Preschool Atelier

I hosted Joy School again this week. The theme of the unit is "the Joy of Imagination and Creativity" so I thought I'd go to town with some big messy art ideas that I've been wanting to try. So we mostly didn't follow the curriculum guidelines, which is fine. It gives me plenty of alternatives for Wednesday when we have Joy School again because -- believe you me-- I am NOT up for another day of big and messy art!!

I really love teaching Joy School (I do!) but it doesn't leave me exhilarated. It leaves me completely and utterly drained. I don't know how real preschool teachers manage it day in and day out. I guess they don't have to do it in their own home for one thing.  But for me it is completely exhausting to deal with even just 6 rambunctious little characters.

When I was little I attended a wonderful preschool that serves as my inspiration when I think about the type of formative early learning experiences I'd like my kids to have. I know that the situation is different (teaching at home in a small co-op vs. organized preschool comprised of the progeny of Nobel-aspirant scientists) but the experiences I had there made a huge impact on me. I think about the VERY cool things we did (amazing art projects like Japanese fish printing; building wooden boxes with real saws and hammers and nails; ice skating on the flooded tennis courts every week in the winter) and I think...do I take the time/make the effort to let my kids have these great experiences? Do I trust them? Do I let them EXPERIENCE the whole big messy world, or is it too much trouble to clean up/put back on track when things get a little out of control? I think about those teachers -- Mrs. Proudfoot, my teacher when I was 5 -- lacing up 12 little pairs of ice skates and think how did she do it??? She must surely be a SAINT. I really want to be that kind of person but even doing messy art with 6 little kids for 2 hours makes me want to sleep for the rest of the day.

Anyway, I hope the kids had fun, it certainly looked like they were. And it doesn't even look that messy, but this is just the beginning. I put the iPhone away as the paint really started to fly. For the record, I tried to set up three "stations", the first was fly-swatter painting, the second was painting with beaded necklaces, and the last was at the easel with different kinds of brushes and sponges.

   

Part of my stress can be attributed to Elliot trying to drink the paint water at every opportunity and there not being a working spigot to wash up outside. Somehow, despite my best efforts these little hands touched every surface in our house from the back door to the bathroom. Thank goodness for washable, non-toxic paint!

Easter Pics

We got a new camera, which is great...except I don't know how to use it. I guess I could read the manual--Ryan has, eager beaver overachiever --which is why he is the only one taking pictures these days.  So while I unproductively sit and wonder how I'm going to figure out how to use the camera Ryan has enjoyed having the camera to himself and not having to hear my unsolicited opinions about family photography.

 

This is an actual picture Ryan took last night of water dropping into a bowl of water. Pretty cool. Ryan wants to credit Tim Embody for his photo equipment and help.

But he has also taken some great pictures of what I find to be MUCH more appealing subjects...Oliver and Elliot. Here are some from an Easter egg hunt last weekend at a friend's house and our own little Easter egg hunt this morning at home.

            

And this is my favorite one of all. Man, I love this kid. He is just so dear. He has taken to showing his love for me by picking me "beautiful yellow dandelions." He brings me handfuls of them and asks "Do you love me?" I tell him that of course I love him and that his flowers make me so happy. Since he picks just the blossoms (no stems) I can't  exactly put them in a vase, but he wants me to keep them, so we float them in bowls of water. It's not exactly a Martha Stewart arrangement, but you can't beat the sentiment. 

Actually Oliver doesn't always feel so loving towards me. Sometimes he gets really angry with me and tells me that he  a) wants me to "go to jail for all night long" or b) will "put me in a volcano" neither of which sound particularly appealing. He also tries to lay down ultimatums (or give "consequences" in the current parenting parlance), but his early attempts are laughably pathetic. He doesn't really understand that the "consequence" should be something that impacts the other person, not himself. So he will say things like, "Mom, if you put me in time-out I will not play with my toys ever again!!!" Or "If you make me go to bed I will never do anything fun again!" I love that he imagines that somehow HIS not having any fun would be punishing for ME. 

