"Listen with your ears, your eyes, your heart”

Here is a summary of my trip to the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy and the Study Tour at The Loris Malaguzzi International Centre. Very difficult to summarize the emotions this experience evoked but I will try…

“Listen with your ears, your eyes, your heart”. This opening piece of advice came from the president of Reggio Children, Cristian Fabbi, as he gave us an introduction to the program of the study group. No truer words were spoken. It is impossible to attend this experience and not feel deeply impacted.

Over the course of the week, we would attend sessions in the auditorium, where we would learn about the history of the Reggio Emilia town, schools and community; all very intertwined and connected. We listened to stories from the pedagogistas and aterleristas, in Italian then translated by very talented and charming translators. We watched video documentation, bringing their stories to life and tears to my eyes.

One afternoon, after they closed for the day, I visited an infant-toddler centre named Sole, and the next afternoon a preschool named Gulliver. We were warmly welcomed, with beautiful food and beverages and given the opportunity to poke around and make notes, unfortunately no photos indoors to protect their privacy. At both children’s centres I visited, I was completely inspired and thrilled, yes, tears again. The care and attention to provoking children’s curiosities and supporting and co-constructing knowledge is evident in every corner of both the infant toddler and preschool. I also was struck by many similarities to our program at Childgarden Preschool and filled with pride! We concluded our visit sitting together with the staff, who graciously answered our questions and wonderings and I made many notes to share with our team to help keep this memory permanent.

Alongside the learning, and thinking together, were cultural events too, such as a walking tour of Reggio Emilia, a Reception to greet us at the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre, and a Balsamic Tour and Dinner. It goes without saying, some amazing food and gelato too!

The later half of the week, was spent learning about the creative recycling centre called ReMida; a cultural and sustainability project, that is a relationship with the Municipality who pays for the building, and is run mostly by volunteers, and materials donated by 150 businesses that is then used as loose parts in the schools.  They ask: “What questions do these materials pose? We invite you to look at this with new eyes”. Amazing ecological thinking! The name ReMida comes from King Midas and Reggio and Recycle; The king not happy with his richness, transformed everything he touches into gold, but learns this is a negative gift, as not everything that is gold is precious. How true!

As we toured ReMida we were struck by the beauty, care and attention to detail the recyclables were organized and displayed for choosing. Oh, how I wished for a suitcase to fill and for our community to share this vision!

I was able to have some hands on experiences as well in ‘The Citizens Ateliers’ in The Languages of Gears. The thinking that was generated made us consider gears as a mechanical device that brings connection, or to get together and going in same direction. Harmony. Materials are organized in terms of context and aterleristas from the International Centre run the workshops, and I worked in a team of 4. Our task was to slow the movement on an incline ramp. Our team got to work thinking about these terms; gravity, angles, textures, contrast, design, connect(ions), resistance, friction. We combined theories, experimented and had fun while learning and working cooperatively together!

The stories that we listened to about Covid and the effects of the Pandemic on this Italian town, of storytelling and narrating, and difficult themes such as war and peace, were illustrated so beautifully by the poetic language that the educators, and the children use. Such beautiful images become visual in our hearts, our ears and our eyes. Impossible not to be deeply moved!

I understand now why educators from all over the world return again and again to be re-inspired. Truly a dream come true for me!

The Great Outdoors

Do we really need a reason to spend more time outdoors with children?  Running preschool through the Covid-19 Pandemic forced us to adapt to some new protocols and procedures in our routines. Although our program has always valued building relationship and connections between children and nature, we have never had so many outdoor days as this 2020/2021 year. Why?  We wondered, how can we validate the deep connection children are creating with nature, the multitude of skills they are building and all the learning that happens outdoors? We know we do not need to be inside the preschool facility for this. The extended time outdoors has caused us to reflect. What value has the amount of time outdoors added to the children’s preschool experience? What impact has this made on our team of educators?  How do families value the outdoor experiences we are providing for their children?

