Our first day in the Brown Room

This morning we all arrived through the blue door after the health screening from Molly and Jessica. We understand that saying "good bye" or "see you later" to parents (and children) involves a wide range of emotions and that it is a challenging but important process to go through. The prepared small area in Blake Hall was a wonderful opportunity to arrive at school without possibly feeling overwhelmed by a full classroom. Here the first connections with teachers and other children were made. Children tried out different materials, such as magna-tiles, puzzles, colored pencils and stampers. In small groups we then made our way up the stairs and to the classroom.

Arriving upstairs started with finding everyone's cubby and changing into school shoes. That process will need some additional practice in the future but we also already made adaptions to the routine to better accommodate needs.

For our first day together in the classroom we decided on an open and explorative approach. Almost every area in the room got explored. Especially the building materials and message center were well-frequented. We will use the children's interest in making messages to introduce symbols, their meaning and use in the upcoming days.

Cate created a "forest" or "jungle" using different materials. She kept adding more materials to her structure.
Cate: "Some fell down."
​Cate: "This is a house. We need people. The people don't fit."

Lily: "What is this?" ​(pointing at the symbol organizer)
Sam: "When we choose our symbols we will put our stamps inside of here so we will always know where to find them. Do you remember what Grace's symbol is?"
Lily: "Uhm."
Sam: "Is it a penguin?"
Lily: "A penguin."
They continued to explore different drawers and identified the names on each. 
Lily: "I see my top name."

Hugh explored the blocks and magnetic wood pieces.
​Hugh: "I'm trying to put together. It doesn't go. If I put them like this it doesn't stick." ​

In every area of the room we witnessed collaboration, communication and connections being made. The children showed open and honest interest in each other and the projects they were working on. ​

Finlay: "Draw it. A shell. A hole. Stripes."

​Remy noticed something on Finlay's arm while they were waiting to wash their hands.
​Remy: "What is it?"
Finlay: "Tattoo. Owl."

Collaboration happening in the Classroom between Jade and Daniel:

​Daniel said he needed people and Jade set off to collect all the wooden people figures she could find in the classroom to support Daniel and the idea he had for them.

After the first initial time of exploration we started our first group cleanup. We use a rainstick that signals the transition from play to clean up and morning meeting. Coming together as a group will be an important part of our daily routine in the classroom. ​

During our morning meeting every child got introduced or introduced his or herself  to the rest of the class. We sang, wiggled, clapped, twirled, danced and shuffled our feet while reading the story "Giraffes can't dance" by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. Hugh said "That is my favorite!"

After the morning meeting the class split up into two smaller groups for snack (apples and goldfish). We started the day by  wearing masks and tried to keep them on for as long as possible. After taking them off for snack a lot of children stated that they did not want to put them back on after being encouraged to by the teachers. And that is okay! We are still learning how to feel comfortable in the new environment and adjusting to the feeling of masks indoors. ​

Especially Hugh, Cate and Finlay were excited about that last part of our day; going outside! Our second room clean-up was a fantastic and impressive group effort and changing shoes from "school shoes" to "outside shoes" was a great practice for remembering and identifying. For the first time (with many more to come) we made our way down the outside stairs to the outdoor classroom. Most children were very confident in approaching the stairs by themselves while also carrying their bags. Outside, children pivoted between individual and group play independently. ​

After Cate and Jade discovered different types of hats, Finlay showed interested in them as well. He went off to find one for himself and was very proud when he showed it to Ines.

Our pick up happened at a new place we hadn't visited yet - the Chapel of the Carpenter. Everyone was excited and waited patiently to be called to the door when it was time for them to get picked up. ​

What a wonderful first day! We are more than impressed with every single one, how they directed their first day, new impressions, emotions and connections. Thank you, parents, for being such a strong partner for the children and us on this journey. We are beaming with happiness and excitement!