Teaching With The Body In Mind

Do children have the right to relax? How do we set the atmosphere to allow for relaxation? Does it work when we tell children, "I need you to relax"? Maybe we all need to learn how to play the ukele so we have something to do while children play.

A garden gleaning results in thrilling play experiences in Joey's classroom. If squash and potatoes can be this exciting, what other ways can we include real experiences for children? Tom recalls logs and leaves in the sensory table and Mike shares a story of a piano in the play yard. Ross reminds us that offering real tools and authentic materials provides a chance to build trust with children.

Get ready to feel smart as Tom teaches us the science behind cute aggression. How does the urge to squeeze something cute help us stay regulated? Mike is reminded of favorite books that depict this dimorphous emotion--from the Where the Wild Things Are to More, More, More Said the Baby. Mike and Ross show off their brain chemistry knowledge. Perhaps cute aggression also has a role to play in rough and tumble play between friends.

Depsite our goal to create communities where everyone helps, sometimes offers of help can create conflict in the classrrom. Ross shares a recent example during block clean up. Mike has seen "help" with puzzle assembly lead to similar conflicts. Thinking of ways that we do (and don't) like to receive help in our own work can give some insights. Joey wonders if the word "help" leaves things too open ended sometimes. As we support children in building their skills to do hard things, we need to also pay attention to why they might not want help. We sure hope that everyone can learn to ask for and accept help when they need it.

Mike taps into his knowledge of Latin for a conversation about emotion, which at the root means "moving out." What do we do when emotions move children in the classroom? We can take on the role of "inner voice" and guide childrens' responses to their feelings. Sometimes words get in the way and the thing to do is give time and space for feelings. We also come with our own emotions, which can complicate things. The onion metaphor is resurrected, and in the center we find children's feelings.

In the final installment of the conversation with That Early Childhood Nerd, talk turns to care at the center of teaching practice. We are working to build communities that show care for one another--teachers and children. The hope is that our work inspires people waiting on airport lines at some future time--they will be kind and helpful! Ross searches for his trademark metaphor and future sponsor.

The conversation with Heather Bernt-Santy from That Early Childhood Nerd picks up from last time. The group reminisces acout learning from Tom's classic video clips before returning to the topic of honoring childhood. How do we honor the child who is not like everyone else? Where do nurture and care fit in when we are often so focused on teaching and learning?

That Early Childhood Nerd (aka Heather Bernt-Santy) takes over the discussion. She kicks things off with a Raffi quote that leads to a conversation of how adults so easily forget what it's like to be a child who needs to move. Tom talks about how he and Mike first met. Heather shares a pet peeve, and we reflect on what different lenses see in terms of movement, learning, and teaching. What does it look like when children are learning vs. when adults are teaching? More to come next week!

More about Heather and "That Early Childhood Nerd" here.

Children often enact "tiny beautiful celebrations" where they express joy by hugging and piling up together. Tom has even noticed adults doing the same thing when they celebrate a sporting win. Big emotions elicit big movements. We see it every day in our classrooms as children create these joyous piles.

It's back to school season! Travel back in time to 2020 (still too soon?), when distance learning was a new invention and we were trying to make sense of it all. While school is more or less back to normal, the questions are still worth asking.

Ross wants to talk paradigm shift. What lessons will we learn from the current disruption to our educational system? Joey asks the dangerous question, why school? Tom advocates for the privilege of being at school. Everyone agrees that it's the COMMUNITY that is essential. Mike finds a way to tie it all back to Grover Cleveland. (Recorded in May 2020)