tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864674559761920892024-02-20T22:34:14.853-08:00Tumbleweed Infant and Preschool HouseRespect - Observation - Play - CommunityUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger626125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-56654851412013509552021-05-08T13:00:00.005-07:002021-05-09T16:30:29.344-07:00Constructive Construction<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it requires people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I just want to play by myself; come on, [OS]!" -CS</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoFyz47srMyrKVW1h98FCOCEbiqAXpbVRRUgLOF3E4FdwF7JHxd0l4bWDWrN9c0H-GYVzdTKo64VN3A0zTJV2bUbMEDEcPxGqzFBloECItMceZWkkFJty_LSuQS6SkSYmlcMg-RNpFjA/s2048/20210505_171230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoFyz47srMyrKVW1h98FCOCEbiqAXpbVRRUgLOF3E4FdwF7JHxd0l4bWDWrN9c0H-GYVzdTKo64VN3A0zTJV2bUbMEDEcPxGqzFBloECItMceZWkkFJty_LSuQS6SkSYmlcMg-RNpFjA/s320/20210505_171230.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I inhale the crisp morning air as the class bursts through the fence into the backyard. The hustling and bustling as everyone goes to find a small corner of the backyard and sets about making in their own. This could very well lead to a lot of debates and problems arising; there are only so many materials with which to build or dig or decorate. The tension under these problems might bubble up a bit, but a few words exchanged (maybe facilitated by an impartial giant to their world) or even the simple passage of time will pop these bubbles as the nomadic nature of outside time finds something else that's more fun and deserving of their attention.</span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0dayW249sey8mxpkoE5VhegL5tXevOO3y5HJzI2VAqAOA-GnOhWL5XGLuW-8c1-OUJwJVg_h5maVcxNh0CAvHu8GPAJubFluxfVNs97bFbm5USGtsSVqaLjxaax-8Fj-JyZAoREQVUM/s2048/20210506_160946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0dayW249sey8mxpkoE5VhegL5tXevOO3y5HJzI2VAqAOA-GnOhWL5XGLuW-8c1-OUJwJVg_h5maVcxNh0CAvHu8GPAJubFluxfVNs97bFbm5USGtsSVqaLjxaax-8Fj-JyZAoREQVUM/s320/20210506_160946.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week more of the attention is drawn to the building corner. The children will grab tires, milk crates, planks of wood and start to build a space for themselves. It's so thrilling as teachers to see the wheels of imagination turning inside the children's heads. What is going to be built.</span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I'm making a trap for monsters...this string is very important" states CKP.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"This spaceship is gonna take us to Mars," OS giggles.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You're gonna need some of this soup then," JA adds while handing over what he recently finished mixing in the kitchen.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The children take turns offering their individual spaces to all of their friends making sure to be as inviting and hospitable as possible. JR wanders near CKP's traps and they explore the crafted landscape together for a bit until JR wants to go do something else. HR takes care of watching OS's boards until they get back from a quick trip to the other side of "Mars."</span></p><div><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then, like most games do, things start to change. A few children are gathered around the tire and then suddenly I see eight hands go for a tire at the same time. The tire stands up and those same hands all start to wheel it in the same direction. Then another tire joins it. A plank follows after that. Then the words come. Everyone has a plan as to what is going to be built, but it isn't clear if everyone is on the same page yet. I go over to help and hear murmurs of agreements, disagreements, proposing, and accepting. We all make a plan and then I step back.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGZWbuqgStcJZdSCjeFmJi_7aFxU5ZxZnlniF6Uwv3Q6o72UPwTqqwvn7ebKucsi7EBMukleWJpcS2uFAiXt_BP6JwQcZetHrsz1gtKOWWhw_oInehv7LYXvp2KNEpGPCjjvNX5BBppk/s2048/20210505_170558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGZWbuqgStcJZdSCjeFmJi_7aFxU5ZxZnlniF6Uwv3Q6o72UPwTqqwvn7ebKucsi7EBMukleWJpcS2uFAiXt_BP6JwQcZetHrsz1gtKOWWhw_oInehv7LYXvp2KNEpGPCjjvNX5BBppk/s320/20210505_170558.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"We don't build when someone's inside…[CS] can you stop so I can put on this box" HR echos out, an agreement on which we all decided. This is my favorite moment. The rules of play and the fun of the game are intertwined to the point where the children care about them both equally. Everyone starts waiting their turn to go one after the other alternating from building or climbing through. Every addition brings with it another element of play. CKP adds on to the side of the tunnel to make a return trip more fun. OS and CS build a bridge of boxes to the pathway. HR adds to the roof so that someone can stay inside the tunnel and be protected.</span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxz2oSQdwBCs8PRL0-hGppcMxKvkUhe5JZEse1po2BquuHgm4PmsN7Ky2wwFV0vqNNeBFbGeFir35alusycrAgghYADDoM9eslqk-0tLOxpFbkE5vdsaXF0IGZmRFF77Jgj2Hsp8atpw/s2048/20210505_170423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxz2oSQdwBCs8PRL0-hGppcMxKvkUhe5JZEse1po2BquuHgm4PmsN7Ky2wwFV0vqNNeBFbGeFir35alusycrAgghYADDoM9eslqk-0tLOxpFbkE5vdsaXF0IGZmRFF77Jgj2Hsp8atpw/s320/20210505_170423.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of the day, we save what we can, but eventually all of the pieces will find new home and utilities in new games and inventions that the children make up, but even though the building are ephemeral, the landscape they help foster grows better and bigger every day.</span><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06831778817497203700noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-24990777508730718662021-05-02T10:02:00.000-07:002021-05-02T10:02:15.514-07:00Salient Playdough<p><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 435px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 327px;"><img height="435" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/PqGRPKcJImGzNsdxEGIBNFbxYYDCd7RXaBLyCkdSEp1To3f9_GXQWBripdU0lfykl2GHtUFWPQjG8JLcN26W2YDSmsRSkNezthFhaFETsX5wu-Usm5ThdjEeI5z0ZOWE3irD0HUu" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="327" /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d6ef1845-7fff-27fe-5299-fee78521a4f3"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We’re making playdough!” rings out through the halls of the Preschool House. The children begin to gather around Maria at one of our meal tables in order to gather and mix the materials that will grant them access to one of childhood’s greatest joys- </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">playdough</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 380px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 285px;"><img height="380" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/wi-hh0KP9vK_wWa-YOqd630ul_ncK7guiYto6AhgOVm-TF4L9dtbT6mo1Xy8LkRuKp-pBd6iqOLgyBEVMOqSsEj6shZJStwZ_pK_h8tVmKsLjs8XFYor6EABaVPYGEEGtotV-0F0" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="285" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After measuring, Maria carefully places each ingredient into the mixing bowl, all the while articulating each part of the process for the children. They ask questions, make comments, and chatter among themselves, anticipating what will become an integral part of their play. </span></p></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It isn’t long before all the ingredients are mixed together, and it is time to cook. Some of the children acco</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: arial;">mpany Maria to the kitchen to</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> observe and pour some complementary water into the mix. The children take turns doing this, while also observing safety precautions concerning the oven, keeping their hands out of the mixture, and taking turns to participate in the process. “We’re making playdough!” rings out again, and after cooling, it’s ready to use. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We began our interrogations of playdough with some the children’s favorite glass “gems,” which offer them a chance to create several different kinds of food from their imaginations including LB’s “Strawberry Pie” and JA’s “Blueberry Pancake.” Other children use their rollers and wooden knives to make something inedible, like CKP’s “volcano.” That was the first day. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 464px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 348px;"><img height="464" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ddl4KblVCMOs4n006h19fU-oJ0Zzho_sep2AuAn2SP2mCqPePPhk1KKI-QG-JAxlM5ao8pnfP9cQyAzUSexkWQQsFKOe3dpmBNkH-BDYLoUeKRPvaqxekwyUFJZos-xpdzQbujqN" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="348" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the days went on, Maria introduced new materials to the playdough including pipe cleaners, rosemary, and markers. Each of these materials created new opportunities for provocations of new relationships between the materials, and thus, new ideas continued to emerge. Characteristics like the feel and utility of the pipecleaners, the strong smell of the rosemary, and the peculiar way the marker ink accented their creations made these experiences dynamic, agentic, and salient, apt for a multiplicity of ideas and meaning-making.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 379px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 379px;"><img height="379" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0veIqZG3fVxfNkNqWd-r076K5LQZ3_l5auVOTnPiNhT-L_j4Pfi7UnBCXOv4XovRjSjQQSHwCvIZ9FNt3Ec-xRJX4alR4I4UfwyBtkI7J9kAL16qLrGCVMKzMh36se4aYiPTV81o" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="379" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These ideas began to coalesce and bounce from tray to tray, while the children created alongside one another. In the midst of this, the children made connections with the simultaneous ideas being made manifest, and in so doing, connected with one another. For example, it wasn’t long after JA and TH’s meeting at the table that they were found walking around our space holding hands and singing (one of JA’s favorite activities). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 300px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 400px;"><img height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/oCJoQAc23XDNDie4gh0hLWQcNRufKIlO3boju4LFXhyBWSvhjXzoInwiJ-QnzxUGMIUgLqI1tR4xJO8b8ddqz_Ye6DGAh7K24TOlPeNkVBQgkHUG_7dhwmkptyIphnvKXlts-BPj" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="400" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For all of this and more, we are so grateful as teachers. We are grateful for all the opportunities that this doughy material brought </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">us. We are grateful for the joy, connection, and growth we witnessed throughout this process. And we are grateful for Maria, whose thoughtfulness, creativity, and inspiration(s) has </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">brightened and complemented our learning experience(s) together</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 293px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 391px;"><img height="293" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Z3PZm2UEr0yq3BNhlW181ClkvmnONjLW6aigaBfhm5TO86ZUKdFhx_Pz6wr5rG3nd3SvL-wtknBPtWOZjTxN8j-v29iiQmG30ZRB2vpdW7bgOLdx986T_zdJ-xkAYarC7AOinPjn" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="391" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 293px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 390px;"><img height="293" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/VNKQgr3kV6CCGXCP8Ms6MKgP-Db0holZ2EJT_bjw2GgKNslFTM2oZL1PFKQwzswdQQrq40_uePg8ymt8RRii759UEMGe30sbYHNdG09-Es4C1FLoAkimQWmmDW9DX95jRwaPRyMK" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="390" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><br /><br /><br />Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-34186706590336636252021-04-04T10:51:00.001-07:002021-04-04T10:54:29.413-07:00Theory Building<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“My magnet stuck to the Dome!,” OP said, while observing her red horseshoe magnet, dangling from the nearest blue bar. “My magnet sticks too!,” responds HR, admiring his orange magnet’s balance at the top of the same bar.. “Yeah, mine too!,” TH agrees, after delicately attaching his green magnet nearby. “Why do you think they stick to the dome?,” I ask. (A pause, as they consider this). OP looks up at me, raises her arms, and jumps while shouting, “Because they’re metal!” “Yes!,” I reply, “They are metal. What other things out here are metal? What do you think these magnets will stick to?” All of the children begin looking around and scattering across our playscape, hunting for materials that are suitable for a magnetic connection.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-804f244b-7fff-c0b3-1743-84b592bb5872"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Diversity</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 409px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 307px;"><img height="409" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/5oiQ7Btw3xfEOgj6uu4_StVnrn0gV23P92_FXPYVKWO6UW4ZhdrNy3AGgX_fTBlACO2espkwpFlW3d99dI-VblFG0zXWBQiOcFsSD-kXHUAhIujrxxEUPLcUGufM9Z-AIyCVv-JT" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="307" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The way each child takes on this task is different. While some choose to see what they can pick up with the magnets, others try to hang the magnets from larger objects. TH is particularly interested in what the magnets would stick to. He tries it out on benches, door handles, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">excavator arms, etc, while simultaneously changing his position in relation to the magnet and looking at it from a variety of angles. Each time he does this, he’s building a theory and/or several theories, about the way the magnets work, the properties of their hosts, and the relationship that exists between the two. Meanwhile, he is integrating these meanings into their understanding of the world, and especially, his many identities </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">within it. The complexities of the differences of how these are constructed are connected to family, to nature, to culture. Each of these components of a child’s milieu are saturated with meaning, and once woven together, they take on new meanings and experiences. More on this metaphor can be found in an earlier blog I wrote found </span><a href="https://tumbleweedinfanthouse.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-metaphor-for-learning-threads.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here.</span></a></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Identity</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be able to create connections, to bind things together, to use a tool- all of these are experiences that communicate something to children about themselves and their role as active inhabitants/agents in the World, and/or the Universe for that matter. These experiences further instill competencies, and confidence to exercise those competencies. All of this aids the children in the construction of their identities, identities that are the wellspring for their creativity and being. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Difficulty </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 270px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 361px;"><img height="270" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/S7mBxEaAnHW7NZy4Je10xi6mEzDAOAGwLQ5v4QmizvmJFp6kfy3k7Q2TvcSXQgJCauDhaK6FFfparYOoOaMZAN3cI4xHVkkuWN1nZPr6iPoiirocl4x1CFHm5sQ3sPxa4hKBfdbH" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="361" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every child has a theory. Every child has thousands of theories.. Every child is a theory-builder, meaning-maker, and young scietents of their environment. That is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">what play is</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Play is an interrogation of the materials within an environment, the negotiation of its actors, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all of the relational processes that happen </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">among all of these elements. That is what makes play exciting and fun. That is what makes play meaningful. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 508px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 286px;"><img height="580" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/QwG_tgeFHz4LXsIfMDm1S9eSPiofLBuRxxqOYrJ-5I3Uu9dnxP6GCi-ZqFMEZmYwhmvKYYrdGh7yrYXol6NmObrGd7keIDYKZkCdbeuqG8tonROs_NJPGv-cQclNRj9pg4_ISJ95=w326-h580" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="326" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />But it is also why play can be difficult for those entrusted to childrens’ care. Most of you are aware of the sometimes violent language and/or behaviors that children, particularly preschool children, can exhibit. These words and actions can stir up no small amount of feelings for adults, as we try to integrate what we are experiencing with what we know about the adult world and the effect(s) of this type of behavior. This is a value for us, a value that carries a significant weight for children, as they watch the visible responses exhibited by their caregivers. For children, the theories that they are building are about good versus evil, right and wrong, and the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">effect(s) </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of their behavior on the behavior of others. Therefore, when confronted by the value-laden responses of adults, new theories must be built to understand those values. This is often the point at which children begin to direct their energies towards their caregivers in order to better understand this reality. They know the reality of the value’s existence, but must understand the significance of it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Invitation</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With all this being said, what should also be pointed out is that what the children are doing in these encounters is to invite caregivers into their world of play, into their processes of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">meaning making, and into the curious behaviors of their theory constructions. Here, the adults have the opportunity to be the guides, communicators of value, and the provocateurs of further learning. Explaining to the children why all of those emotions around a behavior rise up for the adult goes a long way in children’s understanding of the values undergirding them. They love these stories, these insights to their caregiver’s mental and emotional processes. They love having a window into the values inherent within their environment. </span><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 416px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 312px;"><img height="416" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vffjR5LnkchYL2J7EQmEEtGzlt8w29MSlAS73HXV-1tE4_oyHTAME2mtN3dcc1LQtj8u38bmeJwWjIrANCLiZbi4fQfWpJyQ5N9hLKWfrBnHPwZRcfMS_rdhqamV--TtbBzufrmN" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="312" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But this is not to say that they have the maturity to understand all of the impacts of their investigations. This past week at school we’ve had to create more boundaries around </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the way</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that we are making meaning of violence. One of the ways we have done this is by refraining from using objects as pretend “weapons” at school. This is a change from the previous agency we had offered to the children in this area, as we used to be smaller in number and more similar in age. However, our learning community is changing, and with that change, we must respond with developmentally appropriate and safe practices that adhere to the change. This is an important bit of learning in and of itself. It creates opportunity for new theories to be made and new learning to be had concerning the meaning of our responses to these changes. And it offers for a further exploration of community and how communities respond to the inclusion of their newest members. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Journey</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 453px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 340px;"><img height="453" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/22WxGzRRqBS4PbqJuB7M93woGxnXkCRGAT2qM-K97foBvwTR6PN1agCs7fYZSWaySouw0GcC47EHFWlBZMy0F6tQxSBuuhbWn30XzlirH7LNFgRN2StHdDhWThzLSExv29VMTVxk" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="340" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As teachers, we are so thrilled to be on this communal journey of theory-building with the children and you all! Please continue to let us know how we might be </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">better partners with you in this! </span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-89545185892999317882021-03-21T09:44:00.000-07:002021-03-21T09:44:02.575-07:00Hospitality<div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 446px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 335px;"><img height="446" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/1lVnqhf8Hg0QNIQY6Nm4c_XLpe5EJ1o2ZOy0qph1MXm5kAYa2X7HZlM1Pg6oFKweH6rWJlrvPA2e-sk96CC5HQPdglOK7uI0VSbH9kT6PxTrpP73hpS6o40wd63KrsYtGgMrX_ZX" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="335" /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody! Come here; I made you some food!” -OP</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-86cf714c-7fff-79cc-cb9a-45aa26330339"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we are in the backyard, one of the children’s favorite activities is to make various creations ranging from strawberry pie to sushi to pizza. It’s all on the menu, but the menu is always changing. So whenever I see a child walking up with a metal container of sticks and mud, I’m not always sure what to anticipate. In that spirit, I usually wait for the child to tell me what the thing is and how I should eat it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the meal before you now, OP had offered me soup, coffee, cake, and juice. Now comes the hard part: figuring out what she wants me to do with it. Does she expect me to pretend to eat and drink this food, and if so, do I need to pretend to eat all of it? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But looking at the picture again now I am wondering about something else. What if OP simply wants to give me something? She offers, extends, and with this gesture OP receives me, as a host receives a guest. I wonder if there are times when the children are offering their creations to adults that they are employing/making meaning of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hospitality</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Maybe that’s something they’ve watched their parent(s) do. Maybe it comes intuitively. Probably both. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While considering this, I begin to wonder about other ways children are always offering/investigating hospitality. I think about the way their bodies negotiate such close proximity with one another all day long. I think about their negotiation of the materials they love and share with their classmates. I think about their inclusion of one another in pretend play and when making art. Or even the times that they comfort one of their friends. All of it is an extension of themselves to the other, as they welcome the other.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 469px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 352px;"><img height="469" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/EELCwXiMcqdKTzBymmTnRucunKfCu7Ah0esf_qwKrFXNJ3aDhf36Rb-eThgFbElEtLUHk90CuqUysSNxei4o2mpueftDvz1G6HvhD7QKm5YojY0Pz2IIhvMHlMw83OMea376zB8g" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="352" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m also reminded of the times that I make mistakes as an adult and the children respond with hospitality. Or how they love to help clean, to bring me my water bottle, or say, “Look what I made for you!” Yes, there are times each day when children </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">make room </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for adults’ mistakes, impatience, absences etc., times that are seemingly obscure and often go unnoticed. The reality is that adults are often busy, tired, depressed, or distracted and allowances </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have to be made on our behalf. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As always, I do not want to romanticize the behavior of children. They are not always welcoming or hospitable, as you well know. Oftentimes they do something, need something, or create something that requires the hospitality of others, especially their family. But to leave our understanding of their efforts there is to miss all the ways they extend themselves to make room. To leave it there, means we may become ignorant to all the ways they are learning to welcome, to host, and to love. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, let’s make room for all of the motivations of children. Let’s continue to be curious with them and all of their idiosyncrasies. Let’s continue to welcome them, as they welcome us, and we welcome one another. </span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 470px; overflow: hidden; width: 629px;"><img height="470" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/bvHuLs6miAvSha3TgYMlJk-Xl894mbr_JLA0qvVOJffroYWFZTb6XAJqD3gEdAmQ0l99jPhNUs0pilrIrIzB3NFe_5y5ihCbd3TeZlSIT1jWzvKTzTJ_7ut0Vio0wu06tRLFj1Td" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="629" /></span></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-56523092306716669872021-03-14T13:41:00.003-07:002021-03-14T15:24:56.101-07:00Processes of Painting<div class="separator"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 507px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 380px;"><img height="507" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/DPmnB2lxasWMqQAl7CWqLWD-lyqwLyHzIdiH9jjiEotgbVOW0aKAJWDgKOoxFu_SnrT4U3oNnqcR05lAOE8-Rxo6djRbDNbkA_r5k3c7c41L3-2Bthklwh-OmGw-DE2HjUt0yPmF" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="380" /></span></div><p><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 361px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 272px;"><img height="361" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/V_IbszYLCAT4XKkSbLGONRQhsW4Rc4uJQHRrOFroj84bay0dSpmn_17ek4R8FLuPYNtDYVSBE1uOFcWH2SswkU5nyUYJQOygaE0E2DDLnlK7vDwmEutoAWL5VlbRe20u6KbEBzu9" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="272" /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-b5452fc7-7fff-2238-4031-521a4d4540a7"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Paint. We love it. In fact, “I want to paint!” is one of the most commonly heard phrases at the Preschool House, even while so many other enticing phrases fill our day! Joking aside, we use paint several times each day, most often at the children’s request. There are, of course, reasons for this. And while those reasons may vary among the Tumbleweed Preschoolers, it’s worth considering at least a few of them to take a closer look at this artistic medium that the kids so enjoy! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 256px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 342px;"><img height="256" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/qNQPlqoCRbWGTQurRyvwIZ-EXJs8fixiQsRCJ3mJy4gYpJvJruNLCWvF952J4w_5RHrSD3m6nN8Hsb4lKdVIdQci70z0tJaPbliR-N7Dif68WgcgwDsDicM25tu6k5vzHUmwOWQW" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="342" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Agentic Capacity</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 312px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 416px;"><img height="312" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Pr1FXMxFriTYsjaFurD2odeltVuABOK1D5eYSURn-2O-iPAWBl3fhm4k9obL1tYM9GBW-0dtOKqWjDR0azA1SqWe-oRFYvYguuY6gZ_namMP7GvEH_f1K9ai9VovRq6qMHGmjUJN" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="416" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For those of you who read anything I write, you will probably guess that what I value most about paint is its capacity for exploration and creation, especially that which gouges societal values placed on what is “good” and/or “beautiful.” It stretches the boundaries of these perceptions because of its sensorial and aesthetic qualities, qualities which are hard to replicate with a washable marker or even a pencil. What I mean is that unlike these more precise writing/drawing instruments, paint and paint brushes allow for a more abstract process, one that is less</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> product</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> focused and more </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">process</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> focused. For example, in the picture below, the first thing that OP and CKP did was to gather some paint with their brush and to practice making brush strokes, noticing the texture and hue of the paint, while also taking note of the particular brush marks their utensils create. Similarly, in the picture of CKP and HR, they each first mixed water together with the dry power to make the paint before using the material to create. In this way, the entire process is more about the material itself and the child’s relationship to that material than it is about some predetermined pictorial outcome. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Opportunity for Connection</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simultaneous to the childrens’ agentic relationship with the paint is their relationship to one another. While they choose what/how/where they paint, they have a shared value which is the material and process of painting itself. As in most relationships, this shared value serves as a point of connection, while the differences in how this value is manifested serves as a point of provocation. In other words, they have divergent ideas about their shared value(s). As they enjoy the comfort of one another’s company, they are challenged by one another’s perspectives. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sensory Benefits </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 377px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 283px;"><img height="377" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Ejv008f0MdUkTe_Af-K16F2B38dkeFcMCZ8k4vazf64yrCpAqq8YDRhOClJpquuqmOatFMSjLgMqTAQnFu1pw31GFVC40HQfdjDfjyZ9yN0eK59-UChBq0NprpNnovHR4L6m0aVe" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="283" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This picture of CS and JA at the top of the post is also an example of the relational aspect of paint. However, instead of painting alongside one another, they took turns, cleaning the various materials that they used over the course of their artistic processes. In the midst of this, each of them were exploring the sensorial properties of the paint, especially in its relationship to the feeling of soap and water. Not only that, many children receive tactile sensory input from this process, which aids in their mental/emotional regulation. This is not always the case, as other children may feel overwhelmed by this sensory experience and become dysregulated because of it. Whatever the case is, what is important is that we are following the children's lead. If they are spending a long time with the paint/soap/water and it seems to be a calming experience for them, then their bodies probably need it. However, if the child is adverse to those feelings and/or is becoming more agitated by the experience, then it is most likely a dysregulating experience. The child’s body knows what it does/doesn’t need, and most of the time all we have to do is watch their relationship with the material(s) unfold. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But paint doesn’t necessarily need soap and water to feel good. On the day that TH and OS painted their hands, they spent more than 30 minutes carefully painting their hands, washing their hands, painting them again, washing again, etc. When they decided to transition from their paper to this, I was a little hesitant, but then I remembered that their bodies knew more about what they needed than I did. And thus, the tactile play continued on, and needless to say, TH and OS were thrilled. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are certainly more aspects of painting, our relationship to it, and its derived benefits that have not been touched on here. What is important for us to remember is that this material, this beautiful, messy, “feel good” material, is more than capable of offering the children a variety of experiences that are apt for agentic creativity, connection, and sensory input. These are reasons why so many of the children herald, “I want to paint!,” and we are grateful for it!<span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 441px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 331px;"><img height="441" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/rg-4dsbzWA5ZiJsmRwyc2Bcmbn5vM3FKXS5aGAYnr7KubC4XUpgs7C-j0dekinLx5PhJtScHWjf9NQR7Lc_zDGIrW8_0O_C3XEojB2hrpHg39pFsOpD1Hjn5gTG8-sT-pYlklxM1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="331" /></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-77139338633804894822021-02-21T13:42:00.004-08:002021-02-21T13:45:38.612-08:00Power<p><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 278px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 371px;"><img height="278" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SYyiMBNRWEc4h66GfjgGChw5_5lNuQTNrYLQnSGypx9bLJubq17mK5rcc45ssLS-bATQzxadd6AuEdtWllbgNts1EhdbwueuEAG9se5WX3XoU6k_F5nWqj1ruPpatq7lwWvAgmzt" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="371" /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-aba5e717-7fff-c12f-56c1-a1bb8d08fa44"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other day TH, who has been so proud of his cubby label, decided that he would bring his cubby to sit in during Group Time. It wasn’t long before all of the children had noticed this and decided that they would inhabit their cubbies during group time as well. OS stood up from the carpet and said to me, “I’m going to go get my cubby too!” As they said this, I could see the look in their eyes that was not making a statement, as much as they were asking for permission. For about two seconds I was stuck- I knew that saying “yes” to this would be followed by an immediate exodus from the rug, until everyone was able to bring their cubbies over to sit in during group time. It was a dilemma that could be captured in the essence of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What effect does this decision have today and in the future</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There is, of course, a whole litany of possible answers to that little quandary, little of which I considered in my two seconds of pause. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simultaneous to this feeling of fear, I recalled my belief that </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Children can and should be angentic citizens of their/our world(s)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to the extent that they are able. There was nothing about their idea that was inherently harmful or disruptive to our communal process. In truth, this idea would allow for the children to perform work- to retrieve their cubbies before Group Time and to return them to their proper places afterward (with all their clothes etc. inside). An idea that includes work, responsibility, and a shared value is an idea that leads to greater learning. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 243px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 183px;"><img height="243" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NIqosJzLt8nd2EBaAT5YreuQu2pVTSQQ2hFVbGBPIeFkVLcdeXr4OEfihpTwoumsC2f3x5OhCYWGlpXsgRoonjGYh8eL4b8YztblqOzB2WuMwYQrng2iahF1hLrgULTb7xk0_scX" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="183" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the end, I said, “That sounds like a great idea...as long as it helps us be together!” (the last part of this quote is something we talk about a lot when they ask for fidgets, etc. during Group). The children raced excitedly over to their cubbies, brought them back to the rug, and made themselves comfortable. It was a joyful experience. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I reflect on this story, an important aspect of it is one of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">power. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The children were only allowed to act on their idea because they were given the power to do so, and thus, they were able to learn because they were given the power to do so. What if I had said “No,” and instructed TH to put his away? What message would I have been sending? What value (or lack of) would I have been communicating? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In children’s investigation of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">power</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> they need the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">power</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to act on their world in very concrete ways. Apart from this allowance, the scope of what they can learn is minimized and the confidence, competence, and acceptance they could have experience would instead be unavailable to them. Not only that, without access to the exploration of power, children are left without an avenue to understand it. And they need to understand it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The necessity of this understanding is outstanding: the marginalization, subjugation, oppression, and/or violence present in our society warrant a robust understanding of power, one in which takes into consideration both past and present perversions of power-wielding. Without an interrogation of this context, children are left to assume the age-old claim that everyone was born with bootstraps and the belief in the homogeneous nature of these tools of ascension. But an investigation of power can challenge these assumptions, and disrupt them. </span><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 258px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 345px;"><img height="258" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gq8WP6VTChAnyCrFsLQGLwAQBNI-cy7YELUno-olT6BQ2683NLHORQHQ9AUMLW0cyGvjxJmfqaMWlM9nKvesWsL1t2XKd8XPQIIruGDHtEDHCeDBOVECMOC-lntZ9VdNwY6cDHwa" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="345" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instead, the exploration of power happens when a child desires to make an idea manifest, when they become “superheroes,” when they ask for a second cupcake, or when they want to sleep in the room with their parent(s). All of these situations are ripe with opportunities for learning about what it means to be a child, what it means to be a parent, and what it means to be a human. It is within these situations of the monotonous and the mundane that produce an exchange of ideas, power sharing, and not a little negotiation. Not all ideas are safe ideas and not all boundaries are necessary, but learning about power is some of the most important meaning-making children (and everyone else) can do. So, let’s wade into those complex and murky negotiations of power. It is necessary!</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-62228636723749379862021-01-24T09:29:00.001-08:002021-01-24T09:33:30.491-08:00Transitions, Grief, and Adult Scaffolding<div class="separator"></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-cb4ed47c-7fff-ac92-e844-a5b27b092d29"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"></p><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> <img height="266" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/svPo4L5k5Lf-6WAeHCbk35QYOwdzt2ocDi3sW_sSDYzpMjJv45xBc_4kUfik4ZaS2OImS4b9tSCsquMrBgskAn3TBfIE4yuNr-mTSjehRzdhSh6I4gnizOniPxSbmgexOyZRtDxV" style="color: #38761d; font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;" width="354" /></p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“David, will you help me build a house?,” CS petitioned, collected some connecting sticks and spheres nearby. “Sure! As soon as I’m done helping JA, I’ll help you!” </span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Cody, I am building a house!,” says JA, with a bright smile across his face. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I see that, JA! You look like you feel excited about it,” I reply. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “Yeah, and David is helping me!,” he says, while admiring the beginnings of CS’s house adjacent to him. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Episodes such as this one have been scattered throughout the past three weeks, ever since we have moved from the Infant House. This is not a little transition, and it comes with not a little grief. To lose the habitation of one’s environment, one which you spend some 25-35 hours a week, only to inhabit a new environment, devoid of many of the relationships you’ve cherished, requires a great deal of energy.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the midst of this heavy load, children often return to the adults around them for safety, comfort, and play. Whereas they normally would interact a lot more with one another and provide one another with provocations, their attention turns to their caregivers, who represent strong pillars of their mental and emotional worlds. In essence, when confronted with loss and the unknown, children return to what is most known, most consistent, most reliable- adults. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 538px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 404px;"><img height="538" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/H54_VMLpma9HfPGjDYEfFGapO-BhZZyNFXiFD-dFH22Hw8yCSLbTbgIwfur5StBnE8_aB2J7rlThnHzNK9W5zVeSL6o3nN7NLOX05ZhBxjHExAsAD8v1AnJUrDQRQzzihmy5hiaW" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="404" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This return has been evident over the past few weeks, as I have noticed a steady increase in how often teachers are invited </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">into play, when their peers may have served that role before. Within such a dynamic, teachers find more opportunity to scaffold learning as they co-construct ideas with the children more closely. What that has looked like are guided reflections on the learning that has taken place (by looking at videos and pictures, along with sharing anecdotes), but it has also looked like research, as we explore ideas that we have not yet thought through. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of those instances provide fertile ground for adult-child scaffolding to happen. Sometimes you need scaffolding to construct something new, and sometimes you need it to return to something familiar. Either way, construction happens, and as a result, emerging understandings come to fruition. They are such resilient learners!</span></p><br /></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-57775919154861223972021-01-18T15:44:00.004-08:002021-02-21T16:18:49.800-08:00<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">December 30, 2020</p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">“Children need
simple, truthful, empathetic, but direct responses, especially when
they are testing and learning limits. (p.17) -Elevating
Childcare/Lansbury</p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">This quote resonates
on many levels with me as an educator, guide, community member, and
human. When I hear a truth spoken in the world, I feel it intuitively
when it resounds in my heart and body. Sometimes hearing a truth
even brings tears to my eyes. It is a quiet feeling, yet unshakably
strong. I believe children have an innate ability to see, hear, feel,
and speak truth in a unique way in comparison to adults. Children have such an innate, unfiltered, desire to learn. This translates to their ability to hear a
truth and be able to accept a particular reality pertaining to that : even if it is not what they might wish.</p>
<p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">This relates to a
preschool setting where there are a community of learners with
differing needs and wants. If each member of the group is able to
feel safe and speak their “truth” then a compromise can be
attained. I believe it is our job as adults to model the tools
(words/actions) necessary to articulate feelings, needs, and wants.
