Willing and open to exploring new things...

I has been a joy to behold as the children's natural curiosity has unfolded as they have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the world of bugs.   Sasha and I have been so lucky to be a part the process the and spirt of investigation, as the children  have taken on the role of a scientist, wondering about the insects and bugs!

Everyone is so comfortable handing and approaching the insects we find  outside on the playground or on our nature walks in the woods!  The way the children have dug into the worm farm  remind us of  archaeologists! They place the worms on their wrists like bracelets, on top of their hands and on their shoulders!

Their comfort level with insect and bug has carried over to other other living creatures.  Yesterday Micah G brought his dog Rusty to school for a visit.  As the children who don't have animals at home or contact with animals in general, where so open and willing to engage with Rusty!   They pet his belly, feed him treats, and  played catch with Rusty! 

 Micah, Rusty is one special guy!  Tell Rusty he can come back and visit anytime.

Movement with Nancy!

The children walked across the balance beam enjoyed a few forward rolls, jumped, hopped, galloped ,and danced with Nancy! 

Cleaning our Woods!

While we were outside today a few of the Tel Aviv we noticed that there were TONS of toys from our playground on the other side of the fence. They were everywhere! We decided that something had to be done. So...we went on an adventure! We left the playground and walked along the outside of the fens and went on a hunt to find all the toys that were scattered around the woods. The toys were on a huge hill and we talked about ways to go down the hill safely. Eli suggested bedding down while walking. Jacob tried scooting on his bottom which quickly became the preferred method of transportation. I love seeing how careful the kids are when they approach new or different risks in the outdoors. It is important that they are able to asses their own ability to travel through a space in a safe way and this Tel Aviv group has had enough experience outside in the woods that I can see that they have grown tremendously in their ability to asses the risk in outdoor activities. They were excited and enthusiastic about collecting the toys and throwing them over the fence. In no time the area was clean and I had ten out of breath Tel Avivers who were exhausted from climbing a very big hill. Thanks Tel Avivers for helping clean our woods and returning all the toys to the playground!

Tel Aviv takes a Fall walk!

Since it was such a beautiful day we decided to take a Fall walk. We took a few bags with us and ventured out over to the wooded area, on the outskirts of the TBSCC parking lot. The children walked and picked up colorful leaves, acorns, sticks and believe it or not Jacob found a shell that you would find at the beach. As we filled the bags with interesting items from nature, we noticed there were large tree stumps that made great seats. The children took turns balancing and walking along the large thick branches that laid on the ground. At first some of the children were apprehensive and unsure of themselves as they attempted to climb onto the tree branches. With a little bit of encouragement the children climbed up on the branches, walked across the branches, climbed up the steep hill to the Temple parking lot and then climbed or scooted on their tush (what ever worked best and made them comfortable).

The risks the children took today were amazing! They were so proud of their accomplishments! Lily kept saying "Lauri are you going to tell my dad I did this?" All of the children kept saying, "Look at me!"

When we arrived back at the Temple everyone was tired and hungry including the teachers. We asked the children to share with the group their favorite part of the Fall walk...

Rachel-"Finding acorns and sitting on the tree stumps."

Max-"I liked hearing the dog ruffing and ruffing(we heard a dog barking as we explored the wooded area)."

Hannah-"Going onto the path."

Lily-"Climbing and balancing on the tree."

Jacob-"Climbing up the tree."

Dylan-"Climbing up the mountain (hill)."

Ezra-"Balancing on the tree."

Aviva-"Climbing up the tree and up the mountain."

Eliza-"Climbing in the tree."

Eli-"Climbing up the big mountain."

What a special day we all had!

Risk Taking Fun in the Community Room!

Today, due to the drizzle, we went to go play in the community room! The class was so excited to go, their faces lit up as soon as they saw the brightly colored play equipment that filled the room. As they played, I was amazed by the risks many of the children took while playing with some of the equipment. All children played in a safe way, yet it was interesting to see which children felt comfortable to try new things, to jump high or to do a summersault. This safe physical space was inviting and made children feel comfortable. Max, who spends much of his time outside in the sandbox or looking at nature was the first to go down on the slide on his tummy. He loved how it felt and showed other kids how to do it so that you would go fast. Both Ezra and Jacob enjoyed climbing up the bridges and worked hard to turn their bodies around so that they would climb down feet first. The Tel Aviv children are learning so much about how their bodies relate to the environment around them which is helping them navigate the play equipment in safe but challenging ways with very little help from teachers. It was neat to watch them play so well independently and now I am on a search to find how and when each child takes risks throughout our school day.