This year, we spent as much time outdoors as possible to reduce any chance of transmission of the virus. Data was telling us ventilation was important in reducing transmission, so we took our program outside as much as we felt we could manage. We spent many days enjoying our garden, with the sandbox and mud kitchen, this was also highlighted with watching skytrains, freight trains, motorcycles, garbage trucks, and meeting people walking by, especially those with new puppies.  We walked the neighbourhood, building a deeper connection with our community, we picked up litter, cleaned our streets and explored the nearby plaza, with it’s stage and wide open space for chalk art. The time spent outdoors with children and in nature, especially ‘The Magic Forest’ is where the ‘magic’ truly happened through fall, winter and spring.

Families might be wondering, “What is my child learning?” In a program that is play based, inquiry  based and emergent, the four walls of an indoor classroom setting is not necessary. Sure, it’s nice when it is very cold, very wet or very hot, for children and educators. It’s also a lovely time to explore the many materials we have that would not be as practical to take with us outdoors. However, we sure pulled lots of materials in our wagon along with us to the forest! Balls, clip boards, paper and pencils, chalk, bubbles, books, outdoor games, parachute, containers for collecting treasure, magnifying glasses, tweezers, and of course, our new friend Foxy.  Over the course of the year we visited the pier, spent time on the large grassy area, the covered stage and enjoyed many hours in ‘The Magic Forest’. Let’s look at what happens beneath the play outdoors and how this connects to the five critical domains in a child’s development.

The Value of Play
At Childgarden Preschool, we place the value of play very highly as it is absolutely the most appropriate avenue for young children to develop the domains of social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and language. In ‘The Magic Forest’ we make it our priority to give children the opportunity for play that is uninterrupted and on the children’s agenda, the educators observe, facilitate and provoke curiosity when appropriate. It is a delicate dance to allow them to explore, to problem solve, and to keep them safe, while stepping back to give them space to be free. It’s in this free space that the natural environment and materials stimulate children’s unlimited imaginations.  

Social Development 
In the Magic Forest, children are singing, talking, making up games and their own rules. There are games of tag, house, looking for fairies and dinosaurs, and searching for Foxy. They hunt for treasures, gifts of nature, or a buried bottle, or the uncovering of old train tracks gives children an opportunity to hypothesize on what is and how it got there.  They work on skills such as negotiation, cooperation, and problem-solving. Forts, campfires and homes for Foxy and fairies are built, tea parties are hosted, rides on buses, boats and airplanes (AKA logs) are taken, sometimes, “all around the town” or even to Hawaii!  We discovered the bugs that live in the forest, care and concern is evident as the children hunt for these small creatures, gently holding and passing to a friend.  

Emotional Development
We observe examples of compassion as children help each other climb a branch, or onto a big rock so their friend can be “The King of the Castle” or offering to find a Roly Poly bug that has just been dropped. Sitting quietly on a log to observe the active play might be what one child needs for a time while another builds a new friendship and discovers a common interest in fairies. Bumping into a peer or tripping over a log generates acts of care and attention, and sometimes noticing that a peer is not included are lessons for kindness. Opportunities for children to be mindful of each other are plenty and are facilitated by the educators, however, usually the children know how to make it right. Building safe relationships for young children may well be one of the most important aspects for parents and caregivers, and ‘The Magic Forest’ offered many opportunities for this. 

Physical Development
These kiddos are climbing trees, branches, big stumps and large rocks. They run up and down hills that are riddled with roots, around trees and ducking under low hanging branches. The children use team work to move and carry logs and big branches while some children balance on rocks and logs. We catch and kick balls and chase bubbles but also have moments to work on fine motor control like drawing, painting, or using tweezers to pick up small treasures and then perhaps creating beautiful Mandelas with collected natural materials.

Language Development 
Collaborative storytelling is one of our favourite activities and finding treasure in the forest acted as wonderful prompts for an imaginative story. Songs and silly rhymes, lots of conversations about how, why and when, occur throughout our day.  Reading a book for one or two or the whole group happens everyday. The educators facilitate conversations between peers and sometimes interpret what a friend is trying to say. It’s common for us to begin with “I wonder”… and listen to the children’s ideas and theories. 

