Dear Nursery Families,
As winter rolls into spring, the play of children has blossomed and grown in diverse and delightful directions. I've hesitated to write about how well I perceive things seem to be going in class because we have had one or two children consistently absent over the past 2 months, and I did not want to inadvertently suggest that a child or two are not part of the synergy of the group. Having observed children in class and elsewhere, I can now say with assurance that I have seen all the children--whether they are coming to class frequently or not--find new ways of playing and interacting with one another that has been very heartening.
With boys and girls, I have observed two parallel and apparently but not necessarily contradictory trends in the past months. At times, groups of 4 or 5 boys have been engaged in a common project--such as a construction project on the playground involving sand and mud and muck and a wheelbarrow that--la bit ike the rock os Sysiphus--tips over the moment it is filled with too much sand and much. And like an indefatigable hero from Greek myth (minus the sense of doom), children pick up the wheelbarrow and start their work anew. Among the girls, tensions about swings have abated in general, and I have observed the increasing strength and confidence as children propel themselves on the swing or push others on the tire swing. In the woods, it is not infrequent that girls will sally forth with or without Lynne to explore the trails near our bonfire (I created the trails to allow children to explore while still being near me and Lynne for safety).
I wrote a while back about one transformation in indoor play. Children who had been ostensibly afraid of a dramatic play theme such as a dragon or lion now seemed to be the ones inviting those ideas into the classroom--this was what they needed to work on. While this still occurs from time to time, I have also noticed an increased number of physical games that do not involve the idea of aggression. Mutual tumbles or wrestling initiated by girls or boys seem to bring delight to both children; last week I watched a boy and girl roll and tumble down the hill at our clearing in the woods with great delight. They'd climb, hug, roll down the hill, and laugh. A few times their tumbles were bigger than they expected, but they recovered quickly and continued their game. In the classroom, their have been some voluntary pile-ons, much like in Rugby and Football. These Lynne and I keep an eye on to make sure that every child is enjoying the game. Lots of dads and grandfathers and stepfathers have been joining the imaginative play scenarios involving moms and babies in the classroom; children have set up doctor's offices to make sure babies or moms or dads are well cared for.
While conflicts do emerge and children sometimes seem capable of getting stuck in a habit of play (e.g., the way to play is to take something away from another), I witness increasing flexibility and ability to enter the flow and hum of the classroom. It can be lively; it can be noisy; it is certainly wonderful.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
As winter rolls into spring, the play of children has blossomed and grown in diverse and delightful directions. I've hesitated to write about how well I perceive things seem to be going in class because we have had one or two children consistently absent over the past 2 months, and I did not want to inadvertently suggest that a child or two are not part of the synergy of the group. Having observed children in class and elsewhere, I can now say with assurance that I have seen all the children--whether they are coming to class frequently or not--find new ways of playing and interacting with one another that has been very heartening.
With boys and girls, I have observed two parallel and apparently but not necessarily contradictory trends in the past months. At times, groups of 4 or 5 boys have been engaged in a common project--such as a construction project on the playground involving sand and mud and muck and a wheelbarrow that--la bit ike the rock os Sysiphus--tips over the moment it is filled with too much sand and much. And like an indefatigable hero from Greek myth (minus the sense of doom), children pick up the wheelbarrow and start their work anew. Among the girls, tensions about swings have abated in general, and I have observed the increasing strength and confidence as children propel themselves on the swing or push others on the tire swing. In the woods, it is not infrequent that girls will sally forth with or without Lynne to explore the trails near our bonfire (I created the trails to allow children to explore while still being near me and Lynne for safety).
I wrote a while back about one transformation in indoor play. Children who had been ostensibly afraid of a dramatic play theme such as a dragon or lion now seemed to be the ones inviting those ideas into the classroom--this was what they needed to work on. While this still occurs from time to time, I have also noticed an increased number of physical games that do not involve the idea of aggression. Mutual tumbles or wrestling initiated by girls or boys seem to bring delight to both children; last week I watched a boy and girl roll and tumble down the hill at our clearing in the woods with great delight. They'd climb, hug, roll down the hill, and laugh. A few times their tumbles were bigger than they expected, but they recovered quickly and continued their game. In the classroom, their have been some voluntary pile-ons, much like in Rugby and Football. These Lynne and I keep an eye on to make sure that every child is enjoying the game. Lots of dads and grandfathers and stepfathers have been joining the imaginative play scenarios involving moms and babies in the classroom; children have set up doctor's offices to make sure babies or moms or dads are well cared for.
While conflicts do emerge and children sometimes seem capable of getting stuck in a habit of play (e.g., the way to play is to take something away from another), I witness increasing flexibility and ability to enter the flow and hum of the classroom. It can be lively; it can be noisy; it is certainly wonderful.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
posted from Bloggeroid
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