What an exiting time spring brings! It is a time for change and we have started to see it outside in our play space. The melting snow mixed with our sparse grass makes for a great substance, MUD! We love to go and jump in the mud puddles, use spoons and pots to make mud cakes, and run our construction trucks through it to make tracks. With all this mud you can expect us to go through a few sets of outdoor clothes, over the next few months rubber boots and splash pants will help protect us as we explore the great our doors with our whole body.

This week an interaction happened between Audrey and Petra that reminded us of the great learning experiences the children have with each other. On Tuesday Audrey was balancing on her hands between our two block shelves, she was lifting her body off the floor and swinging her legs back and forth. Petra was carefully observing her as she did this, then when Audrey was all done Petra went over to try it herself. First she jumped to get her feet off the floor then she tried lifting just one leg. Audrey who was still in the same area saw the she was trying to copy her and went over and said “I can show you”. This type of interaction is a commen occurrence in our room, our learning environment is one of of curiosity and trial and error. This type of environment has encouraged the children to be persistent in problem solving and developed multiple problem solving strategies. With the range of different ages in Sandstone the access to others sharing prior knowledge is a tool that the children have utilized to learn new skills. As an adult it is sometimes hard to see a child struggle with a problem and too often we move in to solve the problem for the child. However, if we step back and offer up problem solving skills and join them in he process of solving the problem then we will be helping them move forward as mighty thinkers. Have a great weeekend and see you on Monday. Sandstone Educators