Each one of us has ways of conversations, verbally and non-verbally. Sometimes one way can be more dominant than others, depending on our days. This often means we express or converse by thinking about our everyday moments. We too think of our favorites, people, resources, foods, and experiences we do. Those can be our focus words of the day by modelling and highlighting what we are doing as we do it! Sometimes our situations could be challenging. The challenges come in many ways like how we should share our resources, ideas, spaces, etc. However, on top of these challenges, there are always opportunities to learn and re-learn on how to resolve or finding our common ways to work together. We see possibilities through various situations. Initially, Emily shares her satisfaction in stacking seven cylindrical wooden tubes on the floor independently. The whole arrangement maintains its balance until a very fast movement of a friend knocks all out. To express her disappointment over this unfavorable situation, Emily chooses to express her feeling by lowering her body to curl down. Is this an opportunity to start conversing our feelings and emotions, prior to further addressing the situation? It is indeed! Kai walks toward Emily to ask how she is doing. Realizing on the situation, with some support, Kai delivers his sense of empathy. He also comes up with another strategy to support the balance of Emily's constructed structure. Kai moves to the magna tiles to start connecting them. Furthermore, he offers Emily another idea to add a certain height to support Emily's existing structure. patBeing inspired by the role of Métis values in fostering inclusive communities, we open discussions about each one of them. We unpack one by one to understand our own understanding. Love. kindness, sharing, patience, caring, and Mother Earth are some of the values we describe with clarity. Sometimes we add examples to help us feel, think, and act with respect for ourselves and for other people. For example, Fides shares the definition of patience as wait for things. And he acknowledges when mentioned how he is so patient sometimes. Being patient is definitely a skill that can be practiced and, while probably not completely mastered, improves upon. It is a life-changing skill! On another hand Emily clearly defines balance from a kinesthetic point-of-view. She maintains a controlled body position during both static (still) and dynamic (moving) experiences. In this sense Emily helps us understand by modelling her gestures and reactions. Furthermore, we gather around for a joyful singing session of A Ram Sam Sam. The energy in the room is lively, as the repetitive and rhythmic nature of the song encourages everyone to participate. Kalyan engages through gestures and body movements to follow the rhythm of the song. Nora sings the lyrics loudly, clearly enjoying the familiar sounds and words. And Emily sings by adding her own twists to the song. This moment captures the diverse ways we engage in conversations, using both verbal and non-verbal means to express ourselves. During our outdoor moment. Emily and Nora bring the space to life while dancing to the upbeat song I like to Move It. The open air adds an extra layer of freedom and excitement to our dynamic experience. Emily is the first to react to the music, jumping and moving with her distinct, singular style. Her dance is full of creativity, with movements that are fluid and spontaneous. She explores the space around her, leaping form one spot to another, fully embracing the setting. As soon as Nora notices Emily's energetic movements, she joins in creating her own unique dance, adding twirls, hips and other part of her body movements. Although Nora and Emily dance near each other, our movements are independent and expressive of our individual personalities. We both demonstrate that even in a shared movement, there is room for personal expression and creativity. In the meantime Luka finds joy in a simple but meaningful experience of throwing water on himself. Luka is initially cautious, observing the other children from a distance. However, he soon becomes intrigued by the water, picking up a frisbee disc and slowly splashing it onto his body. The cool sensation seems to spark excitement, and he giggles as he throws more water onto himself, fully immersing in the experience, he repeats it over and over again. This is a reminder of the value of simple, open-ended experiences in early years. Water, as a versatile medium, provides endless opportunities for exploration and outdoor moments like these emphasize the benefits of natural, unstructured play, where we can engage with our surroundings and explore at our own pace. It is another day, and Emily and Luka share a gentle, meaningful interaction that demonstrates Emily's awareness of Luka's feelings. Emily approaches Luka with care, holding gently and looking intently at him as if seeking his permission to offer a hug. She pauses, watching him closely, and waiting to see how he responds before proceeding further. On the other side, Luka looks at Emily returning her gaze. After a seconds, he flashes a smile, signaling his comfort with the interaction. Although he does not stay for a hug, he walks away with a smile on his face, showing that he enjoys the attention in his own way. Noticing that Luka is happy, Emily repeats this several times, each time waiting for Luka's reaction. Emily's sensitivity to Luka's comfort level and Luka's positive response through smiles demonstrate how we can connect without the need for words. This back-and-forth interaction, based on observation and subtle cues, highlight the importance of allowing us to express ourselves in our own ways and at our own pace. Baking, as one of our many learning experiences, enables us to work in a cooperative way to build our interdependent community. Stirring and mixing allow us to to see ingredients transform. Handling a mixer, with a supervision, to experience a whisking process of eggs together with rest of the ingredients indeed requires us to exercise a steady hand to keep the beaters at the right level and pitch. It takes coordination to move the mixer in the proper motion to thoroughly mix the ingredients. It is a valuable experience to safely use and yet provides us with memories we will cherish.
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