At first glance the task depicted in these pictures may not seem all that "magical," but you see, that's the beauty of it all!! It took me a little while to see it myself, actually, but now that I know what I'm privelaged to be watching, I watch with awe and admiration.
First, you take a fairly common, everday task, such as cutting bread, or in this case, bananas!
Then you invite a 3 or 4 year old to cut that banana, put it on a serving tray and then offer those morsels to his or her friends!
Sounds straightforward enough - but maybe you've had the experience of cutting a banana before, you know what it feels like to use a knife, to chase a slimy piece of banana with a toothpick, to arrange them on a plate, and even to carry that plate around without inadvertantly spilling banana to the floor.
Many of our friends in our M-F classrooms are new to these experiences, and are challenged by all those steps just named! How
do you hold a knife so it can cut? Which way is up? How do you keep the banana from running away from you? How do you get the banana slices from tray to serving plate? How many pieces should you cut before serving? How do ask your friends if they would like a piece of banana - and not have it sound like it's directive?!
To be given the opportunity - the space, the quiet encourage-ment, the FREEDOM - to work this out for oneself, yet with the support of teachers, and even friends if you need it, is the quiet, everyday "magic" that happens here at the Children's School. It is each child's personal experience - journey, if you will - with even these simple everyday tasks that leads them down a road of discovery, success, self-confidence and joy!
In and amongst this kind of learning, there is also a great deal of just plain fun!! Laughing at a shared joke, playing castles with princesses and the ever-present "bad guys," singing and dancing, jumping and rolling! But always with a quiet acceptance of each child's gifts and skills, a gentle encouragement to try something new, a kind and loving word of all each child is willing to share with us! Oh, the magic, oh the joy, oh what a wonderful experience for all of us!!
Thanks to the members of one of our families, we are learning about Diwali - a holiday celebrated this time of year (determined by the lunar calendar) as a celebration of light, good over evil , an uplifting of spiritual darkness (according to Wikipedia). Diwali can be literally translated to "row of lights."
The freedom to create - or not! Both options speak volumes to us!!
