Recently Briana posted on the second of the RIE tenets. At Tumbleweeds we work hard to provide an environment that is emotionally safe, physically challenging, and cognitively nurturing. This happens at all ages, but today I want to show you what it looks like in our infant cohort. I want to concentrate on what A Safe Space and Magic of Wonder look like for us.
A Safe Space
Children are given the time and space to move in their own time in our infant room. They are also given time to observe the other infants. I make changes to the space as we grow and our needs change, but many of the elements of our room stay the same. This way each child knows what to expect.
We work hard to tell each child what is happening. Often you will hear these words as parents drop off: "Mom is going now, but she will come back. While she's gone we are going to eat snack, take a nap, explore outside..." Including the child in this way helps them feel safe because they can anticipate what's next. Our interaction with each child is part of our environment, too.
Magic of Wonder
Taking something in our room and changing its composition slightly can help to make it new and full of wonder in the eyes of a child. The above picture is normally a rainbow. Not much has been altered- I simply stacked the pieces. Still, it immediately grabbed the attention of IS who had fun deconstructing my construction.
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