THIS WEEK WE started a new school year

Keeping an ear out around the school, this is what we’ve heard:

“I want it to be morning, so I can go back to school.”  (D, 3 years old, Yanshoofim class)

The teachers have been working with their students to create a set of classroom rules.  Some of the class rules written by the Bogrim (PreK):

1. No drawing on girls (E)
2. Only ice skate on ice (I)
3. No drawing on boys (J)

Trying out new learning centers in a new class

In the Kochavim (older 3s), the teachers wanted to have a discussion with their class about clean up times. They used Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat to provoke a discussion about how a messy house made them and their families feel. When asked how their parents would react if they came home to such a messy house, here’s what the Kochavim children said their parents would say:

 

• M:  “Ay, yi, yi”
• S:  “NO, NO, NO!”
• E:  “Oh no!”

In the Peelim (the PreK-4 class), hurricanes were a big topic of discussion during Morning Meeting:

• B:  Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. And the electricity wasn’t working.
• J:  Daddy and me we go to a hurricane zone and there was a big tree, and it hit a big house.
• O:  I heard the rain when I was sleeping. All the people were in the supermarket.

In the Bogrim (PreK), some of the friends talked about a child who is going to a different school this year. They missed him and so the teachers encouraged them to channel their emotions into their art:

•  J:  “This is a little moon and this is a big moon. This is a flower pot on dirt. This is the grass. This is Ben. He’s in the yard taking pictures of the flowers.”
• E:  “This is hand Ben, flower Ben, necklace Ben, dirt Ben, Capitol Building Ben, dot Ben, and eyebrow Ben.”
• E:  “Ben is walking to Whole Foods with his momma so Ben doesn’t get lost. This is the grass. You need to cut the grass.”
• A:  “I made Cheerio Ben. Then I made hands. He’s with his mom. They’re going to the grocery store. I drew a B for Ben.”

Playing at the park during the first week of school

Documenting the children’s learning and ideas is an important part of our Reggio-inspired curriculum.  Doing so builds confidence, pre-literacy and communication skills.  The children’s conversations are also a data source for the teachers. The teachers dissect these conversations to discover themes for potential class or small group investigations. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to hear what they’re thinking!