Cognitive Development
“Cognitive development involves how children think, explore,  and figure things out. It refers to things such as memory,  and the ability to learn new information. This domain includes the development of knowledge and skills in math, science, social studies, and creative arts.” (https://www.childtime.com/blog/2019/04/developmental-domain-series-cognitive-domain/) The Magic Forest is rich with play that develops this domain, whether it is counting rocks or sticks, laying them in a pattern from smallest to largest, observing the changing seasons and the loss of leaves in the fall or new growth in the spring.  In the forest the kiddos are beginning to identify species of birds, and types of plants and berries, and we are grateful for the app iNaturalist that help us identify the flora and fauna, because, yes, we are learning alongside the children too! We’ve come across a dead bird, which prompted lots of interesting conversation, and at the pier we’ve watched seals play and stumbled across a whole lot of washed up sea worms! We are delighted to witness the growing goslings on our walks and chat about the information signs placed throughout Rocky Point Park.  Building connections between place, space and people are immensely important for young children. One of the connections we love is with Noons Creek Fish Hatchery. Each time we visit we always learn something new from the host Dave Bennie; whether it is releasing the salmon fry, or looking for herons in the trees, our time spent there is rich with learning. Each time we visit, we all build a greater sense of connection to the Port Moody Inlet, Rocky Point Park and all the wonders of nature these places hold.

What Does This All Mean? 
Our school year began with adjusting to the new routines due to Covid-19 and everyone from the preschoolers, their families and our staff adapted amazingly well! Embracing the great outdoors certainly eased the stress of the Pandemic and provided the children the opportunity to build relationships with peers, teachers and nature and so importantly, be free and experience the joy of childhood!

Our emerging interests last fall began with a focus towards nature and our first big project; Animals That Live in The Dirt. This interest has woven its way through the year and as we approach the end of the 2020/2021 school year, we look back at all the inquiries and discoveries. We concluded our investigations with a field trip to Burnaby Lake for a program called Tiny Transformers, where the park experts led us through a deep exploration on  the bugs and insects we have come to appreciate. As a way to celebrate this unforgettable year, we enjoyed a trip to Old Orchard Park where we played on the shoreline and beach, finding crabs and shells, chasing bubbles and splashing in the water.  

We think it’s fair to say that the preschoolers have benefited immensely with the amount of time we spent outdoors this year! So much learning took place beneath the play! The values we hold at Childgarden are reflected not just at the preschool, but outdoors as well. Our beliefs are reflected in B.C.’s Early Learning Framework that sees the “image of the child as capable and full of potential…Children can experiment, investigate and inquire in ways that are relevant and meaningful to them. They are provided with opportunities to enrich and deepen their relationships with place, land and community. Within the context of their individual and cultural identities children are listen to and valued for their ideas and knowledge”.(2019) 

In Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods, he states, “Staying close to nature improves physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Direct exposure to nature is essential for physical and emotional health” (Louv, 2008).  The educators and families at Childgarden seem to embrace this, this year more than ever. 

Our hopes for the preschoolers are simple. We hope that children have learned to make friends and build relationships, be kind and respectful to each other and nature and are curious and ask questions. Finally, we hope they remember this year as one that they also made friends with The Great Outdoors! 

Sue’s Reflection:
I feel privileged to have spent such extended periods of time this year in nature exploring and investigating through play and witness the joy and excitement in the kiddos as they made friends with Foxy or left gifts of berries and sea shells at the doorway of fairy homes. The freedom that being in nature offered, lifted everyone’s spirits. I feel blessed to have this incredible outdoor environment so close to the preschool and I’m confident these children have built meaningful memories, I know have. 

Caren’s Reflection:
This was an amazing year of our community coming together to take on an adventure like no other. We faced some of our toughest experiences, but being in nature gave us freedom, healing and calmness to move together through a very uncertain time. I am grateful for our amazing community and memorable times spent in the great outdoors, truly a year that will never be forgotten. 

