Jobs, Middle Schoolers

Dear Families,

Many children seemed right in the flow of the morning on our second day of school. Snack time seemed familiar and comfortable on the second day, 9 children danced and giggled merrily in the loft before I began circle time (the initiative of the oldest girl in the class), a young horse rider discovered that the classroom aprons make excellent horse tackle and reins, and every child wanted to help peel and chop vegetables for Wednesday's soup.

A number of children were extremely excited to see "Rub a dub dub" and the three men in a tub return for the puppet show.

Here is a list of jobs children might have on a given day; this can be a way to talk about school ("I wonder who played the lyre today. I wonder who carried snack upstairs today").

2 children help Celeen hang coats and rain clothes in the hall.
1 child plays bells (glockenspiel) to call us to snack time.
2 children carry snacks up to our administrators in the tower.
1 child opens the door for the others on this journey.
1 child plays the finger cymbals ("Sandman" symbols) while I play flute to put the room to rest.
1 child plays the lyre while we rest at the table right before pickup.


Our middle school teacher, Nancy Pfeiffer, and I are working together to help our 7th & 8th graders find a meaningful community service project in the school. They have been decorating the trail our nursery children take to the teepee (building fairy houses and the like). Tomorrow, Wednesday, they will visit our class at the end of the morning, help us tidy up, and sing while I play guitar for "Oats and Beans and Barley Grow" and "Jolly is the Miller Boy." They will watch while I present my puppet show again. If the visit goes well, they will visit weekly. As they learn to play guitar, middle schools will come to play and sing children's songs ("Itsy Bitsy Spider" and soforth). They are also making puppets in their handwork class and may prepare simple puppet shows to share with our nursery children.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde