Goodnight Moon!

Today, 29 Nest children made a long, long, joyful journey through the windy street of Hoboken...

...stopping for snack in an even more windy tunnel, and made it to their destination at 14th and Clinton just as the first raindrops began to fall...

Where were we going? To listen to a story! A story that takes place ...

-- Many of us know the story well. We know many stories!  

How do we know so many stories so well? We have learned stories as passive listeners during a read-aloud, we know them from reflection and discussion afterwards. We know that in drama and in drawing we retell stories we have heard. And we know the stories that we have written as we have become authors of our own original books! In the fall we travelled down to the gym to see a story told on stage! We learned all about being a polite audience and how actors pretended just like we did in drama. 

So, back to today, when we made our much longer journey! Nine whole blocks to the very top of Hoboken to the Mile Square Theatre where we were the very first audience for their very first show in this brand new space.

We were greeted by theatre's artistic director who welcomed us warmly and then the show began! The set was picture-perfectly accurate to the illustrations of the story. The story itself had been greatly expanded and the little bunny on stage did quite an accurate job of illustrating how many 4 year olds might act at bedtime, as opposed to the angelic and silent bunny of the story. There were puppets, sound effects, songs, dances, and costume changes galore, all of them keeping the little bunny awake and all of them keeping the little audience members laughing...

Windy tunnel lunch time!

Lunch time was full of conversation about the play ...

"I liked it the most when the tooth fairy came!" - Luca

"I loved when the tooth came out!" - Aaron

"I liked all the songs and then they were always dancing" - Margot

" The Tooth Fairy was SO FUNNY!" - Annabelle

"My favorite part was the stars -- I just saw them when they came out and twinkled!" - Grace

"...And then the moon was talking!" - Sophya

"When the growly bear voice was on the telephone" - Johnny 

"My favorite part was eating in the tunnel and my other favorite part was today is Friday and today we get to bring out towels home! ... and the Tooth Fairy" - George

(We all agreed that the Tooth Fairy stole the show)

The Children wait excitedly to enter the theatre.

A good time was had by all!

Ask your child about the show! Read the book together. How was the play similar to the book? How was it different?

   ... Goodnight Comb, Goodnight Brush. Goodnight Blog Readers, Goodnight Mush.

How does knowledge inform dramatic play?

Young children use their knowledge to inform their play.  As they acquire new knowledge, it becomes incorporated into their play and the play becomes more sophisticated.  For teachers, this is where we begin to look for evidence of the children's knowledge and understanding.  

In our Medieval Study, the children's knowledge and application of it has become very clear during their play in drama.  As the children have learned new information, their ideas about knights, castles, and princesses have changed and evolved.  Vocabulary becomes a key component here.  When a child remembered that knights didn't have guns, he reached into this new bank of knowledge and thought about how knights used crossbows, so his play changed as a result.  He then further recalled that flaming arrows were used to attack castles.  

Digging a tunnel under a castle.

Later in the play in drama, a child also remembered that the super sneaky way to get into a castle was to tunnel underneath (something he learned from the expert who visited our classroom).  This led him to crawl under a structure and proclaim, "I'm digging a tunnel under the castle!"  For children who were not pretending to be knights, the appearance of an attacking knight meant that they must escape.  When Miss Chalmers introduced the words 'carriage' and 'wagon' into this escape plan, the children adjusted their play by pretending to be on a bumpy wagon.  In this manner, the play evolved and deepened. In all of these ways, vocabulary is a key component that supports the play. 

Escaping in a carriage!

Similarly, the knowledge of roles can inform the play.  After doing research during our planning meeting by reading some books and discussing what we learned about the various workers in the castle, children came to drama ready to act out these roles.  Two children began working as the master mason and mason, workers who shaped the stones for the castle walls.  They then spent their time inspecting and repairing the walls of the castle. As the children learn more about who belongs in a castle and what those people do, they are able to tailor their play to these roles and react to the story happening around them appropriately.  

Masons inspecting the castle walls.

The mason works hard on the castle while the lord supervises.

The use of vocabulary and appropriate fantasy play allows teachers to see that the children are not only processing what they are learning, but also continuing the developmentally appropriate separation of fantasy and reality.  As children process experiences and knowledge through their play, they learn how to deal with their emotions, use appropriate language, and resolve conflicts.  They are able to have freedom within structure and choice with direction, all while continuing the work of childhood. 