Nancy’s Reflection:
Throughout the year I felt safe and comfortable outdoors. The time outdoors made the “virus” go away for the time being. Seeing the children free to play, learn and grow warmed my heart.

Miranda’s Reflection:
This has been a year of change and new discoveries of how to navigate teaching during a pandemic. We have embraced the outdoors with open arms and have used it as a co-teacher. The outdoors has been a place where myself and many others feel most comfortable. Our many outings has allowed us to create a deeper connection with the community and the people within it. I’m thankful to work at such a great place that has adapted to teaching in the great outdoors. 

Happy Valentine's Day Mother Earth

Litter explorations are ongoing at Childgarden over the last month. We have been cleaning up our neighbourhood with all classes and have noticed fish painted beside the drain, lots of litter: masks, plastic gloves, and lots of cigarette butts. Together with children we have created a web capturing the children's thoughts and ideas about 'what is litter' and 'why is litter bad'? Children have also initiated drawing pictures as they process these ideas and begun some storytelling provoked by a story scape set up by the teachers. From what we've heard children are taking this to heart and have become great litter detectives super heroes at home too:).

Here is a story to share created by some of our children:

Once upon a time there was a turtle stuck in a bag. The frog came and helped and took the bag off the turtle. A crab came and he went on top of the turtle's shell. Along came a big turtle and he went under the log and he put the crab back in the water. The lobster came and he went on top of the big turtle's back. The turtle found a garbage can. He put the bag inside the garbage can. Then a girl found all the animals lost in the lake and she bringed them all home to Africa. THE END

Here is a link to a couple of videos we've shared with the children to provoke more thinking around the Earth, litter and how our actions affect the environment.

Please Don’t Litter. https://youtu.be/FVArB2cnB4Y

No Litter Generation. https://youtu.be/kFzeEarX79k

How do you converse about littering and the Earth with your kiddo at home? Could they help sort the recycling with you? Have any questions come up? We would love it if you would share and comment your ideas with us in the comments:)

As one of our favourite teacher educators and author, Ann Pelo says, "Young children are forming the fundamental understandings that will shape how they engage with the earth. Will they learn that the earth is a resource to be used and abused by humans with little attention to the price of that use, or will they grow a more intimate relationship with the earth that ranks the environment high on the list of “things to consider” in every decision? Our planet cannot afford another generation of children to grow up disregarding the earth, the sky, the water, and all who live in them. And children cannot afford to grow up ignorant of the earth and its ways, displaced from their ecological home terrain by lack of intimate knowledge.

We would love it if you would share and comment your ideas with us in the comments:)

Light At the End of the Tunnel

We’ve turned to a new year with hope and longing for a return to normal. This also has given us time to pause and consider the changes our lives have taken in the last ten months. Along with the stress, there have been positives that have popped up, mostly unexpected. 

At Childgarden, we have been blessed by the supportive community of families that have trusted us with their children, many with only meeting us on Zoom and seeing a virtual tour. The children have been awesome at learning the routines. The extended times in the garden, out for walks and in the gym have been golden. We’re not through this yet, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. With the promise of Spring, we feel some relief coming. We can do it! And we are!

The New 'Normal'

Through those unnerving times during lock down, it was hard for us to imagine what re-opening and the new normal would look like. And here we are, two weeks of classes underway and we feel like new routines are forming. Sanitizing, social distancing and masks for teachers, parents and caregivers, have become our new norm. Drop off and pick up outside the preschool is very orderly. Pivot is the new word and everyone is rocking it! Most importantly, the children are! These little people are masters at adapting and embracing the new routines. Despite the challenges everyone is facing, most of the kids are so happy to be with peers, and play in the classroom, gym and garden. We hope the videos and Zoom’s have helped ease your anxiety on sending your little one into the preschool without you. We know what a leap of faith this takes and we thank you for your trust.  

