Figuring out the Floorplan

On Friday, Heather and I met to start designing the physical space of the farm preschool cooperative, which will consist of a one-room open schoolhouse and fenced in play yard. In the Reggio Approach, the classroom plays such an important role in students’ education that it was important for us to map out the curriculum first to serve as our guide. This way, we are able to design an environment that best facilitates learning in each of the three areas of knowledge we identified as most necessary for happy, healthy development in an ever-changing, global society. These three areas, Social & Personal Responsibility, Agriculture & Sustainability, and Creativity & the Arts, make up the core curriculum of this Hawaii-based program and thus determine how the space is designed and what materials will fill its walls.

The circles are mango trees which already occupy the space that will be fenced in to make the play yard. The entry gate is at the bottom left corner with the covered classroom at the top right (three walls one open to the covered lunch/art table), and the existing play structure next to the mango trees at the top center with play stations scattering the yard, yet to be placed.

Now that I have a solid idea of the space we’ll have to work with in addition to the objectives and focus of the curriculum, we can begin acquiring and developing the educational tools needed to breathe life into the program. For each component of the core curricula, I am researching and identifying activities and materials to support development and facilitate learning. I started this week focusing on the first area of the core curricula, Social & Personal Responsibility, filling in my outline with ideas for fostering empathy and compassion, gratitude, mindfulness, conflict resolution, friendship, self-awareness, responsibility, management of emotion, etc.. For an emergent curriculum to work, Reggio-Inspired programs like ours must be set up to invite and facilitate meaningful and relevant educational experiences. Because the role of the classroom environment is so powerful, it is designed with great purpose and care; every station, object, and decoration has been thoughtfully selected and intentionally placed.

Books are a great place to start building a Reggio classroom because they naturally lend themselves to the idea of teachers learning with rather than teaching to their students. Having worked in libraries for so many years, children’s stories are of particular interest to me and I have repeatedly seen first hand the value of lessons learned from them, so I always like to start here. To help students understand the importance of community and how individual actions and contributions can have collective power to solve social problems, I read stories like Stone Soup. The more kids hear this story and incorporate its ideas into their play, the more ingrained these community values become. Stories are a powerful learning tool because the lessons are there for students and teachers to learn together, inspiring readers of all ages in endless ways. Stories can be read and referenced when their messages are most relevant and they invite students to think deeply and make connections between their favorite stories and their own experiences. There are so many valuable books out there to choose from, imparting wisdom on every topic imaginable, making them a necessary part of any quality classroom, not to mention the pleasure provided by the beautiful illustrations and stories. Check out my childrens’ literature pinboard for a collection of my favorite stories.

To accommodate a wealth of carefully selected stories, the farm preschool cooperative will need a library, or in the case of a small program like this one, a cozy reading area. Since books are in greater need of protection from the elements of an outdoor/indoor classroom, it made sense to incorporate this all-important learning station into the walled-in structure. In the most private and sheltered part of the room will offer big comfy pillows, a small couch or cushy bench, and a cozy rug to accompany the book-display, creating a homy, calming, peaceful place for kids to curl up and dive into a good story. This cozy spot will also make for a great meeting place when the group gathers together for circle time discussions and activities.

more ideas here

In addition to stories, I have stumbled across tons of educational materials for kids to engage with that can help them practice their social and intrapersonal skills. I tend to seek out DIY projects that fill these needs as well as materials that serve multiple and interdisciplinary aspects of our curricula because this means the program as a whole will require fewer resources and less space to create a quality learning environment. Also, the more uses for each material the more creativity and innovation they inspire as children discover new ways to involve them in their play. For example, to encourage a strong sense of responsibility for their space, while engaging their creativity in dramatic play, the playhouse will be well stocked with child-sized brooms, mops, spray bottles and towels, shelves to put play food, and other organizational tools and play cleaning supplies. By trying on the responsibilities of keeping house in an enjoyable (and self-selected) way, kids can develop a more positive association with caring for their personal property and communal space. This in and of itself will likely not be enough to teach all that responsibility but combined with regular classroom clean-up chores, keeping a personal cubby for their belongings, stories, and many other classroom activities, responsible habits are bound to develop over time.

A look inside the future walls of the farm preschool play yard.