How does spatial awareness help build mathematical minds?

Young children naturally love to explore geometric and spatial aspects of the world around them. There are so many ways to encourage such exploration... 

There are many levels of geometric thinking. Research suggests that to move through these levels, children must be exposed to many experiences and participate in numerous activities. Progress is often very slow. And activities like Unit Blocks, Pattern Blocks, etc contribute to this variety of experiences.

In a 1986 study by Pierre Van Hiele and Dina van Hiele-Geldof’s, in which they present levels of geometric thinking, it states that many preschool children stay within level zero, but in the Nest we see that three, four, and five year olds are quite capable of in depth work in level two! 

Level 0: Children learn to recognize geometric figures such as squares and circles by their holistic physical appearance. For example, at the beginning of the year, we liken the shapes
of blocks to objects around the room -- a rectangle block looks like a table, a circular block looks like a clock. Children at this level do not think about the attributes or properties of shapes. 

Level 1: Children begin to learn isolated characteristics or attributes of the forms. In Pattern Blocks, they see that though both a square and a rhombus have four sides, but the angle of the corners changes the shape. 

Level 2: Children establish relationships between the attributes of a form. In unit blocks, children learn that two Unit Blocks make a double, four Unit Blocks make a quad, and that half of a unit block can make a short rod, a triangle, or a square.

As we walk and drive around shapes are everywhere we go, especially in the city! It is always a good time to ask your child what shapes they see and how they are fitting together. When you are out, make sure take along pen and paper and draw what you see. When you get home, find time to build what you saw. In this way you can help teach your child that we are all mathematicians!

"I'm saying goodbye with my right hand." Why?

You may have noticed a slight change in our routine as we say goodbye to the children at the end of the day:  We have been shaking hands with each child and saying words along the lines of "I am saying goodbye with my right hand!"  One of the things that we hope children will develop early is the ability to distinguish between their right and left automatically.  It is a very practical skill in life, but it also comes into play once children reach kindergarten and beyond and are doing more focused writing work. 




By age 4, children have developed a dominant hand that they will use for drawing, writing, cutting, throwing, and other tasks. When children switch hands mid-activity, it is a sign of fatigue. By helping students to distinguish between their right and left hands, they will then be better able to identify their dominant hand and helper hand, which minimizes switching.  



We have also been reminding children that the hand they use to hold the railing as they go up and down the stairs is their right hand (Walking on the right is also very practical in the world of daily life and courtesy!)  One of the interesting things about this way of teaching children to know their right from their left, is that it only teaches the children the right hand.  We don't teach them the left hand because if they know which hand is their right hand then, "What's left is the left."   




Even if children are left handed, they still need to be able to distinguish between their right and left hands.  As children get older, instructions may be given using directionality ("Move to your right." or "Start your writing on the left side of your paper.", or "Raise your right hand.") and knowing quickly and instinctually which direction is which can be very useful.





Learning how to shake hands with your right hand as a friendly greeting is also a great social skill to learn.  You might try playing games at home with your child that involve the right hand or having them shake right hands to say hello in greeting people they meet.  It has been a fun new way to say goodbye!  

Drawing close to Jesus

"Let's draw our prayers ..."

Lent is a time when we welcome more quiet into our worship. But quiet is not about doing less. It is about worshiping in a different way. We often associate prayer with words or with silence, with still hands and bodies, but during our silence in Lent our hands are busy as we draw.

But how is drawing a form of praying? Aren't these simply observational drawings? And isn't that enough? Observational drawing is wonderful for young minds, as is the opportunity to exercise fine motor skill, color choice, sharing materials ... The list could go on, but none of this is why we draw in worship. 

A few weeks back Ms Sytsma introduced the idea that there are many ways to hold our hands while we pray ... like a flame, like a rock, fingers folded together, palms out, even with arms outstretched. Just as their are different ways to have "praying hands," so too are there different ways to pray. In our minds, with our words, with song, even with musical instruments and dance as we learned during our Psalm study. Drawing is no different. When a child draws a worship story, he is meditating on the word of God, and to meditate on the word of God is a form of prayer, of drawing close to God. 

Even within the drawing, there are different ways that the children are praying, as we can see by looking at their drawings. Some think broadly, drawing the whole scene, while others draw just one or two figures. A child might choose vibrant color one day, while choosing only black the next. Children might also add themselves to the story in their picture. What a wonderful way to follow Jesus - to draw close to Jesus. 