It Takes A Village

It Takes a Village…

Childgarden Preschool & Discoveries genuinely works towards building relationships with our families within our preschool community. From our Open House and Registration, to communications and conversations throughout the years, we hope to establish a community of adults who all have a common goal, the interest, care, attention and love of the little humans at the heart of our lives.

One of the many ways this happens, is to encourage and welcome participation in the running of the preschool program. This may look like offering to be the family that picks up books for us at the library, or runs out as a shopper to pick up last minute items needed, or helping to maintain our garden. Some families have special skills or talents such as sewing or repairing worn dress-up clothes. Other families use their expertise to support the preschool, such as marketing or re-building the website. Which brings us to the announcement of the launch of our new website! We are so blessed to have the assistance of such people in our preschool community, who have given hours of their time. 

We hope you will find the website easier to navigate. Caren and Sue promise to write blogs frequently and hope you check it out as they come. In future we may add features such as recommended Book Lists along with adding more useful links on our Resource Page. 

We welcome your feedback!

From the bottom of our hearts, we wish to thank each and everyone who has participated and helped in some way, (you know who you are) and for joining us along the journey of the preschool path. 

We are all in it for the kids and as the old saying goes… ‘It takes a Village to raise a child’.

Childgarden's Aurora Borealis

The Fascinating Aurora Borealis

The teachers have decided to create a water table setup to provoke deeper inquiry of colours and mixing.   One of our children is always eager to start their day at the water table and for the most part usually spends their time emptying out the freshly made jars of colour and mixing it up in the water table. The teachers often wonder about their curiosity about emptying the jars into the water table so quickly.  Today Ms. Caren takes a few minutes to observe the play at the water table.

Ms. Caren asks, “What do like about mixing the colours all together like that?”

The child take a few moments to contemplate the question, “It reminds me of Aurora Borealis!”

Ms. Caren is unsure that she heard correctly and has to do some further questioning abou whether this child truly meant to inference Aurora Borealis.  Ms. Sue and Charmayne nod in agreement, they know that this child is referring to the Northern lights. “You’re like our real scientist around here!” Comments Ms. Charmayne.

Ms. Caren asks, “How do you know about Aurora Borealis?”  The child responds “I don’t know” and continues to mix the colours together and add it to larger pool of water.  “The Aurora comes out at night.”

 Ms. Caren suggests that we research to find a photo of the Northern Lights so that we could see the similarities between the real Aurora Borealis and creation in the water table.  Several other children are curious about what will pop up on the computer screen and come over to see what is going on. Another child takes a look at the photo, “Hey it’s the North of Lights!”

Ms. Caren is amazed, to see these children so excited about the lights!

More children are starting to show interest in the colour mixing and creation of Aurora Borealis at the water table.  Ms. Caren asks, “Do you know about Aurora Borealis?”

“Oh yes!” Another child hastily replies and then goes on further, “Do you know you can whistle to make the Northern lights dance?”  Ms. Caren responds, “No I didn’t know that, wow, you guys are really teaching me a lot about the Northern Lights this morning!”

Ms. Caren takes another look at the water table where these little scientists are mixing and swirling colour in the pool of water.  As Ms. Caren is observing the children hard at work pouring just enough red and then three drops of blue together, she asks, “What colours do you need to make Aurora?”  The children come up with a variety of colours, “Purple! Brown! Orange! Yellow! Blue!”  Ms. Caren provokes the children to think a bit more about their colour mixing.  “How can you make orange?”  The children continue mixing,  “Ummmm, 10 drops of red and 4 drops of yellow.”