As a guide, I strive to help children take a seemingly impossible
situation and boil it down to the root or baseline of the problem.
Throughout this process a number of resolutions can become available.
These undertakings do not exist within the realms of black/ white
thinking, rather in the infinite shades and possibilities of grey.
There is no single “right or wrong” way to solve a problem. This
is even true in mathematics.<br /><br /></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QjldXYsczosrNOLqNDAchMPNx6wJCF5LfSzIiZHk53vx_o5TZ9Uz5Dct7V2dUtvc2wKrlJVdBFm-WnZLj3C0SJEhv2dt6gCh-tIpUYxqdpjjFjgp77H4FSuZk9UOOSlUvMEWM4eHunA/s4032/IMG_1069.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QjldXYsczosrNOLqNDAchMPNx6wJCF5LfSzIiZHk53vx_o5TZ9Uz5Dct7V2dUtvc2wKrlJVdBFm-WnZLj3C0SJEhv2dt6gCh-tIpUYxqdpjjFjgp77H4FSuZk9UOOSlUvMEWM4eHunA/s320/IMG_1069.HEIC" /></a></div><br />I learned in
Graduate School math classes that when breaking down a story problem,
proportional reasoning made the most sense to me; whereas for others
an algebraic equation was a solution. I needed to see pictorially the
problem drawn out and the components of the drawing at play. Both
ways for solving the problem arrived at the exact same answer. This
metaphor translates to the classroom when guiding children through
the problem solving process. It is imperative to allow each child to
express their authentic self, while simultaneously respecting each
others' boundaries. There is always an opportunity to grow as a group
in these instances, and learn how to exist peacefully.<p></p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05806426777489943201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-35675318799828394312021-01-18T15:02:00.004-08:002021-01-18T15:08:37.068-08:00It's Just the Beginning...<p></p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">December 28, 2020</p><p style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;">As I sat quietly
reading in the office on my first day at the preschool, I was able to begin observing (auditory) the
flow of the mid-morning routine after outside time. OP chose a book
for Cody to read to the group about mindfulness. It felt inspiring to
listen and notice how receptive the children were to putting
collective deep breathing into practice. Also it was a great time
naturally (after outside play) to come back “into their bodies”
before the lunch transition. I noticed how the sounds of the deep
breathing exercises brought with it the overall quieting down of
sounds from the next room.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2s5gqPH8QaNrUAXSTjqyanNxtlKT0YM7JiAh8T-FnrmthYNR_d-HhCuWMa8AsWp4yGvnFBKdKC9uveKhzO_3lYjSxa_ebf1h3X2fiviEFDTveEmJrA9sf-f3bIA7C_u6Wr_P45Rm9VWQ/s620/IMG_0314.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2s5gqPH8QaNrUAXSTjqyanNxtlKT0YM7JiAh8T-FnrmthYNR_d-HhCuWMa8AsWp4yGvnFBKdKC9uveKhzO_3lYjSxa_ebf1h3X2fiviEFDTveEmJrA9sf-f3bIA7C_u6Wr_P45Rm9VWQ/s320/IMG_0314.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">Practicing
mindfulness and stretching poses can begin to give children powerful
and effective tools to utilize when they are beginning to explore
self-regulation with their bodies and emotions. I believe these tools
can assist us as human beings in general throughout our lives no
matter what age or phase of life we are in. Empowering preschool age
children to take ownership for their body, mind, and spirit is just
the beginning of a profound lifelong journey in traveling the
distance from the head to the heart.</div><br /><p></p>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05806426777489943201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-76497246542540259812020-12-16T10:29:00.004-08:002020-12-16T10:32:07.766-08:00Sharing and Caring: An Interview with Tumbleweed Teachers about Meal Time(s)<div class="separator"></div><div class="separator"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 256px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 343px;"><img height="255" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/hk9mtOwfrVfMMLWH37egrG7z9lE4DWn9EOPF5jyObn-7KHDYxxTuANispkY9aWCwk6i2DVIONtvEFumTwWwq1yFBqwXm0fpOgvFQu9kP3H_B7XEc75p52JFPNUOobxbuslRvI06U=w342-h255" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="342" /></span></div><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the most difficult realities of the Covid-19 Pandemic has been that families are not able to come into our school. As you all know, this means that so much of our life together at school is invisible to you unless otherwise posted on Instagram, sent via text/email, and/or through this medium, our weekly Newsletter. Therefore, we wanted to take a moment to offer a glimpse at a part of our day that wouldn’t otherwise be seen- Meal Time. For this purpose, I (Cody) interviewed Sam, Hayln, and Shianne, and this is what they shared:</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4b76ac34-7fff-0bd1-6ca1-5769f56e1973"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Infant Cohort</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In three words, ho</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">w would you describe the Infant mealtime(s)?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Intentional, respectful & fun!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell us why you chose one of those three words.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I chose the word respectful because infants' journey with food is such a new process that honoring each child’s approach makes a big difference! Each child may have a different interaction with food & as they have experiences with different whole & natural foods preferences arise! By respecting each child our meal times are very enjoyable to spend together!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you enjoy most about mealtime(s)? Why?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The process each day! For example Evie’s excitement as she transitioned from the blanket on the floor to sitting at the table in a chair after building those muscles! Watching Bella and Edie use sign language to express what they need. Watching Gideon smile and mimic his friends in his selection of what to eat next! Using positive language around meal time to encourage and demonstrate healthy attitudes and mindset towards food! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there anything that might surprise some about that time together?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The children are familiar with the process and we can all sit at the table for up to 45 minutes! Friends are often motivated by their peers at the table to keep trying and eating more food rather than cleaning up to play! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: Is there anything else you’d like to share about mealtime(s)?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wish I had had an exposure to conversations about where foods came from, how they grew, or were made into the delicious dishes we had each day, when I was growing up! Having a lush garden to contribute to our meals brings a full circle around how we energize and take care of our bodies! Infants find so much wonder through these conversations!</span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 247px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 330px;"><img height="247" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/G8jj7jxZncJc5jH1RKUiUwOlTJ8uzFL7mQWIS3k6gPFSzYO5FZFuFiEE_ldFrZyuE158W8W-P3YmIkkWQ1yhyy-Y7bG0zx2Ff7H7VMPfQ7wrUZiH4I-Y-7rcsPqGH0oiWYjm_OW1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="330" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toddler Cohort</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In three words, how would you describe your mealtime(s) together?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayln: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">joyful, delicious, exploration</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell us why you chose one of those three words.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayln: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think exploration is a big one. We try and retry a variety of foods prepared in different ways. We explore how to be with our peers at a table while eating. Lastly, we explore how to share the experience of sharing food and stories and songs. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How have you seen mealtime(s) together evolve since infancy?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayln: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">when the group was younger, a lot of our work around mealtimes was the sensory experience of having different textures of food and drinks and what it meant to eat solid foods and drink from cups. Nowadays, with our mealtime routine established, we get to talk about the particulars of food - peels and rinds - and the experience is more centered around sharing a meal together. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> What do you enjoy most about that time together? Why?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayln: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the best part about meals for me is the sharing of stories and songs in such an intimate space. We are united in the desire to share a meal (this group loves to eat) and lately we've added so much communication about the food or stories about everyone's home time, or even how to say "more" with language or signing. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there anything that people might find surprising about your mealtime(s)?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayln: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How much food everyone eats! As the cook, I prepare a lot of veggies, protein, and grains and I find it surprising when I hear that all or most of the food was consumed at lunch time!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What else would you like to share?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hayln: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the parts that I really enjoy about mealtime is sharing in spoken and signed language. We have been practicing, since infancy, how to use our hands or words to communicate, and lately everyone has been participating with ease!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 266px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 354px;"><img height="266" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6pAA0fo49TTWXX85Ia9Xypap7BL0Nq0WI7IDoFvzivTPlmLCsDSueDpNw6uv2ududpKK2TM8Na_UvysUkGar1tatowZmnFfYWtLXedlhQNUogNxeniDLdWGAR-vFLDhxhDeSAz2T" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="354" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Preschool Cohort</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In three words, how would you describe the preschool mealtime(s)?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shianne: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Silly, engaged, curious</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Out of those three words, which one do you think encompases Preschool mealtime(s) best? Why? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shianne: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Engaged. I think that’s seen through how we “check-in” in the mornings at the table. And I think they’re all good at being both a speaker and a listener during that time. They can switch between these roles well, which makes for some great mealtime conversation! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is your favorite part of that time together? Why?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shianne: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I love when everybody shares about their home life and their experiences. For example, I like monday mornings when everyone comes in to share what they’ve been doing with their families. I think it builds community!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there anything that people might find surprising about mealtime(s)?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shianne: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think children expand their food palette based on their surroundings. Without it even being spoken verbally, they come to appreciate various foods, as they witness one another enjoying all of what’s available. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cody: What else would you like to share?</span></p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shianne:</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> One of the things that the children do before every meal is choose a song to sing together. Sometimes that song is something that we all know, and sometimes the child who is choosing decides that they want to make up their own words to an existing song. And sometimes we all make up a new one together! Because of this, I think that each of them has become more confident in their ability/creativity to come up with something new that we all can enjoy.</span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-fc663109-7fff-e100-92e1-c342b57d6f16"></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-19421707669263345262020-12-02T13:12:00.004-08:002020-12-22T12:21:17.380-08:00On Resilience...<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember a time when I did not believe in children. I didn’t believe in their capabilities, their strength(s), and their resilience. Because of this, my </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">image of the child</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was one of fragility and weakness. To my credit, I worked at a mental health therapeutic nursery for children who lived in extreme poverty and continually dealt with the often traumatic realities of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">toxic stress</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. However, my view of them was still too small, still lacking, still insufficient. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-31614a67-7fff-01e4-f4ff-2dd1965dd553"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 370px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 208px;"><img height="370" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/CPXe9jTpacCQ447DznVThG1EXQDJEZeaaMzbO3akE7DXkP4Oy2c237UUY9SzbQhfW_c--ET94sdvmi2UnCcfWubzcXWIH8rBUw1zYFvX8wOIbGA6s4_-VvuI52qPL-Xi2FwfaVbz" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="208" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then I began to believe. I began to believe that children are not made of glass; but rather, courage, strength, and ambition. I realized they are not made of something to fear. Instead, they are made of something worth celebrating… </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">C</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hildren are </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">resilient humans</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. They are all resilient in a diversity of ways- no matter the child, no matter the context. Skovholt and Trotter-Mathison (2016) define resilience as “the ability to bounce back” (p. 125). With this in mind, the very act of being born into this world is a heroic act of resiliency. a fetus journeying from the only environment it has ever known, only to enter the brightest, loudest, and the most disorienting experience of their existence as an infant. Though this example is an extraordinary one, resilience is also cultivated within the mundane. Masten (2001) spoke to this ordinary nature of resiliency saying, “Resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary, normative human resources” (p. 235). In this view, even trying to put on a shoe or overcoming the common cold is building resilience within the child’s physical and neurological processes. In fact, the absence of such trying experiences only serves to delay the emergence of resiliency (which could also be termed here as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">development</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Children, our children of Tumbleweed as well as those outside our doors, are such insatiable learners, protagonists, and explorers in the celestial beauty of existence. They are theory-builders, co-conspirators, and conduits of grace. We have the opportunity each day to witness their resilient journeys, as well as offer them the freedom to encounter new challenges and struggle once again. And each time they </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bounce back</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, each time they overcome, we celebrate their beauty and wonder at their continual maturation. Yes, our children are resilient!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">American Psychologist, 56</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(3), 227-238. Retrieved from http://doi.org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu /10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skovholt, T., & Trotter-Mathison, M. (2016). </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The resilient practitioner: Burnout and</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">compassion fatigue prevention and self-care strategies for the helping professions (3rd</span></p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ed.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved from https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu /10.4324/9781315737447</span></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-54083534090795196992020-11-11T12:02:00.004-08:002020-12-22T12:14:55.255-08:00The Politics of Sleep<div class="separator"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 306px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 229px;"><img height="306" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/LzOrbKJxS3bkPP12hygY6XlWqpMOJfkbjXF4dDxAO7BUpCAduLJKl3qFz46uljWvqLxafNL4uLJeXH3voFTxZMM4JjTgJlJMI6kY-V5G__xdY-cUEXqmiERYScBUE-0gSXV7XCk3" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="229" /></span></div><p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naptime. One of the most talked about, written about, and contested times of the day for children. Some caregivers love it for the respite it offers them in a mentally, emotionally, and physically taxing day, while other caregivers despise it for the “power struggle” dynamics that sometimes accompany it (particularly in the preschool years).</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f5eff58b-7fff-1afd-580f-5d7eae02039c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Children Need Sleep</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whatever the viewpoint, one thing is for certain: children need sleep. We all do, and it is not for a little reason. We need sleep to grow- physically, neurologically, and for a healthy </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">stress response system</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. We need sleep to rest- to give our mind and body the pause that it needs. And we need sleep to heal- to give our muscles, skin, bones, etc. time to regenerate. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sleep is not Dogma</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this said, one culture’s values around sleep is not dogma. Despite the proliferation of literature on infant sleep schedules and preschool mandates, children are not inherently delicate. Rather, diverse cultures throughout the world prove that there is no universal law around sleep (except that you need it), especially considering the spectrum of ways in which each culture cultivates sleep for its youngest members. It’s important that we recognize this so that we don’t get stuck in the falsehood of dichotomizing rest. Thinking there is a right and a wrong way for children to get what they need is true in some instances, but to assert a universal value around the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">way </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">children sleep creates the possibility of asserting colonial attitudes on the culturally divergent ways of cultivating rest. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sleep is Political</span><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 341px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 256px;"><img height="341" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9yUb6awRnOjT1YUyV4qiX5ZP6VHC8iHCP7XHD2GWK1oIGZfHI0Sim6LGUews8S-nUuBgMu6xVZIuw5lfsJl631Yc3IoqDGh_1YtH_hBuW8nbENlHMGs4LrVhn5nZ40H2WjRyPCAk" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="256" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Regardless of our practices around naptime, what is most important for us to remember is that the way that we relate to children and their sleep routines is political. Children are right-holders and active citizens in society. As such, mandatory participation in an act of rest comes with no small amount of negotiation. When we participate in this negotiation, we are affirming the child’s right and competence in co-creating a restful experience, which leads to increased self-efficacy and confidence in their own self-care. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To be clear, this is not to advocate for a kind of anarchist pedagogy, one in which adults have no authority when it comes to children’s sleep practices. Authority still exists because a large knowledge gap between adults and children still exists. However, authority in these instances is not absolute. Even infants have an innate knowledge of what they need (often heralded by crying); therefore, our work is not how to “get them to sleep”, but to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tune in </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to what their bodies, emotions, and behaviors are telling us. As a child grows, they become more competent in recognizing what their body needs, as well as what feels most restful for them. Every time that we listen, follow, and negotiate with their thinking, feelings, and desires, we are participating in the politics of sleep by giving our authority and power away, while simultaneously promoting confidence and self-efficacy in children. It is not easy; negotiating power never is. But if we desire to live in a democratic society, one in which the rights of each citizen are highly valued, we need to recognize the inherent strength, capabilities, and knowledge(s) of even our youngest members. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-34028224480465181052020-11-05T10:18:00.000-08:002020-11-05T10:18:10.642-08:00The More We Get Together<div class="separator"></div><p><br /><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 337px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: right; width: 253px;"><img height="337" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/hGw0Uih-TjJ5KJOtEdnZy7cTfAX75dnyKQmXDj1SqO-2YOTm68ev_s_xfvaAm1YdD9o-YSy4YXBQXYUWPjgQBZHuDTyYJ7wWxCBPe9KoRv-I7kCoYDZ6bsYkEZOSE5pxJx78ZCGD" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="253" /></span><br /><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 255px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 192px;"><img height="316" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/a88lWDXV0d4ono01NEbVyKZ4gZtWhw3W9yA8PSLxVeLvCb44_HcBAEnZa5lf7uzGXn4PaNA6pWAJkFuqZRYm23unBMF424FeNVwUh2fmbLaAPgh2wsdL8DMoos70dEew7hbbSsot=w238-h316" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="238" /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1d78da0c-7fff-c415-d226-9541fdcc6ce1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The more we get together, together, together...</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because your friends are my friends, and my friends are your friends. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the Preschool Class, we sing this song almost every day at one of our three meal times. And it sounds so simple- “The more we get together, the happier we’ll be.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">But, in the beginning, it often doesn’t feel that way….</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s Monday morning, and we’re out in the yard. The children have been working on their “Ninja House” much of the morning, but as we come back outside after snack, their attention turns to the newly-fallen leaves lying under our large maple tree. CKP finds a leaf with a brilliant spectrum of colors (maroon, orange, and yellow) and says, “Look at my beautiful leaf!” OP has turned her attention to the same leaf and after Clark puts it down, she immediately picks it up. CKP notices this, and says, “No, I’m still working with that.” “No, I’m working with it,” OP replies. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By this time, I have come over to assess what is happening. I ask them to hand me the leaf while we talk about how to solve the problem. “It looks like you both want the same leaf. How could we solve that problem?” Hearing this, CKP quickly finds another leaf with its own array of colors and offers it as a substitution to OP. “So CKP’s idea is that you could have the leaves he’s found and he could have the leaf that I’m holding in my hand. How does that sound?” “Not good!” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Meanwhile, JA hears this same conversation and offers OP a leaf saying, “Here’s a leaf for you!” “But that one isn’t beautiful! I want my leaf,” OP responds. However, as I continue to hold the leaf and CKP again asks to be entrusted with it, OP has her own idea. I see her bounding up the side porch steps, only to celebrate and proclaim the long piece of grass she has found. “It looks like you’ve found something else to play with, OP. Does that mean CKP can have this leaf?” “Yes!”, she replies. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday will host one of the most important elections in our Nation’s history, and it has been met with not a little strife already. Rather, it has been a continuous and contentious debate over the past four years, while ideas conflict over the appropriate and democratic way to move forward. And though this discord has been sewn into the fabric of who we are together, I wonder about how, and even if, we will move forward together as a collection of diverse people, situated in the same geographical and constitutional milieu(s). </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The more we get together, together, together…” The more our preschool class gets together, the more we see our differences: differences of culture, of thought, of feeling. And the more we get together, the more we see these differences and recognize them as such. Initially, we try to change one another, to root out these differences that we see as problematic. But eventually, the more we get together, the more conflicts we have, the more we see our differences as something to be empathized with (rather than destroyed), and the more we see ourselves in one another. A conflict over a leaf is just one example of this. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 282px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 214px;"><img height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dno_RKPPLoFO4dim-7PR5zJ-RWc6vt8NX1gqGridRsF7ew3lve5WfmSNkMwdeQYC7KXe3mk7AiSJLipH8ktk_gFxHK16wDB_ms4pZdGTQnemYiqLlFz6HdjhmBzjj5H5UUcKna8z=w243-h320" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="243" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With all of this being said, a leaf is not abortion or LGBTQ rights or immigration, and it never will be. But the possession of a leaf is political. Everything is. And </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the more we get together</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as a community, the more we will learn how to navigate conflict together, empathize with one another’s differences, and just maybe... </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the happier we will be</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><img height="477" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/YXAYfL0MgIxcMbeEHGweQ8MaRs9KKYsHnnavbPZYkm9rZgi7HiWbuoqDLP8ggRMlhnQ2R3MMZJqHVDwMCh5y8G3_S5G49eAgngFQU947oyy2Booe6kpZEt-hbSl4cSERyOOQ2y3k=w359-h477" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="359" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-15280230870023409072020-10-29T10:16:00.002-07:002020-11-11T12:09:06.428-08:00Chalk Rocks and Sacred Stones<p><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 420px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; width: 316px;"><img height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Oh13dW9sS78VIqQ2z4DVuCGx69CllThqIZgfbY2LUjES-CTVfnIf3AzbMawTczMD796TX1dg8PHyw0HamiEYFd6iNsKc9UTAe0yPOSdk7jGyAr1xt7MxIGgKxcCZSZI4YlGmmZ-X" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="316" /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ab9af6d4-7fff-2e67-0c60-6a0d763e5561"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s Thursday afternoon. Almost all of the children are already gone, except the few who remain outside. HR is using a dump truck to carry the rocks that he finds around our playscape/garden. I notice this, and it reminds me of digging for crystals in my backyard when I was a child. Thinking of this, I join HR and hunt for rocks all around the yard. When we are through, we leave the dump truck with all of the rocks in it near the front of the driveway. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday morning rolls in. The preschoolers are arriving at school and CKP has an idea. “I want to draw with chalk!,” he says, searching for a piece to begin his work. I hear and see his ideas, and offer to grab some more chalk out of the shed. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After we have gathered a spectrum of chalk colors, we begin thinking about what outside materials we could decorate. CKP quickly spots the truck that HR and I had used for collecting rocks, and the creation begins. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As OP and JA join CKP in this endeavor, I pause to admire the colors of the stones they have already embellished with fresh chalk. Bright blue, purple, yellow, and pink adorn these rocks in an array of lines, circles, and scribbles. I pause, thinking about the way that rich colors such as these have significance and meaning in many Native American Tribes. For example, the </span><a href="http://navajopeople.org/blog/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Navojos have four colors </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(black, white, blue, and yellow) that represent four sacred mountains in each geographical direction (North, South, etc.). Furthermore, these same colors represent the four stones that are a central part of their creation story (Navajo People, 2020). This convergence of meanings strikes me, and I experience an array of feelings reflecting on this.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The children do not know this, and I do not mention it to them. Instead, I ask where they will take these treasures that they have so aptly colored. CKP says, “We should put them all over the yard so that people can see the beautiful colors!” Everyone soon agrees to this plan, and we begin the process of distributing the rocks throughout our playscape. </span><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 377px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 282px;"><img height="377" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TVFvVraxhsTroQG-H8XE7RjpCrs-6oRGSgTx7-5rkb_9BuZp3qwGLHqtRO4c0o70dZDfDvJCnofXV6hFAZ90Zoremf2b6IswEF4jFsWGhDq691G1nzNSX_moz6QA_zbO8KfCa-qD" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="282" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While the children decorate the yard with their co-creations, I think more about our interactions with these “other-than-human” stones, and I wonder about whether our relationship to these objects reflect the honor that we seek to imbue. “We acknowledge the people whose land we stand on,” begins the land acknowledgement at the bottom of this page. And while these words convey our hopes, I wonder if they convey our practice. In our relating to these stones, to these colors, to this place, are “our pedagogical and communal actions” honoring “the Native American tribes who have come before us, and those who remain here still?” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will not end this story with an answer to that question; rather, this blog is a living provocation for continual reflection and reformation of our values and practice. How do these words feel to you? What are we doing as a community to actively engage in the journey of justice for Native Americans? Where do we fall short? And how will we move forward together? </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Navajo People. (2020). <i>The Navajo Four Sacred Colors</i>. Retrieved from http://navajopeople.org/blog/</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-bd886d9b-7fff-8640-172e-9219fc485b12"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="color: #666666; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">*We acknowledge the people whose land we stand on- the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and several other tribes along the Columbia River. In doing so, we commit ourselves to the continual recognition of the historical violence done to their people by White people. It is our hope that our pedagogical and communal actions may honor the Native American Tribes who have come before us and those who remain here still.</span></span></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-23039690876840106392020-10-20T10:26:00.002-07:002020-10-20T10:28:01.803-07:00Living and Learning Together<div class="separator"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 344px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 193px;"><img height="344" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/B9jQhp5gNZsEn7hPkc_DmfnR5wl8Yix_NPEdUlRUb4o_1pCZypW2LDg4QF7f7siH3nRkP3bvo3H-0togVG-kSQGyg48i56sC12hc8jZM_bIxdM_pUkYFd3q4EZJVfh2HbNfgKRxl" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="193" /></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-1e0fa992-7fff-42ed-5115-ca77fc37a60f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We’re driving a car!,” says TH, while he looks through one of our classroom’s books. CKP joins him, and JA quickly follows suit. They are occupying our reading chair in the back right corner of our room, which has ample space for their three bodies to fit in comfortably. JA says, “I’m driving the car!,” while modeling the appropriate “10 and 2” hand positions on the imaginary wheel. CKP is also “driving the car,” and I begin to wonder about the feasibility </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of this co-pilot situation. Nonetheless, they share this role quite nicely, as they negotiate ideas of a way forward. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 335px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 251px;"><img height="335" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/n0gBKViXOET-WLC9wy-MfhDxb8oKC3npqRmqFmQp-vhu2aO99Mg_xbwT0d1KYwnIe4kDIClVHsUAOLDZfCKgNqKMTE9FGmDu-_p1zth9T19mnfxKcx-F1BlgPFDe1hgnfFxaa1XR" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="251" /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I think about this instance, as well as the other ways in which we are together (seen in the pictures pasted here), I think about the communal nature of our learning. While I am a teacher of the preschool group, I am not the only one, and I’m not just talking about Shianne. Each member of our group brings their own knowledge, abilities, and ideas into our time together, and it is from this collection of our many identities that we co-create who we are as a group. The stunning thing about this is that they are such extraordinary community and knowledge builders. Whether it be driving a car, sending sounds through a tube, harvesting tomatoes, or painting a collaborative canvas, they construct knowledge and meaning together, while becoming closer to one another as a group. Even their conflicts over these meanings are soon followed by an invitation to share, to play together, and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to collaborate anew. That kind of fidelity in the pursuit of ideas, and in relationship to one another, is subversive in an increasingly individualistic society, and I have front row seats to it every day. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 447px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 224px;"><img height="447" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/f-lhtz03mQh-374XmDj4TQbPTsOtaVn5Uvm7gyEPOktUbJpnNO2ud6wTvDLJpAIcwbJ6gxyiknrlCwqW08r_9XVBAJmilbm1NxE3Jxy5hiFQZKj39WdYD6-mX8EysNhP0EqGuu-D" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="224" /></span>With this being said, I do not pretend that children give us the perfect model for how to be together. In many ways, the complexities of their relationships to one another are made possible by adult scaffolding, situational maintenance, and environmental maintenance, without which the same kind of communal learning may not be possible. Though children are provocative in their relationships, they are still immature psychologically, emotionally, and of course, physically. This renders a need for assistance, for a guide, which is a role that adults often fill. It’s important that we believe in, and advocate for, the abilities of children, while not romanticizing their contributions. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Children, our preschool children, are such competent protagonists in their own learning and community building. And while we recognize their limitations in this, we also celebrate the way in which they navigate our living and learning together! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-5753635768591819792020-10-12T16:14:00.003-07:002020-10-12T16:17:12.738-07:00The Complexities of Inclusion<p><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 343px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 258px;"><img height="343" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/O8r-hHnc9eZSfOsuwM-zhyUFGMijUIfcwlYHz3rZxjPpH2fECKyarHQI6UsXrmscQbUQvv86hN-a28ReUXwuoQRtlPujROqNpPUVjqVvYoxs4Tfwggeob_3SgZub72Xk6gPdo31f" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="258" /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4f4c4b83-7fff-037e-86d0-28ca6c0bcda7"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grief</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I want to see the picture of my Mom,” JA says, as they run to take a quick peek at the phone that I’ve pulled out of my pocket. “Teacher Cody,” he continues, “I miss my Mom.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connection</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TH is playing in the “dome” (Or the “jungle gym,” some may call it). He’s making food and serving it to CKP, who is also in the dome. JA sees this and says, “I want to get in.” I ask what hole he wants to go through to enter the climbing structure, and he quickly chooses one of the triangle openings closest to the ground. He sits next to TH, and TH offers some of the “food” that he’s prepared. JA smiles at this, looking up at me and commenting, “He just gave me some food!”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Consent </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JA is sitting in my lap inside the classroom soon after rest time. TH, who is sitting across from JA and I, says to JA, “Can I hug you?” “Yeah,” JA responds. Reaching over into my lap, TH extends his arms, clutching JA tightly before letting go. JA turns to me with a big smile and says, “That person just hugged me.” “I saw that. What did you think about it?,” I ask. “I liked it!,” he says. