What about those ABCs, 123s?

Writing and reading is emergent, like walking and talking. You don’t walk without the foundational skills of propping up, rolling over, crawling and shuffling along on your bottom. Just so with reading and writing, development must happen socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually to arrive at the point children can begin to read phonetically, and comprehend what they are reading. The emergent stage of literacy is birth to 5. Our work is in building strong foundations.  Print is everywhere and children are naturally curious and interested. Children build knowledge through games and self directed play, invitations to explore activities, real world needs, such as shopping lists and doctors notes within dramatic play. Rhyme, alliteration, comprehension, sequencing all get practiced holistically as we enjoy stories, songs, word play, fingerplays, jokes, etc.

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https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/helping-young-children-develop-emergent-literacy-skills

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https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/childcare-professionals/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs/maths-in-the-eyfs

 

What is Play Based Education?

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Play based education is learning through play. It involves setting up the space with lots of opportunities for children to explore with minimal adult intervention. By providing the raw materials, and giving children the chance to explore those materials, children get to explore properties, test out theories, interact with others, work to their edge all without the fear of right or wrong answers. Play based environments need the educators to provide open ended tools, and to watch from a distance and identify what might help a particular child deepen understanding and skill level. A water play area might entrance a child for a while as they pour and empty and engage all their senses as they fully explore the available tools. They are understanding the properties of water and honing fine motor skills as well as hand eye coordination. Adding measuring cups might scaffold an interest in measurement, and in exploring the concepts of full and empty, half full etc.  The same applies to outdoor learning. Puddle jumping, mixing water and mud, watching water evaporate on a sunny day, all expand the learning journey and provide opportunities to explore at a deeper level. It sounds deceptively easy but high quality play based environments involve a solid foundation in child pedagogy, a sense of fun, a lot of resources standing by just in case, and the ability to meet newly emergent interests.

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What is inquiry based learning? 

 

Activating and encouraging children’s curiosity rather than just delivering information. Important and complex goal, Encourages flexibility and complexity in children.  Also known as "Child-led Education". Lots of "I wonder why..." and "what might happen if..." Inquiries emerge organically out of free play opportunities where children test  what they do know and try out new ideas.

 

https://preschoolsteam.com/inquiry-thinking-preschool/

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Why mixed ages?

 

Interaction between mixed ages is advantageous to both younger and older children.  Children are not born in litters but in staggered age groups and are wired to learn this way. Learning is cemented intellectually when a child can demonstrate or articulate knowledge to another. Meanwhile the receptive child benefits from “the presence of a knowledgeable other” (Vygotsky), boosting the child's ability to a new level.

 

What is Risky Play? 

 

My job is to ask: What is the benefit, what is the challenge? Risk assessments have always been an ongoing daily practice everywhere we go and with everything we do. Children collaborate in safety assessment discussions so that they can practice problem solving, gain knowledge and have a meaningful investment in the rules. My role is to remove hazards, but monitor and  allow for risky play. Children develop experience, knowledge and developmental maturity as they are invested in working to their own edge. My job is to remove the hazards so children can take risks safely.

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Benefits of Risky Play

 

Car safety? 

 

Your child will be fitted with the correct car seat for age and weight. The Honda pilot has clocked many miles of adventure as our school bus. It is old but serviceable so the kids matter, not the upholstery.  Bring on the mud and sand.

 

What about the weather? 

 

There are very few instances where the weather is unsafe to be outside. Ice, snow, puddles and rain are excellent opportunities for inquiry based learning, not to mention so much fun! Correct outerwear is imperative for children’s comfort. Dress for each day’s temperature/ weather. We need rain boots (Wellies) every day as these are brilliant for mud or woodland/ trail walks. You can leave a pair at school if you wish. I have waterproof outerwear for each child that will go over winter coats and autumn jackets or you may invest in your own (See suggested gear list).

 

Tick Protocol?

 

Nantucket has the highest instance of diagnosed Lyme disease per capita in the world. This presents challenges but it also means we are well educated and our local doctors are fully conversant with it. We will spend large portions of the day outdoors. I strongly recommend that you check your child for ticks every day when you return home, especially after a day on a trail.

• Before class apply insect repellent to your child prior to the start of school. Always follow product instructions. Parents should apply this product to their children, avoiding the hands, eyes, and mouth. 

• Upon your return home check your child’s clothing for ticks. Placing clothes into a dryer on high heat for at least an hour effectively kills ticks. 

• Conduct a full body check and bathe soon after returning home. Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of getting tick-borne illnesses as it helps wash off unattached ticks. If you find a tick, use tweezers or a tick key to remove the tick by pulling the head directly up from the skin. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html more information about the proper way to remove ticks. 

• Check all parts of your child’s body, including: 

• under the arms 

• in and around the ears

• Inside belly button

• Back of the knees 

• in and around the hair 

• between the legs and toes 

• around the waist.  

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Further suggestions:

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• Light coloured clothing.

• Don’t wear same clothes two days running. 

• Use a lint roller on your car seats and child seats daily, before your child gets in. 

• Dr Qureshi’s dermatology office sells the best tick remover I have found.

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Done at school:

 

• As part of our risk assessment the children are advised not to go in the long grass, or scrub. If anyone does meander in, I do a visual check immediately after. I also use the lint roller over trousers etc.

• I top up bug spray especially around ankles and shoes (deer tick nymphs are present in short grass, leaf mold etc. This has been found to be hugely effective (NPR podcast).. 

• I do quick sight checks throughout the day over clothing, especially after we have been somewhere wild. 

• I use a lint roller kept in car for daily use on car seats. 

• I supply rain  suits. You may leave rain boots/wellies at school. These can be used in the woods even when it isn’t rainingfor tick protection..

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Short day/ school day? 

 

The under threes and afternoon nappers might find the shorter day is perfect as a first experience of school. We are very active!

 

What is process art?

 

Process Art is fully owned by the child, and it is all about the doing, the outcome is secondary. Ditch the pinterest worthy expectations. Projects that are  finished by adults just tell a child that their effort is wrong and not valued. Open ended art activities allow all ages and abilities to work at their own level, with no right/ wrong outcome. Bits of cut up paper in an envelope creates enjoyment and has meaning to the child.  Thick brown paint on paper doesn’t show the 20 minutes of intense attention or the colors carefully mixed.  Occasionally children  complete a project that is teacher directed, but a lot of the time art is process driven, and utterly meaningful to the child. Outside, children are invited to use found natural objects  to create transient art.  More info on process art at: https://www.artbarblog.com/

 

Discipline or Guidance?

 

Clear expectations and gentle guidance help young children learn appropriate rules. Children need lots of opportunities to practice sharing, taking turns, speaking appropriately. Empathy and impulse control are emergent skills. Misbehavior and testing boundaries are a normal part of getting to know the world for this age group. Children are invited to help make rules based on how they want to be treated. The Golden Rule is meaningful and sensible to them. Children gain respect for each other and learn constructive and positive alternatives when conflicts arise, working towards self regulation. This practice continues for the whole three years of preschool and beyond. By the third year students are proud to model (mostly) appropriate behavior for the youngest ones. Please note, all children have the right to feel safe, and behavior that endangers any child will be reported to the parent in a timely manner, and will be documented. I reserve the right to end our contract immediately if there is continued behavior that puts anyone at risk.