 Hungry tummies quickly takes the interest of the children away from the water table, however, the first interested child is quick to make their way back to the water table after snack time.  Ms. Caren wonders if this child would like to think about Aurora Borealis in another area of the classroom.  “Do you want to paint Aurora Borealis?”  The child quickly runs over to the easel and begins adding colour to their paper, at times even using two paintbrushes at the same time to get the colours to swirl together as they did in the water table.  Another interested child notices the painting at the easel, “I want to paint too!”  Ms. Caren remembers that this child was also interested in the ‘North of lights’ earlier at the water table, “Sure!  We’re painting Aurora Borealis, did you want to think about painting that too?”  The child eagerly responds, “Yes, I want to paint Aurora Borealis too!”  Together the two converse as they continue representing Aurora.  The first child paints a stroke of colour across their painting.  “This is a shooting star!”  The other child then takes a few moments to take in their painting,  “Look at my Aurora Borealis, it has purple!”  The first child then takes a minute to look at their painting,  “Mine has red, orange, and blue and yellow.”  The two finish up their masterpieces.  they put away their paintbrushes and are ready to explore other areas of the classroom. “There!  I finished mine, Aurora Borealis!”

Ms. Caren’s Reflection:  
Wow! What an amazing, truly responsive and emergent moment to share with these children.  I loved how the child’s keen interest quickly transpired to excitement amongst several children in the class.  My excitement in the moment I shared with this child, I am certain, was also picked up by the children.   Once given the opportunity to reflect I could take away a couple of different learnings from this extraordinary moment.  One, just that morning teachers were trying to decide on the continuation of this setup, in our dialogue with one another we came to understand that it was our agenda for wanting to change the setup at the water table, ultimately the children were still enjoying the materials, pouring and mixing.  In thinking it through we decided to change up some of the containers and so how clearly did this moment demonstrate the necessity of following a child’s lead and the importance of reflective practice. Two, at times we began to wonder about the learning coming from the first child’s abundance of time spent at the water table, my purpose to sit at the water table began with a curiosity about their consistent need to ‘dump’ out the colours into the water table.  My questions were enough to provoke this child to describe their thinking process about the colours and the water.  This could have been so easily missed had we followed our own agenda as opposed to the thoughts and ideas of the children.  It was a proud moment as I realized our teaching team’s strength in knowing when to slow down, our time committed to observation and reflection allowed this inquiry to continue on for these children.  I am excited to bring this documentation back to the children and see how they might deepen their learning through the simple provocation of tubes, colours and the water table.

Connecting to the Early Learning Framework: 
p. 66 Living Inquiry:  Engagement with others, materials, and the world.

• Children construct meaning as they engage with materials, other children and adults, the environment, the community and the world.

Pathway:  Reconnection to land, place. 

• Children and educators consider what it means to be in relationship with land, including the stories of land that are told and the stories that have been silenced.

Crititically Reflective Questions:
How might I contribute to children’s reconnection with land and place?
I wonder how to bring this moment back to the children and together deepen our understanding of Aurora Borealis.  What does it’s history entail? 

What are the children’s stories of the land?
How does it connect to the people and it’s land?  Why is this child so connected to this idea and why are the children so connected to the Northern Lights despite it’s physical distance from our land.

Although during this unprecedented time in our world visiting the Aurora Borealis is not possible, we invite you to take a look virtually at this stunning experience with nature:)
https://youtu.be/Vdb9IndsSXk

Kindness Matters

We have just ended the week where schools and communities far and wide are acknowledging Anti-Bully Day or Pink Shirt Day. At Childgarden Preschool, the staff decided that given the young age of these kiddos, and considering this is for many, their first group experience, we would focus more on kindness, which is a regular discussion the children are becoming familiar with. The staff do however support the movement and wore their own Pink Shirts on Wednesday February 28th. 

Inspired by an article we read teachers-powerful-lesson-on-the-effects-of-bullying--using-two-a , we had an idea for circle time. Ms. Sue held out two apples, similar in size and colour. And told this story...

"These two apples played together in the playground, they laughed and were the best of friends. One day some other apples started calling this apple names. “ Go away, you can't play here. Go find someone else to play with!”  This Apple was so sad! These words had bruised her heart. 

At this, the teacher asked the children to take a turn passing the Apple and say something very unkind to the Apple. For most children, they were very unsure that this was okay. If they did say something unkind such as, “go away, you can't play here,” they would lookup for assurance that they were not in trouble. A couple of children couldn't say anything unkind. 