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since JA’s first day with our Preschool cohort, he carried a complexity of emotions </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">through our gates. When he left </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Nest, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">he left his peers, their families, and teachers. Furthermore, he left the place that had comforted and nurtured him for so long. What had become so familiar to him was now replaced by the unfamiliar. What was known has now become foreign.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 382px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 287px;"><img height="382" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/7huzEPW2JxTQ6Mekqdur2UIaK3TJE0Z0hoKyjbXcIbLYh3J-9VHAwbvJZFcR7g1fyS3VdI5SXCb8jYfgGRNMRZbLjNNYDspXWRQds6ojAVhPaGr91RCeDh5prHlze7h3aTTuRre9" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="287" /></span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This foreign place, people, and social processes make up what is Tumbleweed. And as Tumbleweed, we interact within a tapestry of social patterns, cues, feelings, thinking, etc. These patterns come from the stuff we </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">have woven into what it means to be a Mom, what it means to be a Dad, what it means to be a child, what it means to be human. And each family’s weaving looks different, shaped by the threads of practices, customs, traditions of family and context- all combining to create the tapestry of culture(s) and cultural processes that we engage in with one another. And though we seldom acknowledge it, these things are not easy to digest or comprehend because their intricacies and dynamisms are legion.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the brief stories shared above, I highlighted only three experiences that are included among the multitude of feelings and interactions that shape the inclusion of a new child into our community. Grief, connection, and consent expose the sadness, the joy and the negotiation of all these experiences. And we celebrate JA’s journey in traversing these experiences. But they do not convey the whole of what he experiences each day, as he walks onto our grounds. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I say all of this in hopes to convey one reminder: Inclusion is a most necessary task, and it is a task of a whole community. When JA, or another new member of our Community, is experiencing the complexities of learning the communication, rituals, social patterns, etc. in which we have built, we are all called upon to respond. We are called to seek their full inclusion (children, parents, family, and culture) into Tumbleweed, while also recognizing the challenges that they face. We are called to allow the thread(s) of their selves become woven into the tapestry of who we are. We are called to include.</span></p><div><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-76404328424209046772020-09-29T14:16:00.000-07:002020-09-29T14:16:19.511-07:002020 & ECE<p>Early childhood education has often flown under the radar by the general public, and has consistently been under appreciated, unrecognized, and under supported. Tumbleweed is an incredible example of how under pressure, and in the midst of trying circumstances, there can still be something beautiful. 2020 has been a great example of this resilience, compassion, understanding and empathy in our own community. </p><p>As adults, parents, caregivers, and humans, we have been presented with a rollercoaster of a year. We were not given any warning as to what was ahead- consistent dread of the uncertain and experiencing more hardships than likely before... all compacted into a mere 6 and a half months. It has been clear through social media, talking with friends, colleagues and neighbors about what this has done for our own well-being. Not to mention, the overarching expectation that we need to continue to hustle, rush and take care of ourselves and all those around us in whatever capacity that may be. </p><p>We are all trying our best to care for ourselves, our family members, our parents, our children, our neighbors, our pets, our community, our society and those who are continually oppressed. If we were to use Dr. Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological theory, even one who may be not familiar with this model, could potentially see the connections. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLC2Xsl0Is8RmCFoh2pnpQ4suvFBnduAla3NenSwp830VFsBYZYQtLz1rDIlLD9ioApPNF3bPGzIkWLtxwmnbWftyg8Ynxyb1rA_Jq3weZQORZUHbaVxw_0vE0xv54aQb94EaeqiWDa4s/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLC2Xsl0Is8RmCFoh2pnpQ4suvFBnduAla3NenSwp830VFsBYZYQtLz1rDIlLD9ioApPNF3bPGzIkWLtxwmnbWftyg8Ynxyb1rA_Jq3weZQORZUHbaVxw_0vE0xv54aQb94EaeqiWDa4s/" width="240" /></a></div>Starting at the center, there is the person. The human. The child. Surrounding that human, are the different layers of their environment that may be playing a role on development and understanding of the world. <p></p><p>Without over-explaining, or diving into the micro-specifics, think to yourself the question: what layers am I functioning in right now?</p><p>Are you only focused on the microsystem around you? Maybe through the exosystem?</p><p>In the last week, have you spent more than say 30 minutes worrying about the Marco, or Chronosystem?</p><p>In reflection of my own work as a human during this time, as well as my time spent in the classroom with the children and my surrounding colleagues, the underlying topic that comes up in some form or another is how much we are trying to process while also completing all the other tasks and responsibilities at hand. </p><p>Our minds are not solely focused on our micro or mesosystem. We are functioning with the reminder in our pocket that the world around us is experiencing racism, hardships, oppression, inequality and so much more. We are, as some would say, in survival mode. </p><p>We all want what is best for our immediate family, whether that be your children, your spouse, your parents, your partner, your animals. But when our "systems" get overwhelmed, the boundaries, guidelines and energy is depleted. We are functioning in the best way we can, and perhaps we are simultaneously harder on ourselves for the difference in that quality of work or accomplishment than we would've been before. </p><p>We are overworked, overstressed, under compensated and misunderstood. This is not just in the Early Childhood Education field, it is a thread that is running through the work force during these times. </p><p>In our own mesosystem, that is the Tumbleweed Community, each person is a moving piece in the web of support we have created to sustain a meaningful, engaging and compassionate program. We wouldn't be Tumbleweed if it weren't for all our children and families. You are the purpose, the drive, and the passion. Providing quality childcare will be a continuous climb in our profession, and we feel honored to provide that for our families at Tumbleweed. </p><p>As teachers, we not just only care for the children, families, and the school, but also for each other. During these times, my fellow co-teachers have become my closest peers, confidants and professional motivators! I think I could speak for all of us when saying none of us saw our teaching careers evolving to what it is now. We have followed state policies, created our own, and worked with our community to make sure we could meet their needs at home and at school. All during a time where one headline could send your mood spiraling, depending on what you feel in your heart and for the world around us. </p><p>Enjoying the company of the children, families, teachers, admin and our surrounding community is what fills our cup. We chose this profession because of our passion. The feeling in our heart that wants to help the children discover the world around them with curiosity and develop a sense of self & agency. I do believe we are raising the generation that could change the world.</p><p>It starts with you & Early Childhood Education.</p><p><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10863526105647154575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-87625896869500968532020-08-26T13:46:00.003-07:002020-08-26T13:46:59.067-07:00The Comfort of Dragons<p><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">TH loves hugs. They love to be held, cuddled, carried, and cared for in a most gentle way. His heart is tender, and he feels with a ferocity that is unwavering. He feels not only for himself, but for others also. There have been countless times when he has provoked the entire class to a more empathetic response to a story, an event, or a situation. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-88078ff4-7fff-ebdc-8970-b551dfa84bc5"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 514px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 386px;"><img height="514" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nrRYGMd6g0rZUcyFi8HnSSfzB8iN_YflgAV1SamedRKhNKt7Mpsic-Jax_bdLhgrfqb9RAdkHDkE8MZjLwZQw5rJRR1Rxd72DeNcwgsfzR6ds1pG-xc6QSVDV51jIEVmiJ1REDAV" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="386" /></span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-11d0f0a2-7fff-73ae-78d9-6f766645ffa3"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OP loves hugs as well and also enjoys the gentleness of her caregivers. She also loves to care for others. Many parents have experienced this whenever they arrive on our school grounds. Before they can even enter through our gate, OP has proclaimed their presence to all who are within an earshot, but most specifically, to their child. She likes to make these connections, to help, to bring joy to another one of her friends at the news of their parent’s arrival. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One day I came out to the garden after my planning time to find these two engaged in pretend play with one another. OP was a “Momma Dragon,” while TH carried out the role of the “Baby Dragon.” “Mommy, I’m tired,” says Baby Dinosaur. “Ok, Baby, time to go to bed,” replies Mommy Dinosaur. TH walks gingerly over to a toy storage box at the side of the shed. He climbs on top and pretends to sleep. OP soon joins him on the box, and after she sits down, he soon rests his head in her lap. His face tells me he’s content, while her face tells me she’s enjoying her recurring role of caregiver. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I watch their play continue to unfold, I pause the cycling tasks in my head in order to appreciate this moment. Here is OP, caring for TH in her familiar, gentle way. And here is TH, resting his head in the comfort that he so adamantly enjoys. Here are two pieces of our community, finding purpose and comfort in the embrace of one another. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community is like that. We come with all that we have and all that we are, and somewhere in the midst of our messy muddling, we find connection, solace, and peace. Sometimes this comes easy, and our relationships quickly fuse into the mosaic of a collective. Sometimes it’s hard, and it seems like we’d sooner find comfort in a complete stranger than we would with those right in front of us. And sometimes, but only sometimes, we just transform into dragons.</span></p><div><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-10554884752582240412020-08-19T14:28:00.000-07:002020-08-19T14:28:02.153-07:00Transgressing Scarcity<p><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I want to paint!,” says OP, as she echoes what is for her a consistent desire during the transition between rest time and play. She pulls out a paper tray and a piece of paper, while I offer her watercolors, brushes, and a paint palette. Sitting down, she begins to meticulously place a multitude of colors and shades on her white piece of paper. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e5137461-7fff-1d74-6459-6034da0b20ec"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OS has only recently woken up from their nap and hears the commotion happening at the table across the room. They pull themselves off their mat and gingerly cross the other mats, scattered over the floor. “I want to paint too!,” they say, when they arrive at the table. I acknowledge this, and begin to gather more painting supplies from the shelf. Turning to hand them the tools they will need to accomplish their wish, I am started by what I see: OS has picked up a paint brush off of the table, and has begun to paint a dark swirl of color on OP’s creation, already in progress. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 438px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 329px;"><img height="438" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/f86L1WBYRE9KF87DRHFA-dfwkpU-cw46G4ZidsM_pU7HJEL2NwQeSHx4OEQjLuEFFgAdQdc7nN2KUmPb0FX14yzMalUtmup55HOruhVGZvJdTX1iRybf2XiqdLggyDvAeUjsIzVF" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="329" /></span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some may remember an earlier story I had written about a similar event entitled, “Dancing Without Borders.” In it, I described my amazement of the way in which OS and OP had allowed one another to transgress commonly-held notions of boundaries. That was juxtaposed with the way in which the United States has treated immigrants over the past several years. And now, here these two are again, dancing with paint bushes, while challenging others’ ideals of possession. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While I continue to watch OS and OP return to their dance together, I am again transfixed by their inaudible negotiation of a space, of an event, and of a shared creation. Their arms become tangled in the messiness of their activity, and perhaps their </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">activism</span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, co-mingling colors and ideas. As they continue to blur one another’s lines and shades, they also continue to transgress societal views of ownership and scarcity, and as they transgress one another’s space, they continue to transgress the current immigration policies of the United States. Reflecting on this, I remember the words of Ghandi, </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“There is enough on earth for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” </span><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OP’s Mom arrives at the end of the day. She is met with the same enthusiasm and energy that OP exudes each time her Mom arrives in the afternoon. After some exchange of hugs and greetings, OP runs to her bag and pulls out the same page she was painting on only hours earlier. “Mommy, Mommy, look what me and OS made!,” she exclaims as she hands her Mom their work of art. I smile; generosity has won the day. </span></p><div><span style="color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-13894376947488770102020-06-23T13:21:00.000-07:002020-07-14T14:09:10.579-07:00The Ghost in the Studio<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDk4l3pCj1oPRlC9iXqeEGQRIffh4xeXd9Fa_qF7tL57W3bmbTYA9SZyn10POKiQFVEHhnkcxTuB6tQCKBjFvN3nQmPrgvMqSLgl-9NGDaFKEiKr54hdzjmDYq1yMI3bLavzYORFeJn8/s1600/IMG_2397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXDk4l3pCj1oPRlC9iXqeEGQRIffh4xeXd9Fa_qF7tL57W3bmbTYA9SZyn10POKiQFVEHhnkcxTuB6tQCKBjFvN3nQmPrgvMqSLgl-9NGDaFKEiKr54hdzjmDYq1yMI3bLavzYORFeJn8/s400/IMG_2397.JPG" width="300" /></a><i>There is a ghost in the studio</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>And the children are running.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>Running,</i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Screaming,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Fleeing to the
elevator.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is a ghost
in the studio <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And the children
are running.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s Friday, May 29th, 2020.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last night I watched a video of George Floyd,
a 46-year-old black man, being assaulted and killed by a white police
officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not the first time this
has happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, it has happened
1,254 times since 2015 (Tate, Jenkins and Rich, 2020).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel sad thinking about this, as I watch
the children play a new pretend game that they’ve been rehearsing the last
couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is an old wooden shed in front of me,
nestled within our outdoor garden/playscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The roof of this “storage shack” jets out behind it to provide shelter
for our newly-revived outdoor studio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Only yesterday one of the children’s’ parents came to guide the children
and I through the construction of a long table that now inhabits this covered
area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also inhabiting this space is a
thin white sheet, hanging along the back wall of the studio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s a ghost!” LW announces, as they, and
the other two children, turn and run out of the studio and towards the front of
the shed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once there, LW yells, “Get
into the elevator!”, while all three of the children jump on top of a small
table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Press the button!”, says OS,
while TH presses the imaginary button on the wall with a stick which they had
gathered on the way to the elevator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“We’re at the top floor!”, LW says, and they climb down from the
elevator and into a net of safety again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Fear</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For almost three months now, these children
have been under the ominous cloud that is COVID-19.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At school we often refer to this reality as
“the virus,” and the children have seemed to find some understanding in the
term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, for perhaps the first
time in their lives, there is something that their parents don’t have an answer
for, their teachers don’t have an answer for, that no one has an answer
for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This must be a scary place for them
to be, as those who have built such strong fencing around them struggle to
construct a new barrier, a new layer of protection from this new reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the children continue to engage with this
ghost, I am curious, and I wonder about the connections their making between
this thing that they are running from and the virus that we’re all trying to
escape…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFaCcstBuY1NgLlVa5A21FHSbjduU-7KuQ9rorbS6MEeZGmf6qeYEwBoG7LXHvZG9Gll_NOAJmJynMQgpC8nFsDHedbsdFzanrZfVDxsiSuXCO20VhFD3Kurl8Du5VJnAd5bZc-pL0xrg/s1600/IMG_2493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFaCcstBuY1NgLlVa5A21FHSbjduU-7KuQ9rorbS6MEeZGmf6qeYEwBoG7LXHvZG9Gll_NOAJmJynMQgpC8nFsDHedbsdFzanrZfVDxsiSuXCO20VhFD3Kurl8Du5VJnAd5bZc-pL0xrg/s400/IMG_2493.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Change</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It’s Thursday, June 4, 2020.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The children have just finished adding to our
“BLACK LIVES MATTER” mural, outside the fence of our playscape. We are in the
studio again; however, today I notice a change in their play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contrary to their interactions with this
ghost for the past couple of months, they are not running away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are moving towards the towards the white
sheet with sticks in their hands, and they are attacking it; they are attacking
the ghost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OS has two sticks in their
hands as they become entangled with it, hitting it, assaulting it, from close
proximity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CF says, “It disappeared!”