There are countless ways to design a classroom space so that kids can develop the skills they need to grow into happy, healthy, contributing members of the community and there are endless materials that can support their growth. The needs of each community are so unique that what works best for this farm preschool cooperative will likely be very different than those of other schools. As I research I am compiling a wealth of ideas for all kinds of programs and sorting my findings on the various Pinterest Boards I have created. For this specific program, I am selecting the most applicable resources and ideas to make up the three boards (Social & Personal Responsibility, Agriculture & Sustainability, and Creativity & the Arts) representing the core curriculum. This way Heather and I can get a better understanding of what we need to do so that the classroom environment itself best supports the curriculum. It is a long process of scouring the internet, flipping through books, and calling on my past teaching experiences to identify the materials and activities that will be most useful to us and effectively support student growth in a meaningful and enjoyable way.

Although the curriculum is well mapped out at this point and we have a rough idea of what the space will look like, there is still much to be done. There are many details to be nailed down, building projects to start, materials to develop and seek out, and to make sure that every aspect of the curriculum is represented in the classroom space itself. Luckily, this is my favorite part of the process as it puts to use my most developed and preferred skills of brainstorming and researching ideas, organizing information, creative problem solving, and crafting handmade educational materials. This project, more than I could have ever imagined, taps into my Element, the place where my greatest talents and interests converge allowing me to be my most productive self while having the most fun at work. Naturally, I have high hopes for the farm preschool project and how the documentation of its development can offer clarity to others who are curious about the Reggio Approach. I don’t, however, believe for even the briefest of moments that my expectations are unrealistic. Anything is possible with the right amount of creativity, motivation, and dedication, especially when the process is as intrinsically rewarding as program development is for me. The key is to start where you are with what you have and build from there one little step at a time, and never forget to have fun with the process.

The All-Important Playground

A few weeks ago, when we first arrived in Hawaii, Dylan and I drove passed this amazing playground a few miles north of the “downtown” area of Captain Cook. I could not take my eyes from the spectacular and elaborate play structure as we drove by. The kid in me wanted to jump out of the car and play and play and play. The adult in me decided that we would definitely be making a trip back there to check it out soon. So about a week later, Dylan agreed to take me to the playground. This place is epic and I took a ton of pictures. I could imagine hours of playtime here as a kid; there was so much to explore. This got me thinking about the importance of a good outdoor play area.

Harold H. Higashihara Park in Honalo, Hawaii

In the classroom, there is hardly ever the space to run around and build those large motor skills, which is what outside time is typically used for. In an indoor/outdoor classroom, where children have free range to go in and out as they please, kids get the chance to move and run according to the needs of their own bodies. Luckily, here at the farm my outside time with K can happen just about whenever she wants. K is able to tune into her body’s natural cravings and run around when she’s in the mood to and relax with a book or puzzle or do some drawing when she is feeling like laying low. It helps too, that it is just she and I most of the time and so she doesn’t have to factor in the interests of a whole classroom of kids when deciding where and what to play.

Castle structure at the park, there is another 2 story tube slide in the back of this, it is so fun!

Anyway, once I began to feel settled in and K and I were fairly comfortable with one another, I started thinking more deeply about her developmental needs and the areas I used to build in previous classrooms to accommodate and facilitate well-rounded skill development. Although we have the opportunity to be outside and run around whenever we want to, there was not a lot by way of structure to our outside time. In other words, K didn’t have a lot of resources to work her larger motor skills, just a small jungle gym. Her parents were well aware of this and had been planning to put in some kind of play structure soon. Then last weekend, after a trip to town they came home with a pile of huge boxes that contained the parts to K’s new wooden playhouse, fully equipped with a slide, swing-set, and picnic table. That weekend, all the men of the farm gathered together and put it together.

 K’s mom, H, had really wanted to design her own play house and had been researching ideas for months, but K was quickly growing and there were still so many other projects waiting to be tackled on the farm. In the end, H accepted that she couldn’t possibly do everything and so she let go of her desire to create this thing from scratch and go with a pretty amazing pre-designed play-set. K seems to be thrilled about this decision because after her Papa and Uncles worked all weekend long, she has spent at least half of our time together exploring her new space. K’s larger motor skills, I have noticed, have taken a huge leap this week as well, thanks to so many new opportunities to develop them on the play-set, not to mention what it has added to the depth of her creative play.

