Overheard at preschool

The children were playing "good and evil".  The child who was pretending to be evil layed down like he had died.  A little girl approached him and asked the children "Is this evil heaven"?

The children were kneading their bread dough.  One exclaimed "We're making fish pies because we're Tyrannodons"!  That might be one where you had to be there...it was adorable.

Happy New Year!...New Circle...and Stuffed Animals...

Dear Parents...

Happy New Year!!!  We are excited about all that is ahead with the season and our program.  We have a wonderful group of kids and things are running smoothly.

Our Circle this month has songs and movements that talk about winter gardening, rain, snow, thunder, bunnies, and snow play.  A couple of the songs "High Thunder Low Thunder" and "Song of the Bunnies" both come from a book that I really recommend called "Sing through the Day". We have a lot of books with songs...but this is probably my favorite.  If you are looking for some songs to learn to sing with your children it would be a great choice.  And it comes with a CD with excellent voices singing the songs to help you learn!

Now last of all...

For years we have had a "No toys/stuffed animals from home policy".  This has been for 4 reasons...

1.  Because of the strife that is created when the children have their "own toys" that are "mine".

2.  Because the toys inevitably will be lost or misplaced creating a need for a search party.

3.  Because it has the potential to spoil the timeless feel of a Waldorf inspired program as children play with non-natural toys.

4.  Because we want the children to become accustomed to being without toys from home as this is how things will be at Kindergarten.

Traditionally the only toys from home were stuffed animals that were brought and left in their bags until  resting time.  This was generally only for the children who were emotionally troubled or perhaps "couldn't sleep without" their animal.  Over the past few months more and more children have started to bring stuffed animals.  Now the animals have gotten bigger and bigger and are finding their way into the play room.  Now we are also finding that children think the door is now open to bring other toys as well.

So the king and queen of Helping Hands land do now decree...if a child strongly desires to bring a resting time animal...make it a really small animal.  Think Beanie Baby.  Please also put the animal into a bag until resting time.  Any other toys from home will be put on the stairs until pickup time.  This will do wonders to making peace and a semblance of tidiness!

Thank you...

Stephen and Lovell

Todays nature walk

A chilly but fun time!

Friday sept 21 2012

Todays mostly sideways fun!

Chilly Mornings...Hot Afternoons...

Ahhh...the wonderful change of seasons!  As this transition takes place a conundrum that parents often face in the morning is..."How should I dress my child!  Will it be hot or cold!"  The answer may likely be...both!  This is a great time of year to layer clothes that can easily be shed when the sun smiles upon us.  

We would also love to have socks or preferably slippers for every child for our inside time.  This serves several purposes.  It warms their feet when it's cold...it keeps the carpet clean...and it prepares them for kindergarten where they will also wear slippers.  We have a good amount of "borrowing" slippers in the bench in our entry way that can be used if you have no slippers.

Got to run...time for circle!!

Stephen

Pumpkin Patch Photos!

We had lots of fun at the pumpkin patch!  Here are some of the photos we took.  Others took photos as well that we may post soon.  Enjoy!

Playgrounds Too Safe?

Over the years that we have been running Helping Hands...I can recollect several parents that came by to look into our program that were visibly afraid of their child being surrounded by so much nature!  They saw the pointy sticks...they saw the uneven big rocks to climb...hard wooden stumps...etc...and their minds reeled in horror as they thought of all of the ways that their child could be hurt.  These sort of feelings...while they can serve to see to the safety of a child...if left unchecked can cripple a child developmentally.  There is a time for a safety net...and a time to let a child fall and learn from the experience.

I saw this article this morning about how a desire to make everything foam padded has led to playgrounds that are ineffectual at helping children to gain developmental skills...and also decreased fun!  You know...the opposite of the playgrounds we had when we were little!  A good read.