“What disappeared?”, I asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The ghost
disappeared because we hit it!”, CF replied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We gather in the studio together and celebrate
the destruction of this thing that they once feared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we revel in this new occurrence, I can’t
help but to become curious once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What has changed in their relationship to the ghost in the last couple
of weeks?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What transformation has taken
place?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I do not pretend to know the answer to
these complex questions, but I also can’t help but to draw on the symbolism
that is occurring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This ghost, this
white sheet, has for so long been a cloak that has symbolized hate, racism, and
even death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been wielded as a
weapon of fear and a relic of ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even those who have sworn to protect the citizens of our country have embraced
this ghost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, since I began
writing this post, the number of black people who have been killed by the
police has risen to 1,298 (Tate, Jenkins, and Rich, 2020).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s forty-four people in less than one
month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b>The Fight</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But it is time to stop running from
it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is time to recognize that this ghost
is something that lives all around us, among us, and even within us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is time to encounter the thing that we
fear. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is time to attack it, to thwart it, to destroy its ideal and its reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It has been wielded for far too long and far too much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is time we take a lesson from the
children, to take a stand and to fight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZsGBhwip4RQfz-0DmTDV3xU12dLozYjapeY1SK8xKcSnwC6g77OS6kqKNCe8-wUE0fDTNrZ_nokZhTa3m8138CvlqbtZyul7tTQ7MYD-w0o65sp8sYsW7-Hi2yBdQDoex_xS8Mjolk4/s1600/IMG_2499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQZsGBhwip4RQfz-0DmTDV3xU12dLozYjapeY1SK8xKcSnwC6g77OS6kqKNCe8-wUE0fDTNrZ_nokZhTa3m8138CvlqbtZyul7tTQ7MYD-w0o65sp8sYsW7-Hi2yBdQDoex_xS8Mjolk4/s400/IMG_2499.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">On a morning soon after George Floyd’s
death, we were talking about what happened to this man who was beloved by so many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shared with the children the story of his
death and without any prompting, TH spoke up and said, “I would have pushed the
policeman off of him!” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Wow,” I thought, "I hope we all have the courage to do the same."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is a ghost
in the studio</span></i></div>
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<i><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And the children
are attacking.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Hitting it,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Dismantling it,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Taking it by
force.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is a ghost
in the studio<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And we are not running
anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Tate, J., Jenkins, J., Rich, S. (2020). Fatal Force. <i>The Washington Post. </i>Retrieved<br />
from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/</a></div>
<br />Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-51316698196478450142020-05-09T18:14:00.002-07:002020-05-10T09:13:24.187-07:00A Metaphor for Learning: Threads, Tapestries, and an Ecology of Meaning-Making<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LW walks
into the classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have a smile on
their face and I can see they are excited for the day ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That smile, that excited feeling, are both a
part of what has been woven into the tapestry of meaning that LW brings
with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This tapestry is also made of
the experiences of family, of context, of meaning-making, the weaving together
of threads of meaning, which continues to refine and create their tapestry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LW has come from their home, their
primary environment, which is itself a tapestry of meaning(s), interwoven and
shaped by LW’s family- their mother, their father, and their brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, the wood that lines the floors
of their living room, the light that shines through their bedroom window, the
plant that rests above the sink in the kitchen- all of these create the
tapestry/tapestries that inform Lincoln’s own tapestry, their own weaving of
meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ01G3Hzg4HaI_UvU20U0k6_cBx_Tsh2AvAT9doS9XPQb5Tu96_qDnWEDslrlN_pkvsFXzHcdx7WmnlLWkkd9ZbR23lZ9dPD8KZhs-UmS_Q5BxNorHAtWC16QCPEvM_r_aodigdbRHWfc/s1600/IMG_1905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ01G3Hzg4HaI_UvU20U0k6_cBx_Tsh2AvAT9doS9XPQb5Tu96_qDnWEDslrlN_pkvsFXzHcdx7WmnlLWkkd9ZbR23lZ9dPD8KZhs-UmS_Q5BxNorHAtWC16QCPEvM_r_aodigdbRHWfc/s400/IMG_1905.JPG" width="300" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Their family
is not exempt from this effect; their mother, father and brother are also made
up of tapestries of meaning, informed by one another, by LW, by the
weavings that make up their environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so, the threads that make up each of their tapestries are
inextricably linked to all who, and all that, has shaped their experience(s).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As LW moves further into the room, they encounter me and the tapestry of meaning that
I have brought with me, as well as the certain transference of meaning that LW associates with what it is to be a teacher, a caregiver, an adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They say, “Hi Cody!”, and I return the
greeting as I work my own tapestry in order to mirror their tapestry of
feelings, desires, and expressions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
glance at the threads of meaning that I have woven into this environment this
morning in the form of a provocation, made up of multi-colored stacking blocks,
lined up next to one another at equal intervals in front of a three-foot-tall
square mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As LW considers this
tapestry, they no doubt layer it with the threads of meaning that they have
extracted from similar provocations, as well as those meanings that the colors,
shapes, and sequence display, as they are interwoven with the meaning of
reflection of the mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, LW turns their gaze from this, and it moves towards the wooden ramp that is
positioned in the back corner of the room, near where I am sitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LW steps up the ramp and then stops at the top with their sock-covered feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they begin to slide slowly down the smooth
surface of the wood, my mind quickly moves to a memory of this same experiment
the day before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They, and their friend OS,
climbed up and slid down this ramp many times, eager at the end of each slide
to return to the top for another attempt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This, I recall, is not unlike the investigation that they have been
conducting outside where they have been using various objects such as the cones
which have fallen off a nearby alder tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>LW and OS have been sliding these cones through a five-foot-long
plastic pipe from the summit of a large box they have been standing on, ending
in a small collection of cones, near the base of the pipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though this was an altogether different
tapestry of environment through which to explore sliding objects, LW's thread
of meaning that they have begun to weave into this morning’s tapestry has no
doubt in some way been transformed and transferred from their previous
experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I
consider this, I begin to filter this meaning through the tapestry of my own
experience and wonder what new thread may provoke a further exploration for LW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is at this point that I remember some
small, smooth pieces of colored glass, as well as some half-inch pieces of
painted ceramic tiles that I had come across that same morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had not planned on these fragments to help
weave this morning’s tapestry of experience; nonetheless, I quickly retrieve
them from a shelf nearby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LW is
intrigued by the introduction of these new materials as I say, “I’ve noticed
that you have been enjoying sliding down this ramp in your socks, and I’ve
begun to wonder how other objects might slide down it as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are some pieces with different shapes,
sizes, and textures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you think they
will slide down this ramp?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LW quickly embraces these new tools of exploration, grabbing some from the tray
I’ve placed beside the ramp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They say,
“I’m going try this one!”, holding a square piece of ceramic tile, painted on one
side over a textured-swirl design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlSzW-iexE1BR8k6W7fZhvhTME4BwWfrOyqSzCHQeVLUyXOtnc6ej0G3j5PZG-sT_ZuEWzB_PEWQYAOKK12e1MMyUJ34kLp8x7TrlfG2vZjRkaG09KP1otDbknpjUYuDCwNIZurEnWI4/s1600/IMG_2102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="983" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlSzW-iexE1BR8k6W7fZhvhTME4BwWfrOyqSzCHQeVLUyXOtnc6ej0G3j5PZG-sT_ZuEWzB_PEWQYAOKK12e1MMyUJ34kLp8x7TrlfG2vZjRkaG09KP1otDbknpjUYuDCwNIZurEnWI4/s400/IMG_2102.jpg" width="245" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When they
begin by trying to slide the unpainted and course side of the tile down the
ramp, they quickly notice that it will not slide without some continual force being
applied by their hand.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">LW repeats
this process again and notes, “It doesn’t really slide very well.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I respond, “I noticed that too, LW.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I wonder what would happen if you turned the
tile over and tried to slide it on its painted side.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They immediately turn the tile over and place
it at the top of the ramp.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This time the
tile slides with ease and only requires an occasional nudge to give it new
momentum.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">LW exclaims, “It’s
working now!”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I affirm this and ask,
“Why do you think the tile slides better on the painted side?”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They reply, “I don’t know.” Then I tell them
to feel the two sides.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“What do they
feel like?” I ask.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">LW slowly moves
their finger over the painted side before turning the tile over to feel of the
course side.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“This side feels kind of slippery,”
they say, as they point at the painted side.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They continue, “But the other side doesn’t feel very slippery.” “You
know, I noticed that too,” I respond and add, “The painted side of the
tile feels slippery and it slides well, but the other side isn’t painted, isn’t
slippery, and doesn’t slide very well.”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Yeah,” they say.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Soon after
this exchange, LW begins testing the smooth glass pieces before they are
joined by OS, who aids them in racing the various objects down the ramp,
after noticing the speed of the sliding glass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>OS too brings with them a tapestry, woven together with the threads
of meaning, experience, and context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because of this, the tapestry of our environment changes as new meanings
are made in the interplay of the simultaneous tapestries that are present.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Looking back
on that moment of co-learning in the classroom environment, I realize that the
threads and tapestries that I’ve been describing here could otherwise be
described as an ecology of meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
each new thread, meaning is woven into each individual and collective tapestry
which then are transformed by their relation to other tapestries and their
inherent threads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This ecology of
meaning can be seen in the tiniest tapestry of an ant, made of its many threads
of size, shape, color, bodily processes, etc., to the tapestry of a mural
painted on the ceiling of a cathedral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything that exists is a tapestry because nothing has its meaning
apart from the relationships that make up its many parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this perspective, even the thread that
I’ve spoken of here is a tapestry because its inherent meaning is made up of,
and through, the experiences and previously constructed meanings (threads) of
its host.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this way, no meaning exists
in isolation; each thread is only derived through an ecology of other threads,
an ecology of meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-89856784659193658132020-02-25T15:26:00.001-08:002020-02-27T10:54:19.255-08:00Conflict and Opportunity<span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Hey I want that helmet!” “No, me want the helmet!” “No, me!”
“Me!” I hear these words as I stand on the playground on a brisk winter
morning. Turning towards the commotion,
I see that two children are both vying for a blue</span><i style="font-family: "century gothic", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </i><span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">bicycle helmet, the
only </span><i style="font-family: "century gothic", sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">blue</i><span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> bicycle helmet that happens to be on the playground
today. I start moving towards them,
careful not to rush in too soon, but also aware of how quickly the situation
might escalate. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIIY4dUbOEWvCiqrfsiVzsGxWJ0gf_aI7E4bh1zjQyCmO2BDE-vTL-kHSaOuBIcjBWaQT33cW5NbteLwne3bcNI7HkHMGERvwScJqjJnh6wuQHFVN5QsrOg4hA2hhdngEReibxleus2Y/s1600/IMG_1805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZIIY4dUbOEWvCiqrfsiVzsGxWJ0gf_aI7E4bh1zjQyCmO2BDE-vTL-kHSaOuBIcjBWaQT33cW5NbteLwne3bcNI7HkHMGERvwScJqjJnh6wuQHFVN5QsrOg4hA2hhdngEReibxleus2Y/s320/IMG_1805.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This
is my second day as one of the teachers of the Preschool House after visiting
and observing the children three days previously. On all five of these days, this has been a
common occurrence: these two children having a conflict over the same
object or toy. But as common as this
occurrence is, what is even more common is these two playing together! Every day during outside time these two find one another in the yard and quickly commence their time together. In fact, the situation
described above is the direct result of their attempt to ride bikes with one
another. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As humans, as well as animals, conflict is a phenomenon
that occurs all around us. It occurs as
a result of desire, of love, of hardship, of need, and a host of other
reasons. In spite of the rate
of this occurrence, we find a myriad of ways to avoid it. These ways are sometimes subtle, sometimes
overt, but present nonetheless. This is understandable as we have witnessed some of the damaging results of
conflict; one only has to tune in to the national news these days to glimpse
this reality, which makes the ability to navigate conflict all the more urgent and necessary. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When
I was in Reggio Emilia, Italy (home of the Reggio Emilia Approach) a <i>pedagogista</i>
there, Annalisa Rabotti, was asked by another educator from the United States
how to avoid conflict between children.