Then the teacher picked up the other Apple and said, “you're so nice, do you want to play with me?” Then we passed this Apple from child to child and asked them to say something very kind, such as, “you're my best friend, I love you, do you want to have a play date?”

Then, the teacher took a knife and sliced the Apple that had been called names in half. The children were shocked to see that the Apple had bruises inside! The teacher told the children that the unkind words and name calling had bruised the Apple’s heart and memory. 

Then, the teacher took the knife and sliced the Apple that had kind words spoken to it, and the children were amazed to see no bruises.

We spoke about words hurting someone but not leaving a mark you can see. The teacher asked the children if words would leave a scratch on your skin or gushing blood. No! The children replied. The teacher explained that the damage is on the inside, leaving a bruise on your heart and memory. Remember that just because you don’t see a mark, unkind words will hurt someone very much on the inside.

Then we sang our Goodbye song, and dismissed the class. In the lobby,  I asked one little boy to tell his Daddy about the apples in class, and he replied, “No! Uh-uh.” His response told me a lot about the power of the circle time activity. I’m pretty sure he was processing the impact that they had just experienced. 

The next day at circle time, the teacher read a story called Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes.  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2pCR8YHszM

At the start of the story I held a “perfect” piece of paper with a heart drawn on it. We imagine the paper is Chrysanthemum. As the kids at school call her names, the teacher crunches the paper, as she “wilts” each time, until the paper is a ball. When the kids begin to say kind things to Chrysanthemum, the paper begins to open up until it is flat again, by the happy ending. But… the children notice the paper has wrinkles in it, and is no longer smooth and “perfect”. The teacher asked the children to each take a turn and say something kind to Chrysanthemum and try to smooth the wrinkles. “I love you Chrysanthemum. Do you want to have a play date Chrysanthemum? etc. until all the children had a turn. But they noticed, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t remove the marks. 

The teacher told the children that unkind words leave a mark in your heart and your memory, and even if you show you are sorry, the mark will remain.

For us at Childgarden, these ‘lessons’, are a way to engage our preschoolers with a powerful visual that we hope they carry with them. A powerful week that also impacted the teachers.

Now, we are thinking about the power of the visual experience and how to impact the children with the power of kindness. Our creative wheels are turning when we begin to think of hands on ways to demonstrate how kindness can spread. 

First Ideas of Charity

The holiday season isn't all jolly and fun if your cupboards are bare. We recognize that our community is home to many people of all ages that are struggling to make ends meet and that often means; not enough to food to feed the family. As it happens, our preschool is neighbours with the Tri-City Share Food Bank. As with many business and schools, this is a popular time of year to ask for donations to the Food Bank, and Childgarden is no exception. Our generous families have been bringing donations and filling boxes for the Food Bank. 

On the morning before our first trip to the food Bank to make a donation, we ask the children, "What do you think the Food Bank is?"

L- "It's for people who don't have any money, are poor and don't have food." (Hmm, I think, there has been discussion about this at home). Another child puts his hand up, "I've heard about it. Like in Australia." I smile and ask, "Do you think it could happen here, in our community?" He ponders for a moment and adds thoughtfully, "I don't know." Then the ideas start coming. V- "My sister has a lot of money." (She's 8). K- "Hey, My Mom went shopping." So I challenge them, "But what if you had no money to go shopping?" L- "We could give them money." E- "When we give money to them, they could buy something with the money." R- "We could give them food." C-"We made Christmas cookies. We could give them Christmas cookies." A- "If you don't have food, go to the Superstore." So I ask, "What if you don't have money? How can you go shopping?" E- "Go to the bank machine." A- "I could give them my money." M- "I have two tomato soup. My Momma needs to buy more chicken soup. Then I could give them some soup."

I think these children are beginning to get it; the idea that not everyone can easily feed their family and go shopping. These children are beginning to see that perhaps they have something that not everyone has. And most importantly, that they have the power to help and make a positive difference in someone's life. 

