to wear your black pants or your jeans?"but often we do not allow them to make on the spot choices about their own safety, health or social interactions. I am concerned about our need to protect them from everything– what implications will this have down the road? As children grow and enter into the 'real' worl...