Annalisa responded that conflict is certainly not something to be
avoided, but rather,<i> “conflict is the pretext for learning how to be
together.” </i>I thought her words were
poignant and spoke to the heart of the opportunity created by conflict. Whenever I see these two children entering into the
space of conflct, what I see is opportunity - opportunity for growth,
opportunity for connection, opportunity for relationship.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQ1f7GCGc8tV4ZCe-atRPnPDkeeyDQVflFPDZ2j0-qFDLcS94XgQOpqhxT3B3-6o3kDkeKd9fFfmn3LphoJjl58BXq2hJNvK7jPTcIDgJDyf6j_gJxWhYV7f4o5Vf4-OFJc99rerzQdA/s1600/IMG_1800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQ1f7GCGc8tV4ZCe-atRPnPDkeeyDQVflFPDZ2j0-qFDLcS94XgQOpqhxT3B3-6o3kDkeKd9fFfmn3LphoJjl58BXq2hJNvK7jPTcIDgJDyf6j_gJxWhYV7f4o5Vf4-OFJc99rerzQdA/s320/IMG_1800.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> I kneel
down beside them. I say, “It sounds like
you both want the same blue helmet, but there’s only one blue helmet. What ideas do you have to solve this
problem?” They pause for a moment to
think. “He could use the black
helmet,” One child says, as he points to the one hanging nearby. “No! I want the blue helmet,” the other child responds. I say, “So, your idea was that he could use the black helmet, but he said no, he still wants the blue
helmet." To the second child, I asked: "Do you have any
ideas?” He says, “We could take
turns!” I say, “His idea is that you
could take turns. What do you think
about that?” “No, me don’t want to take turns,” the first child responds. Then something curious happens. The first child pauses once again and then says, “He can use the blue helmet, and me make dinner.
Then me use the blue helmet.” I reflect his words to the other child, “Oh, he says you could use the blue helmet while he makes
dinner, and then he could use the blue helmet.
What do you think about that idea?”
“Yeah!”, the second child responds, and they rush off to begin their newly negotiated ideas. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3186467455976192089" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3186467455976192089" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3186467455976192089" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "century gothic" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
the midst of this conflict, the two friends learn something about one
another. They move closer in, they
encounter one another anew, and depart having existed in the presence of one
another’s vulnerability, and thus, have moved deeper into relationship. This is a monumental gesture, one that has
the opportunity to change not only them and their bond together, but also the
fabric of the society of which they are a part.
The psychoanalyst Scott Peck says in his book, <i>A Different Drum</i>,
“There is no community without vulnerability, and there is no vulnerability
without risk.” This young friendship is instructive in this way and offers
us further insight into the relational opportunity posed by conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16462293221158664748noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-90123973099784589672019-09-06T13:51:00.000-07:002019-10-19T11:39:50.207-07:00Processing Emotions with Preschoolers: Anger<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuW-ve4a0S7_rEtWGxIv80BSRhp1s4aYcuzORgEI4NoHLWmwLLUGr-Ik0B7zQey0yiPdidxOsyUdA0ORENE7l-PES1whwG71ffzpS26yR48c3HZrPqaVx_WLXOC8yb3g5gxmwnvPqwnE_p/w547-h681-no/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aria-label="Photo - Portrait - Aug 13, 2019, 10:56:32 AM" border="0" class="SzDcob" height="320" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuW-ve4a0S7_rEtWGxIv80BSRhp1s4aYcuzORgEI4NoHLWmwLLUGr-Ik0B7zQey0yiPdidxOsyUdA0ORENE7l-PES1whwG71ffzpS26yR48c3HZrPqaVx_WLXOC8yb3g5gxmwnvPqwnE_p/w547-h681-no/" style="transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="256" /></a>Anger is an emotion that is hard for anyone, regardless of age, to process. We are told that our anger is dangerous and wrong from a young age. In homes that embrace gentle parenting practices, parents often fear that the anger they sometimes feel toward their children (which is, of course, inevitable in such a close relationship) is in itself toxic and damaging.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8d-Q90tB3iG3c93OyumrZT-YEz5jyjk6LyykFO3ETwFwx1CnB0QcwssVSSha6hOAE6DDsYA3kjlhOGw-wbYQ_3CBkktrgWh2Z7Dl3XrMnfcXB1rrClzjfuFz-x_KmjLLtqJe5CXVHZU_/w903-h681-no/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img aria-label="Photo - Landscape - Jul 30, 2019, 10:51:55 AM" border="0" class="SzDcob" height="240" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ8d-Q90tB3iG3c93OyumrZT-YEz5jyjk6LyykFO3ETwFwx1CnB0QcwssVSSha6hOAE6DDsYA3kjlhOGw-wbYQ_3CBkktrgWh2Z7Dl3XrMnfcXB1rrClzjfuFz-x_KmjLLtqJe5CXVHZU_/w903-h681-no/" style="transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="320" /></a></div>
At Tumbleweed we talk a lot about embracing all emotions. We know that feeling happy doesn't make you "good" and feeling sad or angry doesn't make you "bad," that our light and shadow selves are two sides of the same coin, and that one can't exist without the other. It is not always easy to convey this to children, or even to feel it ourselves. And no matter how effectively we communicate this emotional acceptance to the children in our care, we are combating a world of media images and the larger culture which celebrates contented, happily playing children as good, and portrays children expressing anger as bad. Our cultural fear of anger leads to a stigmatization of that emotion, which in turn leads to anger being expressed in unhealthy or destructive ways, when anger itself isn't inherently unhealthy or destructive at all.<br />
<a aria-label="Photo - Portrait - Aug 12, 2019, 10:34:54 AM" class="p137Zd" href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMNiC__CQuSi9wjZBqmNzDVSn6kez681fpRgIUK" jsaction="click:eQuaEb;focus:AHmuwe; blur:O22p3e;" tabindex="0"></a><br />
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<a aria-label="Photo - Portrait - Aug 12, 2019, 10:34:54 AM" class="p137Zd" href="https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMNiC__CQuSi9wjZBqmNzDVSn6kez681fpRgIUK" jsaction="click:eQuaEb;focus:AHmuwe; blur:O22p3e;" tabindex="0">
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_Z9QcA02CZ0l0x5bH3oeTwGwVVNfXvaJuNqCL50htwSy6LZXIIWM1Lo1c1JIJ3QjQ3bEOKZiosvFpDTVSbY1cJCb8_jwDJLKQr3dyFRcQ-RT3fRPLt_Ot6VCCTpn5ix8iqIW1qKW1LZZdenAEX1cXv5ByQ4yAEyhzvhRiljzjHmHaDnIm3DVj3NtrxRZlO_Ceo1UFoZ4XEgVE9aNl_0A9Gei8clHwtL8KgxoN-Ib5A-k6AqTsR3s98hSG3djjn2Xn3uqQLTSI2L5goKjV1AQzWj2JvUyxy-bHvhFG0pV4DXNHUzOXDfPswoUHthMAGB9IdgbXAAeZ7DuLRR7x6oHzmpjZ_7u0kmp9l42C4hYHwIDipmLNHsEVQl4RdRNEwqiWSU72vOUBkCrXFwqiUr4buY4jtBPHC6anzSGHtgRSYhTwqSevj3AZRA7v43boCIN1CcDH2G2bJK_VFONf2ftU3F8VDykhyxRR0wYrMWrxlt3BQHHEC29C-Uxd8fP7HnWreAJsi9Aye8XOdZTHwJuQgdaKMxnY_pjgXL7CPqye3lopfAckacKCpZ9sAstbdYiN_t9fqv-2LEy4u3BgnjPtereAcX6nR8RiX4FKOGSPO_oCFKM-bn95NGVLoUxjqPaCmSPxMFfmCrPFRC1OrTBjGbjAUF-CwV58E3zYBsNFU7Y01fTyi45e2w=w547-h681-no" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aria-label="Photo - Portrait - Jul 29, 2019, 11:11:41 AM" border="0" class="SzDcob" height="320" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_Z9QcA02CZ0l0x5bH3oeTwGwVVNfXvaJuNqCL50htwSy6LZXIIWM1Lo1c1JIJ3QjQ3bEOKZiosvFpDTVSbY1cJCb8_jwDJLKQr3dyFRcQ-RT3fRPLt_Ot6VCCTpn5ix8iqIW1qKW1LZZdenAEX1cXv5ByQ4yAEyhzvhRiljzjHmHaDnIm3DVj3NtrxRZlO_Ceo1UFoZ4XEgVE9aNl_0A9Gei8clHwtL8KgxoN-Ib5A-k6AqTsR3s98hSG3djjn2Xn3uqQLTSI2L5goKjV1AQzWj2JvUyxy-bHvhFG0pV4DXNHUzOXDfPswoUHthMAGB9IdgbXAAeZ7DuLRR7x6oHzmpjZ_7u0kmp9l42C4hYHwIDipmLNHsEVQl4RdRNEwqiWSU72vOUBkCrXFwqiUr4buY4jtBPHC6anzSGHtgRSYhTwqSevj3AZRA7v43boCIN1CcDH2G2bJK_VFONf2ftU3F8VDykhyxRR0wYrMWrxlt3BQHHEC29C-Uxd8fP7HnWreAJsi9Aye8XOdZTHwJuQgdaKMxnY_pjgXL7CPqye3lopfAckacKCpZ9sAstbdYiN_t9fqv-2LEy4u3BgnjPtereAcX6nR8RiX4FKOGSPO_oCFKM-bn95NGVLoUxjqPaCmSPxMFfmCrPFRC1OrTBjGbjAUF-CwV58E3zYBsNFU7Y01fTyi45e2w=w547-h681-no" width="256" /></a>Part of the reason why anger is so difficult in preschool aged children is that they have reached an age where their physicality can have a much different effect on the adults in their lives than it did when they were an infant or toddler. As a child grows and gets stronger, it can be harder for adults to remember just how young they are, and that when their emotions boil over, they haven't yet learned to maintain control of their body.<br />
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Where an adult may see an angry four-year-old and interpret their punches and kicks as deliberately trying to harm, the child is feeling out of control, most likely scared, and is looking for a limit to be set. Sometimes that limit setting looks like holding a child to help them be still, or giving a child space to fully feel their emotions in a place that is safe. Sometimes setting those limits doesn't feel good to anyone involved, and that is why after fully feeling anger it is so important for a child to be offered connection and a chance to repair the relationship with a trusted adult.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16unc6twu5tS28ue-_Dqx0nZYMq4RkL9johAIeFCGNIUkkRkt5ORyLzTm_2QmfWd5F8cCklWEaQWbhyezJiRCBkvz6xHDU_T8ldFQ23aYzINboeOgsSUT9RRaL-0sV39_CUXaGLBBviOk/w908-h681-no/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img aria-label="Photo - Landscape - Aug 1, 2019, 11:14:52 AM" border="0" class="SzDcob" height="240" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16unc6twu5tS28ue-_Dqx0nZYMq4RkL9johAIeFCGNIUkkRkt5ORyLzTm_2QmfWd5F8cCklWEaQWbhyezJiRCBkvz6xHDU_T8ldFQ23aYzINboeOgsSUT9RRaL-0sV39_CUXaGLBBviOk/w908-h681-no/" style="transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="320" /></a></div>
This process of repair often begins with telling the story of what happened. I'll ask a child, "What do you remember?" and offer my own memories of an incident to fill in the blanks; it's difficult to form memories when we are overwhelmed by emotions. My own recounting of the incident will be given in a neutral tone with no judgement. For example: "I remember you were feeling so mad. I saw your arms flying out and I knew your body needed lots of space. You didn't like that I moved your body. That felt so hard." Asking lots of "why?" questions is usually not effective - when a child is feeling that strongly they've gone beyond the point of reason. They don't know why they behaved the way they did, but they want to know how to do things differently next time.<br />
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During a recent group time, we talked about anger. I told a story from my childhood of a time I felt angry - hearing stories of adult emotions may feel scary or overwhelming to preschoolers, so it can be helpful to recall childhood stories instead. In the story, I remembered holding my anger inside and not letting it out, and how bad it felt to not know how to let the anger move through my body. Then we began to talk about safe ways to let ourselves feel anger. Some ideas generated by the group included:<br />
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CKP: Push a wall<br />
EB: Give yourself a hug<br />
EM: Ask your parents for a hug, or hit a bed or something soft<br />
CN: Hug a stuffy<br />
EB: Yell! Make a big sound from your belly<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7TL1bemybiuRW3GFBB9e7ZxSO7mXUcXqwtIHUqKwe6OpfmAiEnqP1d2qj4pl9BC5217TPyUMsys3nJdAU_J2fn5WZnJKRbSl1Ux_1EaYEiO89_pjukfmNj7u5z_AitvW9-mLt4jTUpxtx0sItRFgM4l4xhAEbL9xuv9-m7_U0YX-XizkSY0nku7EmmymYG701tZoDTvuou_U0xj2OaESvaS07vO_964Gng-WEd_aKe_dG-Hvu82IeDpXPJ2z2OwzIpgrvNl2nc1aZnweVV4IiaTQzq6E-Q9MxTiB94gU_TQ45dkvT-1_T0ZqRIrbYfAMW7xhR08aaUlq5EhDzOr6hqDXkJJyvrNWIpocC8iQ65ObzQnsSsqVHGTVa8VXCyVpec8sJfm0WZIuWgK3RcErhcfoMfufyylhAgvi2dtsPYwmqf6338qj14izhszRmMP2fro201WYrnrZckd_rpYX5Wx2cVKcg0w1-0gmXx9JC8SFcH5MAf2reWUtoD6zDM2pRGmuGKYU6tzCS7CdrWiC2Obb2HI7v-1SYNaO_c6XBvHs7fiUMdG3wzFE57gomEN8dmrR8YcUBEbe1piHz-QqkZBbt_aqWGfsEytwRMhwrKb3kGvC-48VqMSltYMwAWqzXjPBl1Iwd0VWr4MdqFjBRIS0iFMA9vxkQql6t3D7KGtsccYSBv10xbE=w908-h681-no" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aria-label="Photo - Landscape - Jul 31, 2019, 11:09:14 AM" border="0" class="SzDcob" height="240" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7TL1bemybiuRW3GFBB9e7ZxSO7mXUcXqwtIHUqKwe6OpfmAiEnqP1d2qj4pl9BC5217TPyUMsys3nJdAU_J2fn5WZnJKRbSl1Ux_1EaYEiO89_pjukfmNj7u5z_AitvW9-mLt4jTUpxtx0sItRFgM4l4xhAEbL9xuv9-m7_U0YX-XizkSY0nku7EmmymYG701tZoDTvuou_U0xj2OaESvaS07vO_964Gng-WEd_aKe_dG-Hvu82IeDpXPJ2z2OwzIpgrvNl2nc1aZnweVV4IiaTQzq6E-Q9MxTiB94gU_TQ45dkvT-1_T0ZqRIrbYfAMW7xhR08aaUlq5EhDzOr6hqDXkJJyvrNWIpocC8iQ65ObzQnsSsqVHGTVa8VXCyVpec8sJfm0WZIuWgK3RcErhcfoMfufyylhAgvi2dtsPYwmqf6338qj14izhszRmMP2fro201WYrnrZckd_rpYX5Wx2cVKcg0w1-0gmXx9JC8SFcH5MAf2reWUtoD6zDM2pRGmuGKYU6tzCS7CdrWiC2Obb2HI7v-1SYNaO_c6XBvHs7fiUMdG3wzFE57gomEN8dmrR8YcUBEbe1piHz-QqkZBbt_aqWGfsEytwRMhwrKb3kGvC-48VqMSltYMwAWqzXjPBl1Iwd0VWr4MdqFjBRIS0iFMA9vxkQql6t3D7KGtsccYSBv10xbE=w908-h681-no" style="transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="320" /></a></div>
As we discussed how anger can feel when it's inside of our bodies, we all agreed it doesn't feel good to keep it inside, it feels much better to let the anger move through us in a way that feels safe. The teachers present emphasized that it's okay, normal, and expected to be angry, and all feelings are welcome in our school, and that the teachers are always there to help anger be expressed in a way that feels safe to everyone.<br />
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At a different group time, we read the book <i><a href="https://www.parallax.org/product/anhs-anger/">Anh's Anger,</a> </i>a beautiful story by Gail Silver about a boy learning to sit with his anger. EM asked, "Is his anger going to hurt him?" and this gave us an opening to discuss how healthy and normal anger is, and how part of what we try to learn as we grow older is how to express anger. We talked about how anger can be a force for good - in the past we have used the example of the civil rights movement to talk about how anger at injustice leads people to take action.<br />