Check out my Pinterest Board, Active Play For Inside and Out, for fun ways to work on large motor development

Since we have started playing on her new structure, I have noticed K’s arms have gotten significantly stronger. She has challenged herself and tested her bravery on the rock-wall and slide, and she has felt the thrill of the wind in her hair as she swings higher and higher, slowly learning to pump her legs so she doesn’t require a push to get moving. These are all huge strides for K, particularly since she has such a slight frame to begin with. The chance to develop her strength has opened up all kinds of new possibilities for K and she already seems like a bigger, more mature little girl in just a single week of play.

Check out this book to learn more on MBTI

The strongest evidence that this play-set is helping her develop in so many ways, is K’s conquering of the rock-wall. This presented the greatest challenge at the beginning of the week. K was almost immediately able to climb up the ladder to reach the upper level of the playhouse and access the slide, but the rock-wall was a bit more complicated. She tried it a little bit each day and either got scared asking, “help down,” or frustrated when she got stuck. You see, K is a very methodical little girl; she plans everything down to the smallest detail, like what spoon she would like to use and which pants she feels like wearing. When things do not follow her plan, she can get pretty upset. My Myers-Briggs background tells me that this is a pretty strong indicator of a preference for Judgment (not to be mistaken with judgmental) verses Perceiving as a way to organize her outer world.

Knowing this about K, I allow her to make her own decisions whenever possible and appropriate so that she can maintain some internal homeostasis and control over her environment and her participation in it. This helps us to avoid unnecessary conflict and build a stronger, more trusting relationship.  When the times arise that I do insisting on things like putting on sunscreen, shoes, or a hat when spending time in the sun and walking on rougher turf, she is more willing to work with me rather than breaking down. Anyway, when it came to the rock-wall, K got frustrated when she would start climbing up and get stuck, unable to proceed because she started too far to one side and had no place to put her other foot. She wanted to do it herself and was not always interested in my advice while she was mid-climb. Then yesterday, her dad was able to explain to her how to plan your steps ahead of time and it was as if something clicked within her.

Today, at the play set, K started up the ladder, made it up about half-way, changed her mind, climbed back down and positioned herself in front of the rock-wall. I remarked, “you want to try the rock-wall again, ok.” K looked up at me, and then back at the rock-wall and I watched as she started out. She grabbed her first hold and then her second, looking down at the ones below and pulling herself up so that her feet were off the ground. I was immediately impressed as previously she put her feet up first struggling to pull her weight with just her arms. She ran into her usual problem of getting to far to one side but instead of asking for help, she climbed back down and stared at the wall for a moment before selecting a different hold and heading back up the wall again. I was in awe of her determination and concentration, not to mention her clearly noticeable technique.

It was as if K now saw the wall as a puzzle, something she needed to figure out before jumping in. This girl is a puzzle master so it is no surprise that this shift in her approach suddenly gave her the confidence and determination to make it to the top. Once K started up the wall for the second time, she did so with an intensity and level of concentration that I had yet to see from her. She took her time and selected each hold with purpose. I said very little as she climbed, standing close in case she lost her grip. I did not want to disrupt the careful calculations that were clearly taking place in K’s mind as she proceeded in her ascent to the top. In almost no time at all, she had reached the yellow bar at the side of the playhouse second floor and pulled herself up, standing triumphantly at the top. She turned to me beaming with pride as I began cheering and jumping up and down with genuine excitement.

“Hooray, you made it up the rock-wall! You did it all by yourself! I am so amazed and proud of you! Hooray!” I shouted. I have never seen a bigger smile on K’s face and she too threw her arms up in the air and shouted an enthusiastic “hooray!” along with me. It was a beautiful moment for both of us and K continued to climb the rock-wall another 4 times after that, making it hard to believe that she ever struggled to figure it out. Today, thanks to the rock-wall, K experienced a level of physical mastery that will likely leave a lasting impact on her and I know I will remember that moment for a long time to come.

Each time K climbs up, she is reminded of her own strength, capability, and determination. She learned how to analyze the situation before proceeding and take advantage of her natural strength in this area. Not only is this play-set providing K the opportunity to develop her physical strength, but a valuable lesson in problem solving. She has a highly analytical and methodical mind and the rock-wall allowed her to tap into this inner strength and make it work for her, experiencing the joy of succeeding in something she worked so hard at. Perhaps next time she is faced by another major challenge, she will recall her experience on the rock-wall and learn how to tap into her natural strengths to help her through it with greater ease. As for me, I will surely be reminding her of her accomplishment, helping her recognize and utilize her strength within.