After worship we have a time of reflection in our morning meetings. This is a time for children to view each other's work and, if they'd like, to talk about the prayer they have drawn. It is insightful and beautiful to hear the language the children use when discussing their prayers... 

"I drew the girl very dead before she woke up for Jesus," Fiona states quietly while sharing her picture.

When asked why he chose to draw Jesus all in Purple, Olo gestured towards the purple worship cloth and said, "I picked purple because I'm waiting for the Lord."

"Why did you choose to draw just Jesus?" Ms. Jordan asked Sampson. With his eyes full of wonder he answered, "Because Jesus heals."

Are you in that picture too? I asked Isabelle. She nodded 'yes.' Why did you put yourself in the story?  "Because I follow Jesus." 

Follow Jesus,

I will follow Jesus.

Anywhere He leads me, I will follow.

Follow Jesus,

I will follow Jesus.

Anywhere He leads, I'll go.

Our Medieval Project Work Is Moving Along!

We are in the midst of an inquiry process in the Sky and Trees Classes with a focus on Medieval Studies.  We have been looking at and talking a great deal about castles, their inhabitants, and other details as part of this study.  

A first step in the process of a study involves noticing, thinking about what you know, and gathering information.  The children first recorded observations of castles in books, noticing architectural and design details, people in the castles, weapons, and more.   

Looking for information

Studying the parts of a castle

After they spent some time looking, thinking and talking about castles, some children naturally began to ask questions. Thinking about our thinking (metacognition) is something that we are able to do easily as adults, but young children may not even realize that they are doing the work of thinking.  We are working on helping children to become more aware of their own thought process and of the different ways that their brains might be working as they think.  

For young children, one thing that can be difficult is to distinguish between questions and comments. So, as a group we discussed “How do you know when you have a question?”   One thing that we discovered is that when you want to know more about something, you probably have a question.  You may say, “I wonder…” or use words like, “Why,” “what” or  “how” when asking a question.  

Children have been looking for questions they may have about castles: 

 “Is this a jail or a gate?”  

“Why are the people standing there with weapons?”  

“Why is that person in jail?”  

“What is a drawbridge?”  

“Why are castles so big?”

Looking at photos to research knights and their swords.

We looked at some of the questions that the children have asked and showed them how we might go about answering some of those questions. This is again part of the inquiry process.  The children already had some ideas about using a computer or a phone to get answers.  Some children (and teachers) also have prior knowledge about some things and have shared information.  Together, we also found that we were able to use some of the books about castles and medieval times that we have in the classroom to find answers.  We are finding that we are returning to our books over and over as resources throughout our study.  

Researching questions to build with blocks

Both fiction and nonfiction books help us to gain information.  Even in works of fiction, there is information and vocabulary that is also enriching our study.  We have heard words like “moat,” “lord,” and “jester” and have wondered about the dungeon.  During our read alouds, many rich discussions often take place, and children ask more questions.  

Looking in a book for castle details.

Currently, in each classroom during activity time, there is a great deal of exploration going on.  

In blocks, children have begun to build a castle, thinking about different elements they might include, as well as thinking about the actual construction. 

In the studio, children are working with clay and they spontaneously began building castle walls and towers.  As they are thinking about the parts of a castle, they are simultaneously pondering what materials might be used to construct a castle. 

In drama, children are very interested in weapons and have been researching the size of swords.  They did some strong math work when they measured sword size, as well as one another, to help understand the scale of large swords.  

Comparing body measurements to a sword length.

Comparing each child's height to the height of the sword.

In the Sky Classroom, children are thinking about and drawing architectural details of castles as they learn information about castles.

Drawings of turrets.

A castle with battlements.

A collaborative drawing of a castle with battlements and a portcullis.

We will continue to notice, think, ask questions and search for answers as we delve even deeper into our medieval theme!  

Two important questions ... and their very important answers!

Question #1: When is Re-enrollment due?

Answer: Re-enrollment is due Monday, February 15th!

Luckily for you, you can click HERE for a super quick-and-easy link to the Family Portal where you can re-enrole right now.

Reportedly, the whole process takes about 90 seconds from start to finish.

Do it now and it will be one less thing to think about this weekend.

Speaking of the weekend ...

Question # 2: When is the next day of school?

Answer: School resumes on Wednesday.

There is no school tomorrow, Monday, or Tuesday.

Happy Long Weekend, everyone!