Good Bye 2017! Welcome 2018!

So another year ends and the promise of a new year waits just around the corner. How is your 2017 ending? How are you beginning 2018?

Was it a good year? Are you racing into the future looking forward to the promise of 2018 or are you dragging yourself out of 2017 battle scarred and weary? Or perhaps you feel ambivalent about 2017/2018. Easy come easy go.

Let's take time to reflect.

What parts of 2017 do you want to leave behind? How will you do that?

What were the best parts of 2017? What made them great?

What goals went uncompleted? Why?
What are you going to do about it in 2018 and those goals?
Reflect on them, adjust, make new goals, and examine if they are realistic.

What accomplishments did you have in 2017?

I believe every year has its ups and downs.  Every year is full of promise and failure. Health and sickness wait inside each year.  But, the way you feel about a year that has passed and a year that is starting really can set a tone for how you feel about them.

Let's be honest years are just made up of days, days are made up from hours, and hours come from a collection of minutes. 

Minutes are built by seconds. So let's make every second count.
Let's choose to see the good and the best in the situations around us. Yes sometimes you need to dig deep and explore when you want to hide.

But see each year as a sketch. The final product won't be completed until the final stroke of the artist's pencil.

Happy New Year’s to you!

Exploring Light

The winter months bring darkness.  We go from long days filled with warmth and light to cold, dreary days of darkness. With the winter solstice, the days gradually begin to lengthen again but darkness seems to linger. These are the perfect months to capture and explore light.
I bring out flashlights of all sizes. I place them around the room and they are there to use in dramatic play, exploring under tables and chairs, inside dark boxes and evening taking outside. We use them with mirrors and see through toys and we create shadows with them. We use them to "paint" with lights.
We darken the room and then dance and twirl our flashlights to music as the children paint with the flashlights I take pictures and then we print them and discuss what the light streaks look like.

I place battery operated light strings on tables and allow the children to add loose parts to them and incorporate them into their play.

I change up my light table and light table toys creating new invitations to explore and ponder.

This year I have a black light I hope to add to our exploration.  There is so much you can do with light and light play. Why not do it during the darkness of winter?

Links to explore:

Light Science for Kids
https://buggyandbuddy.com/light-experiments-for-kids/


24 Light Themed Activities to Explore with Children
https://childhood101.com/24-day-night-light-themed-learning-activities/

Mirror and Light Science
https://www.mymundaneandmiraculouslife.com/mirror-and-light-science-experiments-for-preschoolers/

From Holidays to Winter Blues

Well, the holidays have passed. You have made it through the sugar highs of Halloween, the over eating of Thanksgiving and slid through the multiple celebrations of Christmas. If you are on holiday you have a few days before you meet up with your class again. If you are not on holiday you are crawling back into routine.

Well, remember so are your kids. They have gone through the same types of highs and lows you have.

However, they have not had the 18 plus years you have had to develop coping skills. They don't have the words to express, the feeling of, "it is all over" and "I feel sad".

They don't understand the emotions that come with high times of joy, constant motion and family dynamics; and if we are honest a lot of us are still developing these skills or working at getting better at developing them.

On top of everything that goes with all the fun and celebrations we have just enjoyed, many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are hitting the doldrums of winter. Living in Minnesota, I know deep cold, artic wind chills and snow or lack of snow, will add to my classes behaviors and attitudes.

It will also affect me. And we all know if it effects me it will affect my class and those around me. So what can we do to help move forward and enjoy the transaction back into regular life?

1. Go slowly. I take a few days working extra free time and regular routine together. Shorter circle times, more exploration opportunities.

2. Switch it up. Gradually decrease the holiday songs and books, bring back old favorites and slowly introduce new ones. Do the same with toys, puzzles, art mediums, and books.

3. Provide large muscle opportunities. Dance, go outside when ever possible, use the gym wisely. Check out:

The Learning Station and their Brain Breaks. https://learningstationmusic.com

Explore Rea Pica's work.
http://www.raepica.com

4. Net work with others.
Check out my Facebook page From Fingerprints To Masterpieces and join our discussion group From Fingerprints To Masterpieces Deeper Discussions.
Share other groups in the comments or in the discussion group so we can all benefit from what you have learned.

5. Take care of yourself. If you are feeling the stress and pressure you will transmit to your class.

You are their rudder. Remember you are in control, but use your position wisely.
Set limits and follow through.
Be aware of the choices you are giving, spoken and unspoken.
Yelling doe not solve anything, stay CALM.
Apologize if you must

and NEVER, be afraid to ask for help or offer a coworker help.

This is just a season. It will pass. It can be enjoyed.

It Has Been Awhile

With Thanksgiving transitioning into Christmas and conferences and Christmas programs I have had to take a break from my blog. Look for new entries very soon.