WPNS News

Consider The School’s Environment in Your Decision-Making.

This post was written by our director, Teacher Michelle, in response to an article in EdSource.

It might be. Maybe not yet? Let’s work together to support our public schools while also expanding developmentally appropriate early childhood care and education options for families. Let’s strive for access to environments where all our children can thrive.

Paramount are early childhood environments that are relationship driven and flexible, trusting and following where children’s curiosity and interests lead. They are values driven. Students thrive where teachers thrive. Early childhood environments support creativity, imagination, investigation, connections, different ways of seeing, and problem-solving. They celebrate the child’s identity. These don’t come out of the standardization and bureaucratic efficiency required of our current public education system.

I am a supporter of public education and have been alarmed by the decades long attacks on it. These include attempts to privatize it by rerouting public funds to private schools, resulting in declining enrollment and funding. I also recognize a declining population and shutdowns during COVID have contributed to shrinking public schools. Addressing these issues is crucial.

On the other hand, I don’t believe trying to grow the student population and thus the funding for public education by adding TK is the right solution. It may actually exacerbate the declining trust in public schools and thus the ongoing decline in enrollment. Nor do I think it answers families’ need for affordable quality care.

As an early childhood educator, I am concerend about pushing younger and younger children into the public school’s institutionalized environment. According to Loris Malaguzzi, the founder and director of Reggio Emilia, the environment is the third teacher.

Our littles can get lost in a large public school serving hundreds, with its fluorescent lighting, long hallways, blacktopped grounds, and sterile classrooms. When I took early childhood courses a decade ago, having co-located restrooms, a mix of hard and soft surfaces, natural light, neutral colors, space, uncluttered shelves, access to the outdoors and nature, and NAEYC recommended group size maximum of 20 and teacher:child ratios of 1:10 were just the minimum requirements for a developmentally appropriate environment.

There are three teachers of the young child: the parent, the educator, and the environment. Together, we can push for better solutions.

Dear Oak,

You were eating snacks, and we were reading books together. We read a book about arguing and then not arguing. We read a book about eating babies SO MUCH. We read a book about all the scary (not really) animals in the marsh. We were reading a book about an Ift named Snutt when you asked, “Guess what I did at Honey’s house?” I think that I guessed, “Climb trees.” You said, “Don’t guess. I’ll tell you. We had a birthday party for my Dad and ate chocolate cake.”

I said, “We read a book about a birthday party for a daddy where there was cake (the one about eating babies). I don’t think it was chocolate. Chocolate cake is my favorite cake.” You told me it was your favorite too. The person next to you also said it was their favorite. Someone else jumped in and said, “Vanilla.” And another person said, “Chocolate and Vanilla.” I thought they might mean vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, but no. Then I thought they might mean one layer of vanilla and one layer of chocolate, but no. They meant chocolate cake with vanilla. Someone added strawberry cake and a milkshake.

I wonder if anyone is hungry for cake.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

Someone unfurled the big long black track. It’s heavy. It’s long. It’s twisty. I wonder how they did it and how many people it took. They didn’t stop there though. They added a bridge and a tunnel and mountains and a long steep drop from the top. Then they tested. The ball came off. They made adjustments. They tested. The ball came off. They adjusted. They tested. The ball came off. They adjusted. They kept trying and trying. Until…

Yay! The ball made it all the way to the end of the track. They did all this while navigating turns and whoopsies and making sure everyone got to use a wooden ball. Once the balls started making it to the bottom. They counted how many balls made it all the way to the end.

Then they started testing different kinds of balls. The ball came off. They adjusted….

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

At one point, the whole Oak class was either waiting by the swing for a turn or on the swing. You were all trying to figure out how long each turn should be.

When you’re on a bike or digging in the sand or building with blocks, you get to use the tools you need for as long as you need them. Then, when you’re finished, someone else can have a turn.

Waiting is hard! Aarrgh. Then there’s the swing. Usually, you can swing until you are done just like any other work you’re doing at Rainbow School. The person waiting can go play chase, or ride a bike, or stand around and wait until you are done. I’ve even kept a list of who is waiting for a turn so that I can call them when there’s space.

Today was different. We don’t have our four person tire swing. And everyone was waiting for a turn. It’s a bit like our bus, where we pick up new riders at the bus stop, and those on the bus get off to make room. They can wait at the bus stop for another turn if they wish.

Someone said that the turns on the swings should be a hundred minutes. That’s an hour and forty minutes. That’s a long time. There wouldn’t even be enough time for two groups to swing before it was time to go home. Those waiting didn’t want to wait that long.

I wonder what ideas you have about a long line at the swing and what’s fair.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

We talked about having lots of feelings when we have an idea and someone messes up our idea or even if we’re scared that they’re going to mess it up.

I feel scared when I feel angry. Sometimes when I feel scared, I run, and sometimes I stomp and growl, and sometimes I freeze or nervously laugh or want to be extra nice. These thing all just happen in the moment I’m scared, and sometimes that out of control feeling, scares me more.

Today, two people had different ideas about the big black track. Then they had different ideas about chase. Then they had different ideas about the foam blocks. And by the time they had different ideas about the foam blocks, IT WAS TOO MUCH. They needed help. One tackled and hit, and one bit. And then, they both felt much worse. I’m sorry I didn’t get there to help.

What really helps is to have someone to be with when I feel scared who listens and stays nearby until the scared/angry passes. And then the next time something similarly scary happens, I feel just safe enough to choose something else. I wonder what you would choose.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

There was a long black track. You wanted to start from even higher. People had to get a crate to stand on to reach the starting point. Later you adjusted ths start point and threaded the end of the track through a crate handle to try to keep if from slipping.

Almost the whole class was testing the track. You had to navigate turns, make adjustments, try new paths, wait for the path to clear. So much work. So much patience.

At one point, someone worried that another was taking the wooden ball, but they were just helping by going to get the ball.

One person saw that was what was happening and explained, “Don’t worry. They’re not taking the ball. We all have our own. They were just getting it for you.”

That person was noticing other things too, thinking outloud that you would be a construction worker when you grew up because you were good at fixing things.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Oak,

Just as I was sure you had finished exploring and making concoctions with the magic powder and colors and cream, you surprised me today.

We had some visitors, and I was talking to the grownup about our school when I felt a tug on my hand to come and look. You wanted to show me something. Our 2nd grade visitor urged me to come too.

You pointed to a jar full to the top of bubbles. There was only about a 1/4 inch of green at the bottom, the color of the beetle’s belly from morning news. The bubbles seemed to be growing as I watched, piling up ontop of each other over the top rim of the jar.

You added more liquid. It kept bubbling. You put in a funnel, and bubbles and liquid poured over the side. You added more liquid and pointed. There were bubbles rising in the funnel. I wonder how. I wonder why.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

There were some new colorful blocks over in the making and creating space. They’re made out of a different material than our other blocks. I wonder if you noticed the differences between these blocks and our other blocks.

I noticed several of you discovered them. I saw you building towers. The towers grew taller and taller. I saw you create another kind of round building with the triangles. Two of you were working on creations side by side.

One got frustrated as part of their tower fell and knocked down the other’s. They explained and apologized. A third person came to build too. They wanted to help. Both of you wanted to work on your own tower. I felt like playing with the new blocks and wanted their help.

We started with round columns and went high, and they fell over. We laughed. Sometimes, the falling over is part of the fun. Sometimes when you’ve been working really hard on an idea, and it doesn’t work. The blocks fall down, and aaarrrgghhh! I just want to smash everything.

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

We’ve had magic powder, foam, rainbow color liquids out since school began, and you manage to use just what you need to make your concoctions. You leave enough behind for everyone to use.

You turn off the water when you are done and save water for all living things. That’s so so much — it’s all the animals, all the plants, all the people in the whole world — that we’ve learned to share water with.

We use just what we need of things, so there’s plenty for everyone. It’s tricky. I’ve been trying to figure out the tape. Tape is fun. Rainbow tape is really fun. Because you’re so good at using just what you need and making sure there’s enough space, water, sand, paint, magic powder for everyone, I thought I’d ask you about the tape.

What do you think we need to do to make sure there’s enough tape for everyone for the whole year?

Love,
Teacher Michelle

Dear Mulberry,

You were busy turning holes I dug in the sand into volcanoes. This seemed dangerous. Lava is very hot. You suggested that it could kill. I wondered why would you want to make volcanoes. That is very very dangerous.

In the meantime, over on Rainbow Mountain, I saw a big tire rolling from the top down towards the barn. Someone had the idea to roll the big tire down towards the mulberry tree. Victoria pointed out that it might roll all the way to the safe area. Good point.

I moved away from the lava danger zone and went to make a tire barrier to protect the safe area just in case. I also constructed a block wall for extra protection. The first person to send their tire down went right through the block wall. CRASH.

Everyone worked to rebuild the block wall. The second person to send their tire down went right into the mulberry tree. The tire tipped and fell. The block wall remained standing right in the middle of the tire. How did they do that?

Love,
Teacher Michelle