TWTBIM_0367 Bouncing is What Tiggers do Best
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Inspired by the 100th annivesary of Winnie the Pooh, Mike is thinking about the Tiggers of the world (and our classrooms). Can we enjoy our Tiggers or have we turned into judgemental Rabbits? How can we anticipate their presence and their needs?
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TWTBIM_0366 Notice and Reflect
Teaching With The Body In Mind
How do you notice and reflect on the things children do? Mike recently created a list to prompt reflection on "seven daily things, plus one." Tom recalls listening to a child at play and discovering that they had a knowledge of open pit mining. Ross looks back on photos to reflect on children's interests and abilities. Joey sings the class "anthem" to help children notice and reflect on their own accomplishments. When it's all working, we can create a virtuous cycle where children are engaged in ways that align with our values.
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TWTBIM_0365 They Had a Good Day
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Tom thinks simply telling families, "they had a good day," dispatches nothing. He challenges us to have a story to tell or a beautiful image of the child to share. Mike has observed how choosing photos to share with families offers teachers a chance to pause and reflect. Joey finds that broadly painting things as a "good day" washes over the challenges and hard work that are part of every school day. Ross points out that sometimes there have been lengthy conversations that have happened in the background and we shouldn't judge the "good day" check in out of context.
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TWTBIM_0364 It's All Fun and Games Until Dysregulation
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Ross takes us on a deep dive into the art of teaching. How do we respond when children's big play tips into dysregulation that takes over the group? Tom talks about taking responsibility when we decide to stop play. Joey reminds us that helping children stay regulated requires us to also be regulated, which can be hard to do in a chaotic environment. Mike thinks of a bell curve depicting regulation. Ideally, we can help children re-regulate before they slide over the top of the curve.
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TWTBIM Here Comes the Bad Guy
Teaching With The Body In Mind
How does it feel when the bad guy shows up in play? The children are often eager to have the villain enter. Are we ready to welcome them?
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TWTBIM_0362 But That One Time...
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Our brains are wired to remember "that one time" that the bad thing happened. How can we use our negativity bias to power reflection instead of restriction? What about when "that one kid" did that thing? Does that mean we never offer it again? To anyone?
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TWTBIM_0361 Focus and the Phsyical Environment
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Mike reflects on how the physical arrangement of a space can support children's ability to focus and build inhibitory control. Cold puddles on the floor are a terrible distraction when children are trying to get cozy with a book. Classroom design that helps children find focus also helps children be themselves. Mike and Ross riff on how providing focus does not mean that children's experiences are limited to any one developmental domain.
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TWTBIM_0360 This Could Get Messy
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Last week's discussion about beauty in conflict has Ross thinking about the mess that can also accompany conflict and the value within it. Tom has observed that children are engaged in continuous non-verbal negotiation, which can get messy. Mike makes a musical connection between mess and creativity. Joey wonders if we can learn to prepare ourselves for the mess and always have the right “cleaning supplies” handy.
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TWTBIM_0359 Conflict Can Be Beautiful
Teaching With The Body In Mind
Squabbles over dinosuars, golden kitties or deeper issues are necessary and beautiful. When we rush in to solve children's conflicts, we make it all about us. Resolving conflict is an open-ended activity that can lead to creativity. Early childhood settings are a great place for learning to solve conflicts because they are usually low stakes.
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ENCORE EPISODE: When Help Isn't Helpful
Teaching With The Body In Mind
We'll be back for real next week! Until then, one more from the archives: Ross is losing sleep after being too helpful. Did he take away a learning opportunity by attaching the wheels to a child's car? We offer help with the best of intentions, but perhaps our help sometimes undermines development. What kind of help do they need? (originally released June 2023)
info_outlineTom has some questions about boundaries and rules. For children, the edges of boundaries are the interesting part. Boundaries are more "stretchy" and can be more dynamic than rules.