We’re learning. We’re planning. We’re reimagining. We’re rethinking everything from our classrooms, materials, and schedules to countless other moving parts that make being together at Preschool during a global pandemic work. Thank you to our Preschool families – you have waited patiently at the door for daily temperature checks and health screenings, handed your children to us without walking them inside, or decided to participate remotely for now. None of this is easy as a parent of a preschooler!
I want to share how things look from our window (though sometimes – okay, a lot of times – it’s covered in fingerprints) from the inside looking out. Children are enjoying walks around campus on these cool mornings and that has led to many discoveries, things we might have missed if it were not for the keen observation skills of our young friends. One class found mint growing in the school garden, and a few curious children decided looking and smelling were just not enough; they had to have a taste! Another class stumbled upon a puddle of tadpoles, and as the week wore on, they revisited this puddle several times before deciding to step in for further tadpole intervention. It was decided, by the class, that the tadpoles should be rescued and placed in our school’s pond so they could grow to be frogs. We look forward to looking for frogs at the pond as the year progresses.
Our music classes have been a hit with the music kits, and we have enjoyed watching the children discover all of the instruments. Sheer delight shone on their faces as they pulled each object out – as if it were a present – and then danced around outside with their instruments and streamers. Their joyful discoveries turned into performance art as a few of our administrators stopped and watched as they were coming and going. Not a single passerby could resist pausing, observing the joy in the children’s experience, and then receiving and carrying that joy with them as they went about their morning. Our Preschool and Lower School music teacher Faith Murphy states it best, “No matter how down or stressed you may feel, the wonder of a child is always the remedy!”