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop

Childgarden's Participates in Our First Podcast!

Childgarden participated in our first Podcast! Assisting Jen Lumanlan (Blogger and parenting expert) to interview Dr. Jamie Ostrov, who has done lots of research in the area of social exclusion including a study to see whether Vivian Paley's rule "You Can't Say You Can't Play" is effective. Check it out:))

Childgarden Rocks Rule

Childgarden Rocks Rule !
This year, began with painting rocks. At a staff meeting, we discussed using the rocks to convey messages of an agreement of belonging. 
One morning as children from Cedar class were arriving a wonderful group building of blocks emerged. Soon, it was meeting time and we worried that the blocks might get knocked down as everyone came to the carpet area. We asked the children what we should do if someone wants to knock down blocks, and someone else has built them. A suggestion from one child delighted us… “Maybe we should write a message?” Good idea, right? :) Together we constructed this message, 
“Ask before you knock down someone else’s building.” 
Now we see this message rock placed at each structure
built by our young architects, and everyone respects
the rock and the buildings are safe.

Our Hemlock class has so many ideas to share (all at the same time), that it’s hard to hear what anyone is saying at group times. We introduce the idea of one person who talks holds the rock and everyone else listens. This is the message the children came up with. 
“When someone else is talking; listen and zip.”

As a way to introduce our new practicum student we sang this name song: “Hello ____how are you? Tell us something about you.”Each child shared something and children listened and were very engaged. We decided to write this on a rock too. “Tell me something about you.” At the end of the class, one Mommy was presented with the rock

Sometimes adults don’t realize how often we say something until a preschooler repeats it back to us. With backpacks and the washroom through the lobby and down the hall, we are often reminding the children to use walking feet. One child suggested we write this message on a rock. Sounds like they are getting the idea of this!
“Always walk in the classroom and hallway.”

A normal aspect of preschool is learning to express yourself appropriately. It is quite typical to overhear adults say to children having a conflict: “Use you words.” We took this a little farther. “Use you kind words.” Then children offered suggestions of some kind words, “Please, Thank you, I Love you, Be friends, Like, Share, May I.”

We wonder what other messages the children, teachers and our community of families will come up with?

Getting to Know the Story of One by Kathryn Otoshi

As educators we are constantly trying to find ways to connect children with the idea of friendship, kindness and connectedness.  This story of 'One' by Kathryn Otoshi clearly demonstrates to children how the power of just one person can make a change and the impact of community on well-being and belonging.  Children are drawn to the simplicity of the language and illustrations.  One could hear a pin drop as children absorb the words of the story and interpret it in their own unique ways.  

  “Maybe Red is trying to say sorry”

“My favourite colour is red!”

“How do you think blue feels if red is big and he is small?”

“Maybe one day he’ll be big like that”

“Sad!”

“I think he got not scared because red got smaller”

“Maybe because he said he wanted a friend named purple.”

“1,4, 3, and 5 will save them”

We will revisit this story throughout our year and see what unfolds within in our classroom as children begin to understand the importance of courage, friendship and a true sense of inclusiveness.  We wonder how you embrace this idea within your family and welcome your thoughts for us to ponder...

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SbgsR0SP0y0 

Beautiful Day Exploring Rocky Point Park

We enjoyed time with our classes visiting Rocky Point Park, children were fascinated by jelly fish floating in the water, we also spot a crab swimming so fast in the water.  Children spot the bear shaped shrubs (topiary:  cutting plants and shrubs in to shapes) camouflaged amongst the beautiful plants.  We explore the pier where we also find homes made for the Purple Martian birds, perhaps we look forward to getting to know this bird along with other living organisms as we continue visiting the park throughout the year.  

First Days at Preschool

We are so happy to be back at Childgarden with regular classes getting underway with our gradual entry process. Our beautiful environment and set up has immediately drawn children in, we look forward to getting settled and observing the children and their interests in our inviting and warm environment:)

We thank all our wonderfully supportive community as we work at getting to know one another through this upcoming year!