Our childcare dept is supporting Anti-Bullying day by holding conversations in our programs, and selling t-shirts (proceeds go to the Variety Club). The t-shirts are hot pink and are cool because they have a blank line for the children to write in how they will stand up against bullying. Our preschoolers were tasked with brainstorming ideas about bullying. We then filled out a paper t-shirt to post downstairs in the community centre. Check them out- they are taped to the glass of the fitness centre,

We opened up a discussion around bullying. I wasn't sure if the children were even familiar with this term, let alone understanding its complex undertones. As usual, they surprised me.

Here are a  few of the comments we heard when asked what they thought about bullying:

Chloe: Being bad, being mean.
Zev: Bad means being a bully, someone who is not nice.
Emily: Somebody tells you bad stuff.
Luca: Someone who points and laughs at the person.
Sidney: Makes people sad, when you say bad things about them.
Cash: If somebody hits somebody and makes them cry.
Alexa: Somebody points and laughs at me.
Loreli: When someone hits you, other people will feel sad.
Colin: If someone pushes you to the ground, that's bullying.
Brooke: Pushed on purpose.
Emily: When they say no boys allowed.
Zev: If someone pushes you off the swing.

I was so proud of our children- deeply thinking about others and how to be a good friend. Their ideas are simple and yet they really encompass all we need to know ( that reminds me of the book "Everything I needed to Know I learnt in Kindergarten"- so true!). I hope that these dialogues and opportunities to express our feelings will lead to peaceful relationships. Relationships based on respect and concern for humanity as a whole.These are good concepts for us all to think about. What will you do to stand up to bullying? How can you help your children deal with issues around bullying?

Yesterday was about boundaries. For me at least. Finding the space where we can all be ourselves, both teachers and students. Yesterday forced me to think deeply about my role as a teacher, my core values,  and what I am and am not comfortable with. It pushed me to explore my philosophy on the early childhood setting and emergent curriculum. I questioned my ability to really be true to children's interests and allow them to be who they are and pursue what interests them. Luckily, I had a study group to attend last night; kind of therapy for people working with children. I was able to share my thoughts, musing, and reflections with this wide group of intelligent people and although we didn't have any definitive answers, it sure felt good.

Let me give you one example although there were other situations. I am choosing to share with you this particular one because I believe it comes up a lot for many educators. And, dare I say without reprimand, mostly with female educators. I must confess that I have issues with guns in class, not uncommon I know. And, of course, as we all know, pretty much everything can be transformed into a gun- a toilet paper role, lego, crystal builders, blocks, a pretend asparagus, a paint brush- you get the idea. Generally our policy is no guns, no weapons in class. Lately I have been observing the play however and started to think about where this fascinations stems from. Is it the noise? The shape? The power? Or does it go way way back to our intrinsic need to defend ourselves amongst danger? Surely we cannot blame tv and video games for this interest because I know many families that do not allow these things in their own home and yet it is still part of their child's life. We have talked about it; parents and teachers together with utter bewilderment.

So... what do we do? How do we handle this dilemma? If we maintain our policy are we being congruent with our  mission to value children and their interests? If we shut down this type of role play are we sending the message that this interest is not valued? Will children then think that other ideas they have may also be shut down? Are we creating more of an issue by making it a huge issue ( the old rebellious side waiting to emerge)? If we allow it, are we promoting violence? Are we condoning using weapons? An interesting question came up last night...what about the child who has a parent that hunts and has guns in the house that are cleaned, cared for and respected in that household? As you can see this is a huge issue.

So, back to yesterday in class. The boys took our math cubes and turned them into swords. They wanted to sword fight. I watched for a while and then they sought out Emmett. They were clever enough not to ask myself or Yvette to play sword fighting! Emmett was given a sword and I watched in awe as they played. Emmett guided them into a slow motion series of moves and it was actually a beautiful moment of camaraderie and engaged play. I was interested to see where it would go. And,predictably, it did get very loud and then people were moving faster. My initial reaction was to put a stop to it. And, then, my new voice came into my head and said "Let them take it outside onto the balcony." And then, boys and girls joined in, the play progressed and changed and went through the typical morphing of play that happens with four year olds. So, do I have answers....no. Do I have more questions... YES! And this is why I love love love my job! Thank you children, thank you Emmett and thank you study group.



Emily

Another day of fish egg discussions led to the children using Plasticine to represent the fish eggs. It was interesting to watch the children figure out different ways to roll out their "eggs". Some preferred to use their two palms to roll the balls while others placed the Plasticine on the table and rolled with one palm. The discussions were also intriguing as some children commented on the fact that they had never seen the eggs in real life while others told tales of eating them in their sushi.

This art project also allowed for good vocabulary building as we discussed how each egg has a membrane, a soft transparent wall. It also provoked  some thinking around water- the temperature, the fact that they need clean not polluted water and how the eggs can die if the water is too cold. The children also learned about the composition of the egg and they were curious about the yolk sac.












The following day we had real salmon eggs under a giant magnifying class. The children made some astute observations and recorded them on paper. I wondered how much they would be affected by the smell and feel of the eggs. Surprisingly, most of them were not offended by the smell.





What will tomorrow bring? Will the fish fascination continue? Is there interest going to branch out to other sea life? After a visit to Island Pets yesterday, there was a lot of interest in lobsters and crabs. We shall see where this goes...

Emily

Last week the children asked how fish have babies. Here is a glimpse of their beginning work on fish eggs. These discussions will continue next week.... more questions, thoughts, ideas to come.















Emily

A great way to end our first week back. On Wednesday, somehow the topic of grilled cheese sandwiches surfaced so we decided to make some cheese sandwiches today. Children chose their bread, cheese and assembled their creations. I was impressed that many of them were willing and eager to try a new cheese.










After filling our bellies and layering with warm clothing we headed out to Garden City Park. We ran, we jumped, we slid down hills, we climbed, we happily used our super loud voices and we discovered frost and ice! We used our sand tools (spades, hoes) to break apart the ice, small shards of ice flying about, water seeping through the cracks. It was an activity enjoyed by all, at different times.






I heard: How is ice made? Can I bring ice home? I want to give my mommy a piece of ice. I love ice. This is so much fun! How long will ice last? Is ice made from water?







I am thankful that our children can play outside in a safe, clean and beautiful environment.

Emily