Another School Year is Ending, BUT Summer is Just Beginning

The book bags are being dropped by the door.
The good clothes, from the beginning of the year are now showing their wear. Revealing a child's growth, and a little lacklustre in style.
The smiles and giggles have left the school, hallways are silent and stoic. Sumer has arrived!

I love summers at Love To Grow On. (www.lovetogrowon.com).
Our center is filled with the sounds and creativity of our School Age students. They embrace life head on.   They bring joy, maturity and creativity to our center.
I love watching our School Age teachers, direct and guide the students energy, inspire the learning from the school year to continue and teach life skills to each child at their own pace.

Mr. John is an amazing, male role model.
He plays and provides boundaries, freely with his class. He values the uniqueness of each child. He discovers who each child is and helps them, and their parents see their potential.  I never get tired of watching him and his class.
I love watching my students in awe of the School Age class.  They want to be just like them. They develp their play, and learning as they observe the School Age kids. These older students become their role models and help my class develop their dreams for the future.
So school may be out, but so much learning is just beginning. Don't use the summer to relax and do very little. Embrace the potential and possibilities right in front of you. Keep a spark of learning always simmering, Find ways to build what the students have already learned and mastered, but do it in fun and creative ways.
Mr. John keeps, Ms. Renee's tradition of Nature City alive.

Students build homes and businesses,  develop their own currency,  elect government officials and instill a law enforcement agency. So many life skills and communication skills develop during this summer adventure that started over 10 years, ago by a single class who saw so much more than trees beside the school.
Their legacy lives on in each class that follows.
Language, writing, math, science, and social studies come alive. They are learned through play, not textbooks and sitting, listening to a teacher. They are experienced and put into practice.
I wonder what these children will grow up to be. 
How will they impact our government and education system? What ways will they change the world?

Check out these photos of Nature City from Years Past
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?
story_fbid=10206650667934826&id=1516762084

http://www.presspubs.com/quad/news/article_4bda6306-09be-11e3-b9c0-0019bb2963f4.html

https://www.facebook.com/Love-To-Grow-On-108031595901282/

Marvelous Mud and Puddle Play

To live in the moment.  

To be a child is to be free.
To explore life to the fullest. It is the chance to learn what your body can and can not do, to mix concoctions from dirt, leaves, rock, soil and anything else you can discover.
We are robbing our children of this glorious experience as we push them to excel when they are not developmentally ready.

We imprison them inside for fear of what they may encounter outside; injuries, strangers or worse.  But we also destroy their growth, discovery and learning in our goal to help and protect them.


What are your fondest memories from childhood?
Where did you play?
Who did you play with?
What don’t your parents know about your freedom in play?

Here are some articles and news stories that explain why such play is so important.
http://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2016/the-benefits-of-mud-play

KARE 11 also did a nice article on the need for children to spend play in nature last night.
https://www.kare11.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/kare-11-extras/vitamin-nature-kids-their-health-depends-on-it/89-553212975

Look at the joy in these faces as they relish the feel of mud squishing between their toes and fingers. There is no concern of getting dirty. Just carefree play, exploration and discovery.  This is what childhood should be.

I challenge you this summer to let your kids be kids, help them to thrive and grow.

I dare you to take it one step further, JOIN THEM! Get as muddy and as dirty as they do. Go for it make a lasting memory.

Climbing To New Heights

I saw this wonderful video on Facebook a few weeks ago. Someone had strung up a pulley system in their area and provided a step ladder. Then they had hung buckets up on the pulleys and left blocks out.  It was magical watching the video and all of the learning taking place. (I have not been able to find the inspiring video if I can locate it I will put a link to it in this blog post.)  It inspired me to try and replicate the opportunity in my class.

I am very blessed that the Center I work at, Love To Grow On, and our administration support risky play as a part of our center's philosophy.  I am also blessed that our parents embrace the activities we provide their children and trust us to provide them in a safe and nurturing environment.  So when I entered the classroom with rope, buckets and a ladder no one batted an eye and the kids knew we were going to do something exciting.
I left the items near the circle time area and listened to the conversations.  After breakfast we met for our morning meeting and discussed the items brought in.
"That is a ladder, my dad has one."

"We have one too!"
"You climb a ladder to reach things, or do things up high."
"You need to climb careful or you can fall.  My dad was not careful and he fell.  He was ok, but mom was mad."
Because the ladder was the main topic of conversation I put the buckets and rope aside and let them climb the ladder.  We discussed how both sides could be climbed and we decided that 4 could be on the ladder at a time.  That morning they all took turns scaling the ladder and exploring the room from new heights.
"I can see the ground outside when I climb the ladder and look outside!"
"I am as tall as Ms. Helen!"
"If I stand here I am taller than Ms. Helen."
"The ladder is shakey as you go higher."
"Come here and look down on the room, the legos look smaller up here."

This lead to constructing a simple pulley system where they could raise and lower buckets by the way they placed items into the buckets. The ladder was used to reach the higher bucket and to redistribute the items in the buckets to allow them to move up and down. The team work and problem-solving skills used were fascinating to watch in this project. It has been going on for almost three weeks now as they test out a variety of items in the buckets.
"The one with stuff in it goes down. It must be heavy."
"The empty one is lighter because it goes up."
"Four big blocks is the same as 6 bean bags."
"What do you mean?"
"Neither bucket goes up when you have 6 bean bags and 4 of these blocks."

An extension to this activity was to add art to it. We have been creating a large group mural on the wall using the ladder to reach the upper part of our canvas.
This has been a good way to add a new perspective to using paint and chalk. They are doing art standing on a ladder, keeping their balance, drawing on a vertical surface, and viewing the room from a different perspective.

I encourage you to give this a try, even if you only add a low steps tool to your environment.