Is today Monday ?
Today was Monday for a few of our friends. It wasn’t a bad day just very loud and there were several opportunities for us to ” help ” them navigate the social graces of being in a group.
We are having some bumps in the road when it comes to allowing our friends time to enjoy all the materials we have . There are some preschools that have a timer and a bell. When the timer goes off all children rotate . At Bright Beginnings we believe that children gravitate toward where they learn best and that learning to make choices when you are 3 and 4 make those teenage choices come a lot easier.
We had a chat . What can we do when all our friends do not have time to play in the block room or dress up room ? Is it fair for one friend to wear the same dress all day and no one else is allowed to ? What can we do to solve this problem ? The littles came up with a few solutions. We offered a few. What we finally decided was that if someone wanted a material or to go in a specific room we would help them ask the children for a turn and we would leave the last word up to the children. If a child has been in an area for over an hour and others are wanting to play we might say something like ” Wow.. you’ve had a good day playing with …. ( toy ) . I think some of your friends may want a turn. What do you think ? What can you do to be helpful ? ” It worked. A couple of the children ( on their own ) decided to let friends have a turn . If we make them come out when we think they have had long enough we are missing a HUGE opportunity to help them self regulate and take care of their family. Imagine this … You are driving your car down Mount Olive and someone opens your door at a stop light and says.. ” Get out. Its my turn to drive this car . ” How would you feel ? That is called HiJacking. Somehow we think it is ok when kids are preschoolers to allow others to hijack their play . I would prefer to teach them to notice their friends faces ( feelings ) and allow them to play because of something in their heart told them it was the right thing to do.
But also as teachers we want to help them succeed. There is more than one way to skin a cat. I brought out two new dresses today.
We did a little still life painting today. The kids actually enjoy this. I wish I could see their painting through their eyes. 
Miss Wishy Washy gave her animals a bath. Do you prefer a bath or a shower ? ( Math )
Watching and encouraging our littles to be persistent is one of the more important things we do.
