We are just two weeks into the year and Nurseries are so very quickly picking up the routine and the how-we-do-things. As they have become more and more familiar and comfortable with the room and play yards and one another, this week I’m watching them expand their experience into new possibilities and the things they want to try out. There are the trikes, the balance beam, climbing, running FAST, sharing space, playing one-on-one with friends and also in small groups, petting Juniper the ball python, perhaps flushing the toilet on their own (they all know that I will flush for them as needed.) They have all been navigating the playhouse stairs all the the way up and the slide all the way down — plus some are practicing running up to the top like they see the older children do!

They all seem to be very patient with process and have all been able to find a way to wait for the cheese plate to be passed or to get into their gear on a rainy day. They have also begun setting times with each other for the tire swing and the teter-totter or swings. I imagine they will be expanding this to setting times for trikes soon.  

Many have begun to want to use the formal meeting process with a friend  for solving problems as they emerge, and are also finding the courage to set a limit for a friend or friends along the way. They are beginning practice stating a problem to one another, articulating their feelings and working together toward a solution that feels okay to one another. Of course, this process of figuring things out with one another is still very new for many. Athena and I are always available to help facilitate. Some Nurseries who were young last year and are back for a second year are able to model and help explain the process.

On Tuesday, two Nurseries were rather interested in the straw bale playhouse which was currently very busy with a large group of older children and their very complicated game of chase.

They checked it out for a while observing before going over. A little later they did go over and then they came back. There was a problem they said; it was not going well.

I suggested they talk with the other older children who were deep into their very active game. Did they need to talk with any one in particular? They quietly decided, yes they did want to talk and that they needed to talk with everyone. I said I could help them do that if they would like me to.

By the way, I know that you can well understand that what they were proposing is a challenge for almost anyone at any age.  

Athena and I went over with the two to help facilitate. Another teacher quietly watched from nearby. I explained to the others that the Nurseries wanted a group meeting and the olders gathered up.

These two Nurseries were definitely learning by doing! They felt comfortable talking back and forth with each other in whispers. They were almost ready to talk with the others, but not quite. In a few minutes, their process seemed to be stalled.

At a pivotal moment a Younger Grouper stepped forward and offered to help. She explained to Athena and me that the Nurseries could tell her what the problem was and then, if they wanted, she could tell the others for them. Would that work? “Yes,” we both said. The two Nurseries agreed also.

The Younger Grouper bent down to listen, talked quietly with the two and then spoke the Nurseries words to the gathering. The Nurseries heard their thoughts being transmitted and saw them received and acknowledged. A resolution was made and the olders’ game continued.

The two Nurseries watched for a moment and then got busy around the play yard… a feeling of resolution met.

This was extraordinary work on everyone’s part.

They are all stepping into new experience of all sorts, physical, social, emotional, and figuring things out, using their wonderful bodies and brains.