We pre-k teachers had the pleasure of attending a virtual conference last Wednesday sponsored by the VT Agency of Education. The conference focused on the incredible importance of play in early childhood (and on up through elementary school), with a keynote address by evolutionary psychologist Peter Gray. We were so affirmed by Dr. Gray's message, and are so happy to be able to support preschoolers as they learn through play. YOU can support your child's play at home as well. One of the best things to do is to give your child free time - they'll figure out what to do! I would encourage you to watch this 4 minute video for a quick summation by Peter Gray of the important elements of play.
Check out these pictures to see how we played this week!
Ever popular, with increasingly complex recipes.
So many children have been excited about painting recently - lots of creative expression happening in Wildwood Forest!
A home-made catapult - what great engineering!
Our entryway garden is popping - so many beautiful colors, with new discoveries every day.
We did some cooking last Friday - potato hash. We cut up potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions...
added a bunch of salt and olive oil...
...and took it to the fire for cooking! Ask your child what they thought of it - the general sentiment was two thumbs up!
Kids have been having fun making scavenger hunts for each other. There's a lot of hard work happening as they listen for the sounds in the words they're trying to write.
It's salamander season! We thought this one could be a nature "W".
We've re-taught everyone how to wash their hands the "forest way" before they hold a salamander. Hand sanitizer and dry hands are uncomfortable and poisonous for salamanders, but they're happy with some dirty muddy hands.
These two figured out how to build a see-saw.
A quiet moment at his sit-spot.
It took about 24 hours for the mushrooms to drop their spores so these kiddos had to wait to see if their predictions were correct.
We're starting a garden study for the last weeks of school. Here students are waiting patiently to see what was inside the "mystery box." It was a bean seed! Each child got to choose where/how to germinate their seed. Some chose a container with just water, and some chose a container with soil and water. One child even planted their seed in a container of mud! We'll be watching carefully to see what happens.
Patients in the doctor's office
All those tiny black specks are snow fleas! We found thousands! Ask your child where they were...
A little project after a garden exploration.
This kiddo is working on building an "Ancient Temple".
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