Throughout the year, we would like to share some information about the philosophy of education we are using in our classroom. We hope this will foster dialogue throughout the year about the preschool program and how students are learning. It is in your best interest as a parent to read these articles so that you understand how the Pre-K program works. Feel free to ask the teachers if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the articles.
Erin and Caitie believe this is watch-worthy! Watch with your kiddos!
We hope the cartoon above gives you a laugh. If we can work together to make snow gear a little easier, we will all hear less of “I don’t want to go outside” and see more creative play at work.
Winter is here (almost)! The pure fun of playing in the snow at school begins. The challenging task of getting small children dressed in their snow gear is also here, as we are sure you all know from dressing and undressing your child at home. We joke that getting sixteen preschool students ready for outside time in the winter is harder than launching a space shuttle. We have a few suggestions for how to make this go more smoothly at home while also preparing your child for tackling this daunting task at school too.
Tips for Snow Gear
1. Patience. Patience is required for all parties involved in snow gear application: parents, the child, & teachers. As a child is learning to dress him/herself, moments of frustration will occur. Take a deep breath. Teach your child how to take a deep breath, or even three. Try to avoid a trip to “melt-down town” by breaking the task down into smaller steps. Teach your child how to adjust each item him/herself before moving onto the next step. There is nothing worse than getting fully suited up to realize there is a terrible wrinkle in your sock and the world will not go on until it is fixed, and bending over is now impossible because all your other stuff is on. Here is our order of steps to dress up in snow gear:
1. Socks
2. Snow pants
3. Boots
4. Coat
5. Hat
6. Gloves/Mittens
2. Independence. We completely understand that dressing your child yourself and doing it for them is a much quicker and easier way to get out of the house. However, at school, this is not the case, since there are two teachers and sixteen children. We suggest a “dry run” at home to work out the kinks of putting on snow gear. Encourage your child to complete each step on their own, offering suggestions and specific tips and showing them how, such as, “When my sock is all lumpy, I use my fingers to turn it and then I pull it up to make it all smooth. Now you try.” Congratulate them when they do it. Go through the process of putting on snow gear when you are not in a hurry. You will be surprised to see what they can really do on their own if given time. Independence is empowering! By digging deep to be patient and teach your child how to put snow gear on him/herself, you are going to help them build confidence in the long run. A helpful hint: We love the “flip trick” for putting on a coat. Check it out below in the video link.
3. Bathroom First. Before your child gets snow gear on, ask that they try to go potty. No matter what. Sometimes, children are so excited to go outside that they don’t want to take a minute and try to go potty, and will deny that they have any urge to go. Anyone who has washed soiled snow pants, or redressed the same child five minutes after they went outside the first time, will tell you that the coaxing needed to go use the potty before getting dressed is absolutely worth it.
4. How to ask for help. We are happy and willing to help our students get dressed to go outside. The way we can be of most help is to address specific needs, rather than the whole process: “I need help to start my zipper” is much more doable than a tearful, “I need help to get everything on.” Help your child to figure out what they can do on their own and what they will need help with. Practice the words they will use to ask for help so that we can be of most use to your child in that moment.
Keep in mind that it is NOT a choice for your child to stay inside during outside time. We will always make sure your child is bundled up in the appropriate gear for the weather. If the temperature is below 0 (or the wind chill factor is below 0), we will not go out. Otherwise, we will be outside before lunch for approximately 1 hour and again after closing meeting for approximately 45 minutes. There are many studies that attest to the importance of outside time for a child’s development, even in the winter. If you have questions or concerns about our winter outside time, please let us know.
Values and Principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach
This week, we would like you to read about the Values and Principles of the Reggio Emilia Approach. Please let us know if you have questions or comments you would like to discuss with us.
http://www.learningmaterialswork.com/pdfs/ValuesAndPrinciples.pdf
The Artist Interview
Over the past few weeks you may have wondered, where are all the art projects my child is creating at school? Well…we are keeping them in the studio in a special bin with your child’s name on it with an intentional purpose. Our students have the opportunity to create art every day. This is an essential component of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. The area of the classroom we call the studio is a workshop, designed to develop “visual languages” through hands-on experimentation and manipulation of a variety of materials. We encourage this by carefully designing our studio to be accessible and inviting to young artists. We offer an array of materials to work with, some more traditional, like cut out shapes and popsicle sticks, and others more unexpected, like recycled wire or corn husks. We facilitate artistic experiences by making multiple mediums available to manipulate and use. We allow students to evolve in their own artistic process. We sit back as supportive observers as they learn through experience how much is too much and how much is just right. For young learners, the artistic process is more important than the final product.
As part of our child-centered approach, we are conducting “artist interviews” with each child. Once we have a body of work put aside, a teacher will sit down with the child and have a conversation about his or her work. We will talk about each piece of work, and the body of work overall. The teacher will ask questions to promote reflection and foster a sense of pride, such as:
For the child, the artist interview clearly celebrates the child as the center of learning. Their work is respected by the teacher. The child is the artist. With the help of careful questions by the teacher, the child learns how to talk about their artwork. The ability to talk about one’s work, whether it is art or a block structure, extends into other areas of the classroom and throughout our projects. Do not be too surprised if your child asks you, “tell me about your project,” while you are working on something at home. This will become common language in our classroom this the year.
For the teacher, the artist interview offers valuable insight into the child’s artistic process. We learn which materials a child prefers to work with, the techniques he or she uses, the subject matter he or she represents, and unique aspects of their individual process. We can also see their work as a whole and notice patterns and themes, developing letter shapes, color mixing, experimentation with brush strokes, as well as observe how the art evolves over time. We have conducted a few artist interviews so far this year. This has been a valuable experience for the child and we have noticed how the other students carefully observe and ask when it will be their turn. Keep checking your child’s folder for art work to appear after the “artist interview,” and be prepared for a proud artist who is excited to tell you all about their work!
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