A few scenes from our TPH

The scene at the new TPH today was focused, collaborative, and supportive.  At one point I heard MR tell IR, "I need some space..." and IR takes her hand and said, "Let's go find you a place!" 

A while later, I heard JH come into the front room excitedly showing Bee a "cracker"--EB was in the back room giving "graham crackers" to "kids who are being gentle."  

As I took the video below, I walked through the school appreciating how our new space allows the children to each find a place to meet their needs.  Some children work alone, some children work together, some children build; some children read; some children work together in the dramatic play area.  And I love hearing KS respectfully tell JH, "I'm using this!" 

 

Yesterday the preschoolers found their niches outside too.  Some worked together to catch the rain in the wheelbarrow.  They didn't have a lot of water and KO proposed that the person with the messiest hands would get to use it... 

 IR would not be outdone in the messy category!  And everyone laughed, enjoying her triumph along with her.  The laughter and sharing of the joy reminded me of a recent article which proposed "laughter may have been favored by evolution because it helped bring human groups together."

 At the same time that some children were working on the mud/water/sand concoction, KC had been building and building with the wood scraps.  KC went to get more materials, and SM came over and started to knock part of the structure over, seemingly enjoying the process of the fall, the exploration of gravity, and the sounds of the blocks hitting other pieces of wood and the cement blocks.  KC smiled at SM and simply added more pieces to the work.  SM watched KC and then decided to add more to the structure as well.

What amazing work...