Compassion and Meditation

Monday started out great, with a circle time in which we took items from the sound bag that start with the letter sound “h.” This was followed by Montessori work time. Every one found something that they loved to focus on, and much timewas spent working during the morning. When we headed outside, there were jump ropes to be played with. We took some time making the rope go around and around, as well as using it to make a train.  In the afternoon, Ann joined us for yoga. We did our “Tick Tock, Little Yoga Clock” song which is a class favorite.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning making “FREE HUG” signs, which every one joyfully wore. Talking about what the sign said made them excited for hugs, and throughout the day we witnessed spontaneous acts of affection between our kiddos.  Ashley brought in some new costumes, and we spent the morning playing dress up and pretending to be super-heroes.  We had circle time, followed by work time, and again, every one found something to focus on.  We headed outside, and Cherokee led every one in a fun song-singing session. In the afternoon, we read several books before Vanessa came to lead the class in yoga.  We practiced downward dog, tree pose, and got introduced to bridge pose just before learning a little bit about meditation. Vanessa shook a large bottle of purple glitter and water to give the kids something to focus their attention on as we “cleared our minds.” You could sense the peace every one had as we finished up our meditation.

Wednesday, we had a fun free-play kind of morning. A lot of time was devoted to dramatic play with our little bear and rabbit house, using markers and crayons to color on paper, and reading books with Ms. Ashley. Work time was very productive.  During morning snack, Ms. Toni paid our class a visit. She read to us a story about life-size animal parts, like hands, mouths, and tails. Every one was very interested in the concept of “life-size” and they had an impressive amount of engagement—making comments, laughing, and all the while watching the book, during the beautiful morning. Before nap time, a large stuffed-animal giraffe came to the class to say hello and wish every one a good nap’s rest. In the afternoon, Ashley gave us a presentation on Ancel’s fire-truck, and every one had a chance to touch it and talk about it. Daphne came for a visit, and read us a wonderful book about a donkey who cries. We tried to connect crying sound, pictures of the donkey crying, and different forms of the word “llorar” in order to learn about emotions as well as get introduced to new Spanish words.

On Tuesday, our friends separated themselves into a younger group and an older group. Our younger group laughed and talked while they made artwork, and our older group listened to Ashley read stories. When Daphne came, she introduced to us a fun freezing and dancing game in Spanish. Every one got a chance to dance, and at points the room was full of laughter. In the afternoon, we enjoyed using the Owl costume that Tula donated to us, and a keyboard. We took turns two at a time to play the piano, and we all had a blast. Later in the afternoon, we played with balloons! It was much too cold to head outside.

What a wonderful week!