Well, the 2009 school year is well underway. For the past month the new Frogs have been settling into their new routine and establishing their new identity as 'the Frog group'. Our focus over the last month has been on building our own relationships with the children, and helping the children build relationships with each other.
We have noticed a definite difference in the tone of the room since all of the older Frogs have moved on down the hall. Since all of the children in the are now in the same age range (two-and-a-half to three-ish), we are noticing more parallel play than cooperative play. Practically speaking, this means tat you are more likely to find this group all gathered around the same project playing together, but that their interactions are more focused on the project and less on making plans together. This is exactly as it should be for this age. Because these guys are just beginning to develop their cooperative play skills, we are helping them to practice simple social skills that will hopefully make establishing harmonious play scenarios with their peers easier. During circle, we have been practicing asking each other politely for toys, and taking turns... something that is not second nature to a child who is just beginning to grasp the concept that other people might have different plans than they do. We are starting to see quite a bit of progress with sharing and taking turns during free play time - with reminders of course!
In other related news (trust us, we'll show you how it's related in a moment...) We now have a pair of classroom pets;
We have adopted a pair of Degus from the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society Animal Shelter. One of the reasons we decided to add a permanent pet to the classroom was to give the children a chance to hone their growing sense of empathy. There's nothing like something small, furry and vulnerable to bring out a person's nurturing instincts! One morning, the children noticed that the Degus were squeaking and squabbling over their water bottle. "Why are they squeaking at each other?" they asked. We answered "The Degus both want a drink, but there's only one bottle." Right away, the whole group piped up "They should share !!! They can just take turns!!!" See? Our circle time lessons in action!
(Looking for a pet of your own? Adopt!!! Visit the Pioneer Valley Dakin humane Society online at http://www.dpvhs.org/)
