The Preschool Times

The first week of school is just about over and the questions have begun to roll in. Some families have stopped in my office and inquired about their child’s first days. They so want to know that their child is receiving the education they enrolled them in the school for but their child insists on telling them “I played”!

For all intrinsic purposes they did play, and they played all day! Yes, that is what we do here; we play. Everything we do is through play. We play with blocks so we can really learn about symmetry and equilateral designs. We learned that you can put two geometrically same shapes together to make a new shape (two triangles equal a square); or that each side of a building must be of similar length in order to be able to put a roof on the structure. We learned that we have to use an accurate vocabulary to get what we need and we learned to confer with our peers in order to solve a problem.

During our Literacy program we learned that books follow a predictable pattern. There is a title page, an introduction, the middle and a conclusion. We will begin to use this same pattern when we write our own stories. By understanding the patterns we will come closer to deciphering the mystery of reading.

We sat and listened to a good book. If we listened well, we were able to picture the story in our mind and perhaps even predict the ending by the clues in the text.

While having snack, we practiced good manners. We learned to remember to say please and thank you and the importance of participating in the civilizing act of sharing a meal and engaging in good conversation with our new friends.

Outside on the playground we exercised our bodies and worked on our team building skills while we increased the oxygen to our cells and prepared our bodies and minds to take in more information. And yes, we played.

At the paint easel we painted with chubby brushes that fit snuggly in our like- wise hands and we learned how to use just the right amount of pressure to create a shape but not tear a hole in the paper.

They know that their new friend “Joey” wore a red sock and a blue sock and the grown ups thought that was a very funny thing to do!

But you all already know all that in your hearts; what you really want to know is: “Will my child know what I think is important?” The answer is yes; they will if you ask the right question. The questions need to be based on their day. Look at the lesson plan, (which should be posted outside your child’s classroom) and ask something like this: “I see you drew numbers in shaving cream; what was your favorite number to write?” Or “I see you heard the story Caps for Sale; was it funny? Did you like it? “What was the story about?”  You see, our children already know so many things; it is us who need the education. We need to learn to ask the right questions because they are already very good at asking and answering questions.

So what did you do in school today?   I played.

Peace & Light

Grace