This is our crew on any given day
Before I continue, I must admit that I am blessed to have the most awesome coworker on the planet. Brittney is the Yin to my Yang, the Bert to my Ernie...... the Lucy to my Ethel.
She is literally the right half of my brain. I could not function without her. She helps me not only with the day to day operations of the classroom but with my constant episodes of forgetfulness such as, "Where did I leave those sharp scissors?" We have one of those relationships where there is no need to ask........ she will just observe me walking around in circles looking up and down and know exactly what my 43 year old senile brain is wondering. We have even adopted the same tone and phrases with the kids and often blurt out things in unison.
Me and my Right Hand Gal
Despite the fact that I am the same age as her mom, Brittney and I are more than coworkers, we are best friends. Our days are filled with laughter even when we have to hold each other back from wringing some little necks. NOTE: I make this comment in humor, I would never lay a hand on any child. Without Brittney, I most definitely would not have survived this year.
So..... back to this year's crew. Due to the domino effect that occurs when the 5 year olds leave preschool we acquired a whole new class at once. Those of you familiar with Montessori Philosophy know that a class is most often comprised of children ranging in age of a few years. The children in our class are usually as young as 18 months and as old as 2 1/2. This is to encourage children to learn from their peers. They come in at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole and work up to becoming leaders. It is amazing to witness this growth and maturation. Some relish in the leadership role more than others. There is always at least one 'Go-To' Child, usually a girl, that you can count on to come to your aid when needed. "Lauren, can you get that box of tissues for me, please? Would you take this to the trash can for me? Could you please go get Robby out from under the table?" It often gets to the point where you have to reign in the go-to-child some when the power goes to their head, "Lauren, you may not wipe Connor's bottom after he uses the potty!"
Sometimes it's easier to learn from someone closer to your size
This particular group of kiddos has been difficult to get into a routine. In the fall I had visions of all of the amazing lessons we would work on and all of the creative projects we would make. In reality, most of our time has just been getting them to sit in a chair without falling out..... I am not kidding! Their inability to have already mastered the art of chair sitting is from the apparatus that the children use in the classroom that they move up from. A little torture device I call "Table Jail." This seating choice goes against every fiber of my being. It's sole purpose is to confine the children to make the job of the caregiver easier.
I am not sure who is tortured more by this device.... the children or the poor soul who has to break their back trying to lift and wrestle them into it. Children can not learn to independently sit if they are trapped in a seat surrounded by formica. They need to be encouraged, i.e. trained, to sit in a chair because it is time to eat, or do a puzzle etc. not because they are shoved into it. The children I am referring to are mobile walkers, not infants that can not sit independently.
I must point out that my current preschool is a church preschool-not a Montessori school. Although my training and opinions are valued by some, it is not the norm of the program. My experience and training has taught me that if you create an environment that is inviting and encourages exploration children will be excited to learn and engaged independently in activities. Our classroom has shelves with 'work' for the children to independently choose to work with. The activities are either to be used at a table or on a rug on the floor. Everything is organized, legos are in one basket, blocks in another. Table work consists of work such as sorting, spooning, or play doh. Everything needed for the child to use for each activity is contained neatly on a tray.
The feeder classroom as I call it, has (in addition to an 8 seater Table Jail) a trunk of toys that are dumped out on the floor for the children to play with. The children mainly just toss the toys around, run over each other with cars and climb inside the toy chest itself. They are encouraged by one of the caregivers to put things on their heads and bang on items like a drum. This particular caregiver entertains the children by singing, nothing wrong with that, except she does it ALL DAY, REALLY LOUD all while banging on things that are not drums. These kids have come to expect a freaking musical revue everyday. After the move up I turned on a cd for some background music and the kids looked at me waiting for me to bust out in song and dance. Liza Minelli, I am not.
All of my above complaining is my attempted explanation for why I have neglected my blog, (in addition being therapeutic.) We did manage to get some cute projects done, which I did take pictures of so I will get around to posting Thanksgiving Crafts hopefully by Easter. There is a glimmer of hope for our class for 2014. We only moved up 2 students in December. This will give the current older Einsteins time to evolve into the leaders of tomorrow and become positive examples for the new kiddos coming in.
