Emotional Connection

It seems we are ready for hopping around! It is fun and satisfying when we are engaged in a combination of physical and cognitive learning. Hopping indeed requires coordination of the legs, arms, and body to maintain balance and control.  When we hop, we engage our core muscles, which are essential for stability and movement control.

Working into a hopping experience soon, at this moment Luka is observed to engage his legs to step onto each circle purposefully. By doing this, he is being aware of his space, where he is in relation to his environment, and how to move in it. This experience exhibits his emerging ability to estimate distances, and positioning.

Kalyan is hopping with two legs on a control pattern or a certain rhythm. In this way, he contributes to his cognitive learning. Hopping games involve patterns, rhythm, or instructions help with memory, following directions, and problem-solving.

Fides extends further by hopping on one leg confidently. A greater distance is achieved with each hop. This progress has been achieved through his frequent active movements.

Our learning progress has been enjoyed by all of us through our daily hands-on explorations, experiments, interactions, and moments. Some days we find challenging situations. However, many more beautiful moments we embrace and cherish.

Through our daily conversation Nora embraces the situation of the possible invasion of the squirrel into our vegetable garden bed from her empathetic point-of-view. She highlights the needs of squirrels to find food, too. Her thoughtful concern shows she thinks a lot about the well-being of others, including animals.

Similarly, Pranssi’s voices expresses care and compassion toward squirrels, too. Her deep care for animals can be a powerful way to instil a sense of responsibility and kindness towards all living beings.

Emily, when prompted, she is back to her focus. She is thinking in line with our focus question. She listens intently and responds accordingly by sharing, "We can build a house and then the squirrels can eat the nuts, and then ... not going to make a mess."

We invite drawings on our journals as part of making our thinking visible to ourselves and others. Our drawings often serve as a fascinating window into our imaginations, thoughts, and emotional worlds. When we draw, we express ideas, experiences, and feelings that we may not have the words for yet. Our art is not only a form of personal expression but also an essential way for us to communicate and make sense of the world around us.

Kai walks us through his drawing patiently. He includes, "The sun, squirrels (his) food, a blueberry tree with a trap to catch blueberries."

Tvisha, being encouraged to share her idea, chooses a green marker to purposefully represent the color of the grass. This symbolic representation reflects her mental image and understanding of the world around her.

Pranssi's drawing includes many details such as structure and depth. A horizontal line that acts as a ground with a squirrel standing on the base. A large sun in the upper right corner with rays extending outward, some fluffy clouds floating nearby, and a couple of butterflies flying in the sky. Her drawing shows her growing sense of how to represent different layers of space (base, middle, top) and how to give depth and details to her creations.

It comes across into our mind of our previous arrangements. Weeks ago we leave some acorns and nuts for the squirrels whereas some birds' food for the birds under the tree by the green field, across the road. This time round we agree to go together to look for them and see if our ideas work. During our walk together, we are very enthusiastic to practice our "Green light means Go, Yellow light means Slow, and Red light means Stop." In addition, we add two more color signs such as Orange light for Spin Around, and Blue light for Hop. There is so much for our creative mind!

We still remember vividly where we place our containers for the birds and squirrels. Unfortunately, we cannot find any trace. It seems the wind or something else may have cleared them. 

We always like to pay attention to our surrounding. This time round an orange tummy bird catches our attention. The contrast of the bright orange against the Robin bird's feather catches the eye immediately. It is intriguing to think about this Robin bird's lively and mischievous, hopping from grass to grass.

Being creative minds, we are also exploring the beauty of composing our own narratives through storytelling this time round. Storytelling helps us experiences, emotions, and observations, and it fosters critical thinking, empathy, and communication skills. ​

We are not going to be surprised if we include a squirrel as a friendly character in our coming storytelling experiences. In our stories, we may portray the squirrel as a curious character who visits the garden to have a little adventure, with a positive outcome. 

Storytelling also helps us to learn social roles. Through characters in our stories, we may experiment with social roles and relationships. As we are going into more of storytelling journeys, we are also building connections with the real hands-on learning experiences to characterize more of our stories. 

Spring is here, and our friends are excited to welcome the season by planting new vegetables! To start our gardening journey, we use egg cartons—an excellent recycled material—as seed starters. Each one of us carefully fills the compartments with soil, adds vegetable seeds, and gently waters them using spray bottles. This opportunity provides a wonderful hands-on learning experience, teaching us about responsibility, nurturing plants, and patience as we wait for the seeds to sprout. Everyone is eager to see our tiny plants grow, and we can't wait to transplant them into our garden soon!

​We recently introduce an exciting new addition—the climbing dome! Whether set up inside or outside, we eagerly gather around, are excited to explore and climb. It quickly becomes clear that this is a perfect opportunity to practice important social skills like patience, turn-taking, and teamwork.

Initially, our friends face challenges when everyone wants to climb at once, but through group discussions, we decide that patiently waiting and taking turns is best. By practicing lining up and timing turns, we support each other, develop empathy, and significantly improve our social skills. The climbing dome becomes a space for physical coordination, cooperation, communication, and respect, turning playtime into a meaningful learning experience. We're proud of how we have adapted, making the dome a community space that fosters friendships and valuable social learning experiences.

​This Friday, as part of entering our Spring break, we enjoy an exciting and heartwarming viewing of "The Wild Robot." This captivating story follows the adventures of Roz, a robot who unexpectedly finds herself strands on a wild and remote island. As Roz learns to adapt to her new environment, she encounters various challenges and forms unique friendships with the island's animals.

We are fascinated by Roz's curiosity and determination as she navigates the natural world, solving problems and making friends. We eagerly discuss Roz’s gentle interactions with the animals and how she learns to communicate and coexist peacefully with them. The theme of kindness resonates deeply, prompting thoughtful conversations about how we, too, can care for one another and show empathy in our daily interactions.

We reflect on what it means to be a friend and how Roz shows kindness by helping animals in need, just as we help each other in our community. Nora thoughtfully shares, "Roz is different from the other robots because she has love and kindness inside her."

Pranssi also notices how the not-so-kind robots causes destruction in the forest, observing, "They broke the forest with the trees falling down."

Nora highlights the teamwork among the animals by recalling how "the animals help each other put out the fire in the forest by pushing a big tree into the water so it goes toward the fire." These observations reinforces the importance of empathy, kindness, and cooperation among us.

Watching "The Wild Robot" not only provides an entertaining story but also valuable lessons about empathy, cooperation, and respect for the environment. It sparks meaningful conversations, creative ideas, and a newfound appreciation for caring relationships and curiosity about the natural world around us.

Kindest,
​Children & Friends.