How Do You Use Your Playground Fence?

Warm weather leads to a new world of possibilities in Minnesota.

Gone are the below zero wind chills, knee deeepsnow and frosted windows.
Summer is here.  Sunshine, breezes, and new birth.
My kids love water, mud, rocks, sand, leaves and any combination of these wonderful treasures. I am always captured by their excitement and drawn in by their play.  It makes me a better teacher, as I look for ways to add to their play.

Thus the creation of our water wall.
I stood looking at a bare stretch of unused fencing in an area of the playground that often gets ignored.  It is not near the sandbox, playground apparatus and does not allow for much movement in running or game playing.  I was then drawn to the splashing in a puddle and pouring of water.  The seeds were planted and the water wall was born.

Thanks to the generous donations of parents I was able to begin the construction on this unused piece of fencing. We used flexible tubing, funnels, pvc piping, pool noodles, duct tape, zipties, and mesh netting.

The netting was taped over the funnels to limit the rocks and wood chips that get into the funnels. In the PVC piping we poked 3 sporatic holes and capped the end of the tubing. This alows water pressure to build up, inside the pipe and then, it is forced out of the holes, and squirts in streams of water that rise and fall. A fun way to explore physics.

Flexible tubing and water noodles, weave in and out of the fence and around each other creating an interesting pattern of movement and allows for problem-solving as they try to predict where the water will emerge from. Some tubes are open on the end. Other tubes end with sprinklers or buchets at their end to collect or spray water.

Once attached provide pleanty of water from buckets and hoses. Be sure they have items to tote and collect water in. Be prepared they will get wet and messy. Just relax and enjoy the fun.

How Do YOU Make a Difference?

I shared this video clip on From Fingerprints To Masterpieces Facebook page, https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2123388167676641&id=100000164364105
where a mother takes her child to a playground.
The rejection they face and harassment they receive from children, as well as the lack of adults who even offer aid is appalling to me.

So I posted it asking: How do you teach those you impact, that this is not right and demonstrate the appropriate way to handle the situation?

Far too many posted that it was awful, disgraceful and sad.
A few commented on the mother's resilience to protect her child, model positive behaviors and provide him fun at the playground.

I was very disappointed by the responses, I had hoped instead of pointing out the obvious, (oppression and racism are horrendous), that people would share the hard work. How to impact those around us. It is the hard work that makes a difference.

First of all racism and oppression are NOT going to go away with out the hard work. Stand and shout all you want about the world's injustices, but other than rallying others to be loud and vocal you are not going to change the world you live in.
Put in the hard work, you will see progress. Slow and steady but much more than shouting out the obvious.
You must TEACH and MODEL the ways you want the world to be. You must live the way you feel others to live.
YOU must make the impact, do the hard work and face the anger of those who are angered when you point out where they are wrong.
You must do it from a kind heart, a positive perspective and a right motive.

Yelling, debating on social media and protesting draw attention to the situation. They DO NOT show others how to make a difference. So again I ask:

How do you teach those you impact that this is not right, and demonstrate the appropriate way to handle the situation?

For me the response would be, I step in and say something to the person or people involved. Usually kids, but I have confronted adults also.

I have walked up to kids on a playground while out on my daily walk, and said, "That is not ok. Your words or actions are hurtful. If you have a problem walk away."

With kids in my class I have turned it into an indepth learning journey and I have included parents in this learning. We look at all the areas we are the same and all the areas we are different, often not focused on race or culture until we have examined the general. (Colors we like or dislike, foods we like or dislike, things our families do, places we live, abilities we have like standing on one foot, hopping and skipping and those who can not do those things).

Then as we realize we have many varieties of things we share and how many we are diverse in, then I move to the ones that are harder like race, cultures and gender neutrality.

I truly believe these are more difficult because adults that each child respects, have strong oppions and feelings about these things and children get confused by whom they should please and what they may be told about these issues.

My parents taught me I don't have to like everyone or everything, but I must be respectful and kind.

Our world has forgotten that respect is earned, not demanded and kindness can even be offered to an enemy.

Evil is all around us. You can promote it by fighting it with hate and anger under the lie to yourself you are making a difference or you can stop it by being the quiet difference. Showing others the way.

PLEASE, do the hard work for those whose lives you impact.

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/