playgroup in the garden
This term at playgroup has really been great. For one, The Bun has finally seemed to have outgrown that phase where he would scream and sob for ten minutes upon arrival, only to recover and then enjoy the rest of the session with gusto. We had our fair share of mornings where he would crumple into tears upon waking when he realised it was a school day. I kept thinking that if he acted like this for an accompanied playgroup, what would it be like when he has to start preschool proper? Maybe it was the transition that set him off, but whatever it is, I'm glad that the screamfests have stopped and that The Bun is dipping into the whole experience with enthusiasm again. When he gets cheeky and boisterous, that's when I know he's feeling okay.
The other kids and us parents have also settled into a small, easy-going circle of friendship too. I've realised that most of the kids in the group are boys. The other day I was chatting with another mother and I mentioned how other people are pressuring me to start The Bun in 'proper' school soon, simply because that's what kids his age do. She shrugged and told me, what's the rush? [Her kid] knows the alphabet, he can count, he loves art, he just wants to play, and so that's what they'll do, because it works for them, the same way it works for The Bun and I right now. The time will come soon enough for more structured learning; these are precious days for him.
The kids are learning about the garden this term, so there are a lot of hands-on sensory activities going on. The most memorable one has to be the day we learned about worms. Did you know an apple, sliced cross-wise, will reveal a tiny star in the middle? I didn't, until Teacher S read a story about a worm who found a star in his home (i.e. the apple). Then the kids played with the ultimate sensory tub: live (farmed) mealworms. I must confess that the hair on the back of my neck stood, but as the teachers cheerfully reminded us, the parents tried to model good behaviour and so, for the first time ever, I allowed a bunch of live mealworms to crawl all over my palm. Ick, ick, ick, although as predicted, the kids thought it was great fun and enjoyed picking each tiny worm one by one off the carpet back into the tub. After they finished handling the worms, each kid was given a trowel and they all trooped outside to dig holes in the garden next to the school and released the worms back where they (sort of) belonged. The holes the kids dug weren't all that deep; I imagine the birds had a great buffet lunch that day.
Worms in the garden
Other fun things: practising scissor skills by snipping the ends of real stalks of flowers and making a take-home flower garden; making their own egg mayo sandwich for snack-time; and creating an insect diorama with terracotta clay, pebbles, plastic aquatic plants (more scissor skills), and plastic insects.
Making a flower garden
I really love this playgroup because I find that I'm learning lots from it, especially from the teachers' experience and their attitude towards the children. I admire Teacher S in particular because of the way she exudes calm and confidence without doing that over-energetic I'm-your-friendly-teacher! thing with the kids. Her own children are young adults and she has taught preschool for years, and her experience shows. Her calmness helps me, the worrywart first-timer parent, calm down too. Last week The Bun not only agreed to enter the outdoor school playground (which he has NEVER enjoyed), but also played with the other children; and Teacher S caught my eye, cocked her head, and just winked. They will get there in their own time, that wink said. This, I need to remember.
I'm not sure how much longer The Bun will remain in this playschool - maybe a term or more, and then he will begin to age out of the present group. I don't know, really. It's a bit expensive and inconvenient (transport-wise) for him to go full-time here, and logistically it would be better for him to be somewhere closer to where we live. I feel like my experiences here and observing the way the teachers work have kind of raised my expectations with a lot of the preschools in my area, which is a good thing since then I have a yardstick to work with. The search is on, and more changes are afoot. Life's like that, isn't it - just when you find your footing and breathe a quiet sigh of relief, the boat rocks again and everything shifts again.
The other kids and us parents have also settled into a small, easy-going circle of friendship too. I've realised that most of the kids in the group are boys. The other day I was chatting with another mother and I mentioned how other people are pressuring me to start The Bun in 'proper' school soon, simply because that's what kids his age do. She shrugged and told me, what's the rush? [Her kid] knows the alphabet, he can count, he loves art, he just wants to play, and so that's what they'll do, because it works for them, the same way it works for The Bun and I right now. The time will come soon enough for more structured learning; these are precious days for him.
The kids are learning about the garden this term, so there are a lot of hands-on sensory activities going on. The most memorable one has to be the day we learned about worms. Did you know an apple, sliced cross-wise, will reveal a tiny star in the middle? I didn't, until Teacher S read a story about a worm who found a star in his home (i.e. the apple). Then the kids played with the ultimate sensory tub: live (farmed) mealworms. I must confess that the hair on the back of my neck stood, but as the teachers cheerfully reminded us, the parents tried to model good behaviour and so, for the first time ever, I allowed a bunch of live mealworms to crawl all over my palm. Ick, ick, ick, although as predicted, the kids thought it was great fun and enjoyed picking each tiny worm one by one off the carpet back into the tub. After they finished handling the worms, each kid was given a trowel and they all trooped outside to dig holes in the garden next to the school and released the worms back where they (sort of) belonged. The holes the kids dug weren't all that deep; I imagine the birds had a great buffet lunch that day.
Worms in the garden
Other fun things: practising scissor skills by snipping the ends of real stalks of flowers and making a take-home flower garden; making their own egg mayo sandwich for snack-time; and creating an insect diorama with terracotta clay, pebbles, plastic aquatic plants (more scissor skills), and plastic insects.
Making a flower garden
I really love this playgroup because I find that I'm learning lots from it, especially from the teachers' experience and their attitude towards the children. I admire Teacher S in particular because of the way she exudes calm and confidence without doing that over-energetic I'm-your-friendly-teacher! thing with the kids. Her own children are young adults and she has taught preschool for years, and her experience shows. Her calmness helps me, the worrywart first-timer parent, calm down too. Last week The Bun not only agreed to enter the outdoor school playground (which he has NEVER enjoyed), but also played with the other children; and Teacher S caught my eye, cocked her head, and just winked. They will get there in their own time, that wink said. This, I need to remember.
I'm not sure how much longer The Bun will remain in this playschool - maybe a term or more, and then he will begin to age out of the present group. I don't know, really. It's a bit expensive and inconvenient (transport-wise) for him to go full-time here, and logistically it would be better for him to be somewhere closer to where we live. I feel like my experiences here and observing the way the teachers work have kind of raised my expectations with a lot of the preschools in my area, which is a good thing since then I have a yardstick to work with. The search is on, and more changes are afoot. Life's like that, isn't it - just when you find your footing and breathe a quiet sigh of relief, the boat rocks again and everything shifts again.