Boys' Life

 

Oliver was really excited to play soccer this spring and by a stroke of good fortune we were able to get him onto a team even though the league registration closed months ago. Incidentally, this team is made up of all the kids whose parents missed the deadline...which makes me VERY comfortable. I'm in my element. Slacker parents unite!! The coach seems awesome. His first tip for these budding Peles and Ronaldinhos was "the guys on the other team will be wearing different shirts." Yeah, so if they can keep that in mind, and remember which goal is theirs they should be in good shape. Oliver is really excited about the IDEA of playing soccer but he is not too keen on participation when it comes right down to it. Here he is not doing push-ups with the rest of his team (the Comets).

What he does love to do is swing on the swing set. He and Elliot have a blast in the front yard. Hopefully at some point it will stop raining and warm up so we can enjoy more time outdoors.

 

Letting The Good Times Roll

Despite the fact that we are so far from so many of the people we love we are actually really enjoying our first 5 weeks in Nashville. Last night Ryan and I went out on a much needed "date night" and checked out the local music scene. Actually, we probably checked out the tourist music scene since it was Saturday night on the main honkytonk strip, but no matter, it was fun and we heard some really awesome live music. We went to a place called Robert's Western World and heard some "traditional" country music. Here's a video clip of the band.

OK, we OBVIOUSLY (oh, on SO many levels) did NOT participate in Nude Karaoke, but we thought it was worth documenting that this sort of thing goes on here in Nashville, TN. It struck us as funny that some people might actually SEEK OUT the opportunity to sing naked in front of a crowd of strangers. Really, I can't IMAGINE a more humiliating experience...I mean, don't people have nightmares about this type of thing? What kind of bizarre torture would that be? I shudder to think.

I Am A Child of God

Oliver sings "I Am A Child of God". Clearly we don't have a musical prodigy on our hands but we think he's cute.

Tired Baby

Elliot fell asleep at dinner the other night. I thought it was hilarious...which is why the camera is shaking so much.

The Joy of Joy School

Rather than try to enroll Oliver in a preschool program midway through the year we joined up with a group of families doing Joy School. Joy School is a preschool co-op. The curriculum is organized around "Joys" such as the "Joy of Honesty and Candor" or the "Joy of Interest and Curiosity" and so on. I have always wanted to do Joy School so I was so happy that it worked out so nicely for us to join this group. There are 5 other families involved, with the moms taking turns teaching each week.

The unit we are doing now is called the "Joy of Trust and Confidence." It's basically about how it can be fun to try new things and that not everybody is good at things the first time they try, but that's ok, because it can still be fun just to try it. Also, that you can do hard things if you put your mind to it (and are helped by people whom you love and trust.)

So, this morning was my first time teaching. We sang songs, did the date and weather, read a book called "All By Myself" and I performed a behind-the-couch puppet show for a rapt audience. I also decided that as part of our lesson (on trying something hard) we would climb  the "mountain" in our backyard woods.

It was sunny and warm and the first shoots of spring are just starting to poke through the leaf litter on the ground. The six little Joy Schoolers did admirably well on the 1/4 mile steep ascent. They encouraged each other and sat next to each other when they needed a rest. I carried Elliot and a bag of juice boxes and goldfish for the requisite snack at the "summit." It is really beautiful at the top, there is a 360 degree view of the surrounding Harpeth Hills and the town of Bellevue. There is also a big tree that toppled over that makes a great bench right next to a fire ring for bonfires or marshmallow roasts. The kids sat down on the log and had a snack while I read Green Eggs and Ham (about trying a new food). Ahhh, I thought to myself, this IS joyful!!

But then Elliot started playing in the charcoal in the fire ring. One little boy started to wander off and it basically went downhill (literally) from there. Oliver felt sick and decided he needed to be carried down. I refused. He bawled the entire way down. Another little boy hit a little girl with a stick. A few of them tripped and fell. I was sweating profusely because it was quite warm and Elliot is getting heavy. As the chorus of sobbing children grew louder around me and I hastily wiped sweaty tears from the faces of my young pupils, I began to question the brilliance of my backyard "mountain climb"  idea. The Joy School handbook offers this helpful tip:

One overall guideline that applies to all aspects of Joy School is the word JOY.
Remember that joy is both the objective of the program and the main method of the
program. By feeling joy that comes through a certain activity, children become motivated
to repeat the joy by repeating the action.

Yeah, I think it's going to be a while before these guys seek out the "joy" of hiking again.