The environment as the third teacher

In order to act as an educator for the child, the environment needs to be flexible. It must undergo frequent modification by the children and the teachers in order to remain up-to-date and responsive to  to their needs to be protagonists in constructing their knowledge. -Lella Gandini

In keeping with our thinking about the environment as the third teacher, here is a quote from Lella Gandini. She is the U.S. Liaison for the Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia Approach on behalf of Reggio Children, Italy, and a correspondent for the Italian educational magazine Bambini.

What thoughts come to mind as you think about this quote?

Spring Break 2013

Open House- September 20th

I would like to host an open house in September, to welcome new families as well as invite community members at large to drop in and see what we are all about…

 

Please contribute Your Ideas! We will have to get on this right away 🙂

Father’s Day Tea

community!

So here it is “community”. What does it mean? What does it look like? Why is it important?

To me community is one of the most important things we should be striving to create here at the School House. It is so important! It gives support, not only to the children but also to the families, educators, and people we interact with (neighbours, city workers, doesn’t matter) When we feel supported we are able to do our best work. And we all deserve that opportunity.  I think the three musketeers said it best “All for one and one for all”

Introduction

Hello everyone.

As the time draws nearer for me to join you there at the Schoolhouse I thought that it was time that I introduce myself via this really cool blog. I am Tracy. I am quite excited to come and be a part of this team of educators.   In the realm of early learning I am very interested in project based learning, reggio approach and  most especially, nature based play, although I claim no expertise.  I love really watching the children and figuring out what gets them excited and then bringing that to them in some way so that we can all have fun with it. We have been playing alot in the mud and water at the centre I am at now as well as investigating worms, seeds and the garden.

I would love to know what you have been up to lately in the 3 1/2 to 5 program so that I have an idea of what I am coming into.

I can see I have a learning curve to  master this wordpress before I can get the pictures to look how I would like. I may have to enlist help from my teenager.

On that note I’ll fill you in on little bit about me more personally. I have three children ages 16, 13 and 10. I live in the Slocan Valley with the above mentioned children and my husband. We have recently moved into our house and hope to work on the yard this summer. We are also growing a vegetable garden for the first time in a few years. We jumped the gun when the weather was really warm and lucked out as our corn and potatoes are well under way. I am quite excited and I think we will have too many beans, so beware, I may be trying to give away beans… green beans, yellow beans, and purple beans.

Have a great day

Tracy

Getting Excited!!

Hello Everybody!

I am taking a few minutes here during my ‘planning time’ to share some thoughts and ideas with all of you 🙂

Today Roni and I chatted about the state of the kitchen. We feel that the heap of recycling in the corner of the kitchen needs to be dealt with. I had been thinking earlier in the week that it would be nice to have 2 or 3 recycling recepticals in that corner. I had imagined a laundry hamper style frame that you could put recycling bags in and have designated for glass, paper and plastic. But as I was talking with Roni I thought maybe the 3-5s would want to build it as a project. What do you think Hannah? Would the kids be into it? Roni felt that it would be good for the children to participate and thus feel proud of their school environment. 

Also later I was talking with Hannah and she and I both felt that the staff room space isn’t working. It’s attracting a lot of clutter on the table. Hannah pointed out that when we hold staff meetings we do not have them in the kitchen. So the table is not useful in that respect, since only two people would have a break at the same time in the kitchen anyways. We were thinking that a couch and maybe a coffee table would work better. The couch would create a space to sit/rest/sleep and you could still write or eat or do projects on the coffee table. Maybe a shelf to hold paperwork?

I am very excited about all the momentum and great ideas I hear being whispered here and there. I am also so excited for the new staff we are taking on. Ashley I am looking forward to working with you. And I’m stoked for Taffe to get here! 

Yeah team!! ❤

Mystery

Today in the 3-5 yard Benjamin, Graeme and Milo were quite active and I couldn’t hear all of what they were chattering about but at one point I heard Benjamin say he wasn’t sure where his fairy wand was, but didn’t seem to be too worried about it as he didn’t run off to try to find it, he just continues with playing and doing what he was doing. Maybe 2o-30 minutes later I heard him at the chalk side of the easel outside say “someone drew on this, maybe this is a clue to finding my disappearing wand mystery.” and I automatically responded, without first thinking, “Oh I see your wand, it’s inside in someones hand.” I automatically regretted it realizing they were having fun playing this mystery game and I made a comment to Rochelle about regretting saying anything. Yet the boys didn’t seem too disappointed they just ran off exclaiming “That mystery is solved!” I then hear them saying loudly (but not yelling) “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me!” (Benjamin was the initiator) and they were climbing up on the bottom ‘bar’ of the wooden side fence that looks out onto Falls St, trying to get the attention of the man driving this BIG dump truck out of the ally and trying to park it on the opposite side of the fence, but of course he couldn’t hear cuz he was inside the very loud truck and concentrating. I was thinking they were going to ask him to honk his horn or if they could go inside his truck or something to that effect. I didn’t want to again spoil their “fun” by telling them he couldn’t hear them or to get off the fence right away so I waited to see what was going to happen. Then a lady from across the street walked by them and into the ally as they were in the midst of their “excuse me’s,” and said “Hello Kids” with a smile so they asked her “have you seen any clues” and she replied “no I haven’t as she kept on walking.” The dump truck mad had finally parked and gotten out of his truck and heard them with their continued “Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me!” The man stopped and looked at them and said “yes,” and Benjamin asked “Have you seen any clues to the missing laptop mystery or the (something something-I forgot) mystery?” The man replied with “No, I haven’t!” The boys said “thanks anyways!” as the man walked off down the ally and they hopped off the fence and back to looking for further clues of their mysteries!

 

The Table

This is the table we made today. I was contemplating it in the morning but got distracted with other things so this afternoon I gathered the supplies which got Quinn attention so he asked what I was doing. So I replied by saying I was making something. He asked what I was making. I replied “I am not sure yet, but something with 4 legs.” He replied by guessing a couple of different animal type things. Each time I asked if it had 4 legs, and he replied not. He finally guessed “a table” by the third or fourth guess. Which I laughed and asked “does it have four legs?” he said “yes, can I hammer?” and he grabbed the hammer and found some nails. He hammered 4 nails through the top into each leg while I held the leg onto the top piece for him. Some of the other kids had gathered or walked by to check out what we were doing. Quinn then said ” I want to paint it so it’s not wood anymore.”  I responded by saying “go for it!” So he went and put some of the turquoise blue paint into a can and brought out a small paint brush and started painting. He then spotted and grabbed the larger paint brushes that had been out in the yard from earlier water painting. He continued to paint the entire top part of the table. Luke found another large paint brush and helped to paint the legs. Brooke wanted to paint as well and asked if she could get some paint, I said yes and she went inside to fill a white tray with many colours of paint and brought it outside and proceeded to paint other boards that were outside. June joined Brook in painting boards and also painted some brown that in on the top of the table. I think Alexis helped to paint some of the legs of the table as well as some of the boards blue. June and Brooke also thought the sidewalk and side of the building and window needed some extra colour, so they added some. By 5 pm June and Brookes hands and arms were covered in brown paint and they were chasing the other kids around the yard, everyone was screaming with delight. The entire process was interesting and brightened up my afternoon.

Nobody has complained, so far, so I must be doing something right!

hmmmm…well I keep logging in and staring at this blank page to type something into and can’t figure out what I should/would like to write. So I figured I’d finally type something.

I feel like I am still getting to know everyone and everything else I need to know (kids, staff, parents, routines, life, what I am supposed to be doing while at work), that I am finding it hard to think about taking the next steps with observations and documentations, etc.