Momentum
I was struck this week by the momentum of our learners. They get their hands sunk into a project, and they just want to keep going. We do our best to make space for that and often have staggered transitions to allow individuals to take a few extra minutes to finish up that last page or sentence or puppet performance or snowman or bridge. But I still find myself saying...
"You really need to put your writing notebook away and go to recess."
"I'm so glad you love this math game, but it's time for lunch, and I don't want you to be hungry."
When we were practicing our song and dance for Jingle Bells, I couldn't get the kids to stop. Okay, if I had really put my foot down, they would have listened, but who was I to get in the way of their joy in the moment?
I love that we are at a school where our children have the time to gain real momentum in their work and that our schedule is flexible enough that we can accommodate their need to continue.
Cheryl's PreK Reflections
Preschoolers were seen hugging each other and checking in with each other whether sliding into our 'igloo' or enjoying the sights of a roaring beautiful melting creek. Tickets were 'bought' to enter the 'ice museum' where older kids instructed them to use their eyes, not their hands, to enjoy fragile ice 'gems' on display.
Curiosity ensued outdoors, testing their strength to cross homemade bridges, checking out snow angels they made, and smashing ice into smaller pieces to see what happens over and over again. Inside there was lots of cozy togetherness, whether dressing up and pretending to be a family, feeding our show and tell stuffed animals a "home cooked meal" or practicing how to say "please pass the glue" while crafting snowmen (and snow grandmas). Ask your child what animals do in winter to stay warm and fed, and they may be able to explain hibernation or migration (or at least remember a story where a mouse took a snowman's carrot nose to gift to a bunny)!
After much practicing of our winter songs, it was a joy to see them proud on the stage Friday night at our Holiday potluck where we demonstrated what we've been talking about in our preschool room: many different holidays celebrate bringing the light inside in Winter.
Theme: US Geography
As promised, we brought our landforms study out into the snow, and everyone created 3D maps of their countries. It was great to hear one child sharing where her peninsula was going to go while another reminded someone, "Don't step on my delta!"
The younger children built a whole bunch of map puzzles, and we talked again about our world, our continent, our country, our state, and our town. It's all a little confusing and more than one child has told me they live in "New York State of America," We're working on it and identifying NY's shape so that we can find it easily. Some children thought it looked like a boot while others claimed it looked more like a flashlight.
The older children carefully filled out the state names on blank maps, discussing states with particular meaning to them. "My grandma lives there." "We went to Florida on vacation." Theresa had a hard time getting them to stop and go outside for their adventure walk. It's that momentum thing again!