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At the end of each discussion about anger, we circled back to something that feels very important: in our community, we accept all feelings, and children all get to keep working on expressing those feelings safely. Teachers are there to help when feelings feel so big that children lose control, and no matter what, at our school, children always get to try again, to make amends, and to express feelings without judgement.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-68281368956255562202019-07-25T15:24:00.000-07:002019-07-25T15:24:40.598-07:00Diapers to Undies: How We Think About Potty Training<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When children begin at the Preschool House, whether they are transitioning into care with us from the Infant House or are new to the Tumbleweed community, one of the first questions we often hear from parents is about potty training. When will it happen? What will it look like? What should parents be doing?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrPotFBYtgXYINtREGSgKsw0ICf9KZoAqEInkdnxfOHHgFfi2lQwxueA7N8tAMHCb22tllFQA6wbsjX407gNCRlZ8YaByifqvwCtBUZXAT1RRutYwUjQt-wj-s0Vhz5ArBC1wm2P5PNwk/s1600/IMG-3980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrPotFBYtgXYINtREGSgKsw0ICf9KZoAqEInkdnxfOHHgFfi2lQwxueA7N8tAMHCb22tllFQA6wbsjX407gNCRlZ8YaByifqvwCtBUZXAT1RRutYwUjQt-wj-s0Vhz5ArBC1wm2P5PNwk/s320/IMG-3980.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first thing we like to remind parents of when we discuss potty training is that we must let the child be the leader. There are few things in their lives over which preschoolers get control, but they do have absolute control over what goes into their bodies and what comes out (and where). So, rather than setting up a power struggle that we are sure to lose </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: center;">(as we can't force a child to pee or poop when we want them to), we want to follow each child, with as little pressure as possible, trusting that they know what is best for themselves - and knowing that it is physically more safe and healthy to do so. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is an area in which parents often feel the pressure of deadlines and comparisons. As much as possible, we encourage parents to let this go. We want to follow each child's timeline and agenda rather than our own. We know that all children will learn to eliminate on the toilet without being "trained" or following a program. Adding our own agenda, or pressuring children based on what we think they should do, will only make the bathroom a scene for testing and resistance, and likely make the whole process take longer than it otherwise would!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxpVw-OFQ-pl9U0FrcZ7LsuEGqgGC0T2v4XTN8r4mc_ESIb-tPfzIf6krSxkVC2cRFfJ6v5mvFoQ8bMcLTvUVHUAmzUeJ1EbejfFnZZ73yiCiOmeB6KUiCWBg2hWNr6O6pIfkgZFhmDAE/s1600/IMG-2867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxpVw-OFQ-pl9U0FrcZ7LsuEGqgGC0T2v4XTN8r4mc_ESIb-tPfzIf6krSxkVC2cRFfJ6v5mvFoQ8bMcLTvUVHUAmzUeJ1EbejfFnZZ73yiCiOmeB6KUiCWBg2hWNr6O6pIfkgZFhmDAE/s320/IMG-2867.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Every teacher at Tumbleweed has had the experience of a child who absolutely refuses the toilet every time we are in the bathroom, and then one day the child sits on the toilet and pees, and from that point on pees on the toilet every time their diaper is changed. Children's timelines in this area can be opaque to the adults in their lives, but eventually each child will have <a href="http://tumbleweedinfanthouse.blogspot.com/2015/07/potty-training-each-in-their-own-time.html">a good relationship with sitting on the toilet</a> as an accomplishment they achieved all on their own, while also furthering their relationship with the adults in their lives when we showed them the trust and respect to make the decision themselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, what we won't do: pressure, adhere to external timelines, have our own agenda for your child's toilet learning schedule. Then, what <i>can </i>we do to encourage your child to be ready when they do decide it's time to sit on the toilet?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>-Involve children in diaper changes.</b> Encourage them to be focused and engaged, not distracted, at changing time. Talk about what you're doing ("I'm opening up your diaper using the snaps. Here they go: One, two, three!") and have then do every part of the change they can: putting pants on and off, choosing a diaper, getting up and down from the toilet. Have them get their own wipe, wipe themselves after peeing, throw the wipe away - encourage them to take over every part of the process they can! At Tumbleweed, this starts when children are infants. We talk every child through every diaper change, and invite them to participate as much as they can. We have children stand up for all diaper changes, which allows the most active participation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>-Talk about urination and bowel movements with accurate language</b> (we use the words poop and pee at school). We use these words without negative connotation or disgust - we want to encourage the kids to have a happy and healthy relationship with their bodies and what they produce.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-<b>Offer the toilet at every diaper change.</b> Sometimes a child will say "NO." Sometimes they will spend weeks saying "NO." We trust them and move on, and continue to make the toilet available. <a href="http://tumbleweedinfanthouse.blogspot.com/2017/01/independence-and-supported-choice-care.html">We do diaper changes in the bathroom</a>, which helps this become routine.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYA57Ei_zfT4Rs4wVZv-iALwzqshL6zG1SOMG1yecG5cR0fXbfpZsSLXOZ5VNAlmhejPluBycm88lw4OsjEYl3KHTPJsSWMmJKEJ0V3_sSAhOgcmFkF3dO75JjvdYR1a7vJy4UMoLCc3L/s1600/IMG-2203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYA57Ei_zfT4Rs4wVZv-iALwzqshL6zG1SOMG1yecG5cR0fXbfpZsSLXOZ5VNAlmhejPluBycm88lw4OsjEYl3KHTPJsSWMmJKEJ0V3_sSAhOgcmFkF3dO75JjvdYR1a7vJy4UMoLCc3L/s320/IMG-2203.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
<b style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">-We encourage each child's awareness and ownership of their body</b><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">. We use phrases like "You climbed onto the toilet </span><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">by yourself. That looked really tricky!" or "Did you hear that sound? That's your pee!" These things help us directly connect the child's awareness to the power and control they have over using the toilet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-<b>Slow down, never rush.</b> <a href="http://tumbleweedinfanthouse.blogspot.com/2018/02/toilet-learning.html">This is on their time and speed, never ours. </a> The only little pushes we may give are statements like "Next time when you get that feeling, when you need to pee, you could do it on the potty! Wouldn't that be great?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our main message is that each child in our care is right where they need to be. We choose to trust them and follow them and have potty training be an exciting journey toward greater independence. We are there to support their learning and celebrate each step of the journey with them!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3186467455976192089.post-32901683022364640642019-04-01T09:35:00.001-07:002019-04-08T09:26:31.623-07:00Empathy in Toddlers<h3 dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-4cf11963-7fff-75b1-1e8a-5f7af6be2358" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Empathy is not a fixed trait; it can be fostered. It can be encouraged and cultivated”</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #434343; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A quote by Samantha Rodman</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eQeKo8YIwNaNBRfB1epz6FLFJl9GLI4vGB5DoN4qUhBqXEh7O8pr9k3Jd_cSOQ5yOuVQrftbaTZi1X-WDQ3Krlna9z_2ezsgs4bWSPAKgPthGKQziA2lSqNVJXe5-l2ZAR2c1kK-Beo/s1600/E83D9152-5B4A-4B9B-8117-5D0DB2CB96C0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eQeKo8YIwNaNBRfB1epz6FLFJl9GLI4vGB5DoN4qUhBqXEh7O8pr9k3Jd_cSOQ5yOuVQrftbaTZi1X-WDQ3Krlna9z_2ezsgs4bWSPAKgPthGKQziA2lSqNVJXe5-l2ZAR2c1kK-Beo/s320/E83D9152-5B4A-4B9B-8117-5D0DB2CB96C0.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Starting at 12 months of age children begin to develop a sense of individuality. This comes from realizing that they are their own person with their own thoughts, feelings and ideas. And noticing their peers have their own as well. We as mentors get to observe as well as guide the children around us down this path of discovery. Teaching others to understand the deep meaning of empathy can feel really tricky at times but demonstrating these strong ideas and with passion can assist us as mentors and parents.</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> When talking to a child about his/her emotions it always feels important to pause, hear them, and validate their feelings. This feels important because every emotion or feeling that we feel as humans are valid. Even though you might react or feel a certain way towards one situation doesn’t mean that everyone will feel those same feelings and it works for our thoughts to differ. When speaking with a child we can use this idea to help us model a bond of equality between mentor and student. Practicing this between peers can help support the understanding of empathy.</span></h5>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibq8PwO-JcnLUqPqK88gH9p0_ZQ9cnHAEqZnjZpw5Vk0UuGnregQfNuEFviBMZHyO7NYJjyhuq3WkF88DItoVo7zCGgVSjrX-OEFhgtubC0x0KiffxK9wDt8RPp53kPshfITa0lrnI7PBD/s1600/IMG_4158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1255" data-original-width="1213" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibq8PwO-JcnLUqPqK88gH9p0_ZQ9cnHAEqZnjZpw5Vk0UuGnregQfNuEFviBMZHyO7NYJjyhuq3WkF88DItoVo7zCGgVSjrX-OEFhgtubC0x0KiffxK9wDt8RPp53kPshfITa0lrnI7PBD/s320/IMG_4158.jpg" width="309" /></a><span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Another idea is practicing the concept of empathy through play. This can be modeled in multiple ways; We can pause and notice how our friends are feeling during key points of play time, whether that be solving a problem between peers(at this time we can obverse, sadness, anger/frustration and contentment, etc) or achieving a goal(and at this time we can observe happiness/excitement, togetherness, etc) </span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> For Example:</span><span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">John has a toy truck and Sarah wants that truck. Sarah takes away the truck. John begins to cry. </span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing to try:</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">Take a moment to Pause. Sometimes, the best intervention is none at all. When you notice the situation escalating, move closer.</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">Narrate what happened</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;"> "John, you were holding that truck. Then Sarah grabbed it. You both want this truck."</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">Guide Sarah into noticing John's feelings.</span></h5>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVXOPL_72vrYxNCrfoEAsI6xnZL4ggE-9zTSXCX04FpPTnmZSVhraFV-i0IwWS0_PVo0hadBP1Vu8vcR0oJ6XGFHpxO9aWnN14VEurvzPZD9KeDTpXy_cC4w54KXuYW8GK4fhMx7cgOzE/s1600/IMG_0709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVXOPL_72vrYxNCrfoEAsI6xnZL4ggE-9zTSXCX04FpPTnmZSVhraFV-i0IwWS0_PVo0hadBP1Vu8vcR0oJ6XGFHpxO9aWnN14VEurvzPZD9KeDTpXy_cC4w54KXuYW8GK4fhMx7cgOzE/s320/IMG_0709.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Oh. When you took the truck, it made John feel ________ (sad, angry, frustrated, etc)." Giving children words that label emotions, empowers them to use them for themselves over time. Bring attention to each of the child's faces, which builds a concrete connection between how children express and communicate with each other. "John's face looks sad. He wanted the truck. And you wanted the truck. That can feel so frustrating!"</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give guidance about what to do next time.</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Next time, you can hold on tightly and say, 'I'm using it!' This helps Sarah know it's not available."</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">or</span></h5>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">"You can say, 'Can I have it?'. Then John will say yes or no, and you can see if it works!"</span></h5>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwohiTFwIy9CftWXVpZpONKxt0jHzr65bytuCeiJNWiK6Ntoobx8_X1w7Zfzl_bVDLJN-63orM2F1lgIF6gtcBWyZ8Ra6-svfEx2eCQVWIWcBhzS8ggYkn6lrs_baBJGC2LRMTfCpEx4P/s1600/IMG_4159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="1237" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwohiTFwIy9CftWXVpZpONKxt0jHzr65bytuCeiJNWiK6Ntoobx8_X1w7Zfzl_bVDLJN-63orM2F1lgIF6gtcBWyZ8Ra6-svfEx2eCQVWIWcBhzS8ggYkn6lrs_baBJGC2LRMTfCpEx4P/s320/IMG_4159.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A common mishap with teaching empathy is teaching the words “I’m Sorry” as stated in a blog written by Dr. A. Graff, “We often insist that our toddlers say “I’m sorry” as a way for them to take responsibility for their actions. But many toddlers don’t fully understand what these words mean. While it may feel “right” for them to say “I’m sorry”, it doesn’t necessarily help toddlers learn empathy.” An approach that Graff suggests in the blog is to help direct children to focus on one anothers feelings and checking in to discuss them, being encouraging about the communication and labeling of emotions can also greatly support in guiding empathy in children. The discussion of different emotions can help better the depths of our understandings about each one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> When we notice growth of empathy within the children around us it can feel so amazing! It is so wonderful to observe growth as a mentor; so it works to really support and encourage those empathic actions you observe. </span></h5>
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