Lego Invasion

I know ....I know...someday I will miss this, that my kitchen table has been turned into an epic Lego battle.

Names

Having spent my life with an unusual name, I had a lady once tell me that “aren’t you too old for that kind of name?” I feel that I can speak with confidence on this topic. I get it, your precious is special, unique and one of a kind so why not bestow on him/her a name that fits such a child. But here is the catch…..ALL CHILDREN ARE SPECIAL!.. not just yours. Sure be unique, be creative, but keep in mind that your child will carry your cute idea for life. As a teenager just trying to fit in, as a young adult trying to get a job, and as an elderly person. Do you really want to your child to spend his/her life spelling their name to every teacher, government office, potential employer or even friend? And if you decide to go with a ‘normal” name…please please please by all that is holy spell it the regular way. There is nothing worse than an Ashley explaining to everyone “No, It’s A..c…h…l…i” As a teacher I would love having a class list that I could actually pronounce without input from the parents. Now I love my name and actually get upset when I hear other people with it ( I know it’s weird) but just until the past few years it was that unique. My name also has a family story with it so I am possessive about it a bit. As a child though, I was not happy with having to explain it constantly and there was also the added bonus of explaining that , yes historically it was a boys name, but I am girl!.. I wanted nothing more to blend in sometimes with the Karens, Lisas and others of my generation. As a parent I believe that I did well with three of the 4. Sorry #2, that poor child’s name has now become the new unisex name and he gets to say “I’m a boy” to the form filler-outers, online community. The other three have names that are familiar but not common and so far none of them have had kids with the same name in their classes. Success! _20140919_122406 I would like to say thanks to the people I have known with the following names: Latodjala, Yavonka, Persephone, Orphelia, Airley, Yamileth, Hercules, Arrow, Rocky, Myrcial, Drago, Jazmyn, Barkkley, Kanissa, Aryian, Browley, Arasmus, Chioki, Cevan, Enzo, Nayada, Chia, Atlas,Viala, Jericho, Forbes, Ivory,Kaniyaa, Persuval, and Zephyr! Good luck.

Little Things

I have no daughters so when the little girls at preschool want to play with my hair I typically let them. This is the usual result. I have Frozen to thank for bringing back the braid! And yes, those are monkeys on my shirt. :)

Yeah, those three on the end are mine! All proudly dancing at a friend’s wedding. How fun to see them out there just being themselves and enjoying the moment. Sometimes the heart swells…

Zombies, Blood, Skulls and Cemetaries

There are lots of conversations that you never would think would be necessary or that you would ever have. And then you teach preschool! Some are funny, some are sweet , some are confusing and repetitive, others are heartbreaking. I have had too many conversations this year concerning death, zombies, skeletons , how various people die and blood. When pretend play includes conversations like “pretend the bad guy got me”, ” and you ran from the zombies, ” “and you asked “why are the skeletons there? what happened?”. When block and lego play leads to ” I’m building a cemetery” and “this is a grave.” When casual lunch and snack conversation have dialogue like “do you know how (fill in the blank with any historical person) died? He was shot in the head.” I am concerned, annoyed and shocked. Concerned that this acceptable and what the long-term effects may be. Annoyed that as a society we have become so desensitized that we forget that our children are still impressionable and sensitive to the environment. And shocked that more people are not outraged or at least upset. Maybe I am old school, but I do not believe that young children should be watching anything creepy, bloody, scary, inappropriate or nightmare inducing. No matter what! How does watching horror movies and ‘The Walking Dead” at the age of 4 benefit you in any way? I am also not a big fan of little ones walking, toddling or crawling around with skulls on their clothing, blankets and toys. Really? Can’t we find something slightly more uplifting and pleasant to adorn our babies? Innocence is so short lived and imaginations should not involve cemetery play.

Bridges

Earlier this month my class got excited about bridges. We read the Three Billy Goats Gruff, re-enacted clomping over a bridge, looked at pictures of bridges from around the world.

They then began to build bridges with any and everything that they could find all around the class. Some of their ideas were pretty incredible. The process of thinking things through was fascinating to watch. I enjoyed documenting their words, thinking processes and their finished products.

They used string, lots and lots of tape, paper, and the blue cardboard blocks under the string bridge are to represent water. They then played with it for several days, driving cars on it, walking animals and people across it, making up stories, etc. When children are given the opportunity they can lead their own learning experiences.

Differences explained by 4 year olds

For all of us out there who worry and stress about teaching diversity and acceptance in our classrooms, I have to share this over heard conversation. My kiddos had just returned from the playground and were at the sink washing hands… Child 1 : looks at waiting peer as she washes her hands ” I’m dark. What color are you?” Child 2: glances at her skin, then at peers skin, moves to begin hand washing and says “I’m the true color” Child 1: “ok” hops away to go play. And there you have it, as long as you are my friend does it even matter?