Come and sit by the fire, we have some tales to spin...

 Lowered lights, a little burnt sage, some red fabric and blocks as our campfire, some pillows and blocks to sit on, and the stage was set. We traveled back in times and cultures to a place where people gathered together in that most elemental form of community and communication: storytelling. While we read what must have been a million tales, there were a handful that we really
immersed ourselves in: The Lost Children, Dona Flor, and The Apple Pip Princess.

Children were given many, many opportunities and avenues to enter these stories. We read them over and over again. Each time generating different questions and posing different answers. "What would you do if you saw those sad Lost Children?" "I would give them warm clothes. I would give them this shirt right here." "How did they go up in the sky?" "They wished and wished and turned into stars..." 
Children were able to depict their knowledge of the story and the Blackfoot Indian tribe through a mini-study of tipis. We explored texture and color as we painted on canvas fabric and we considered mathematical and artistic concepts of pattern, repetition and variation as we chose designs for our tipis.
 Children sometimes worked by themselves in quiet focus, sometimes in chatty pairs and sometimes in lively groups with lots of conversations and ideas exchanged. As the weather warmed we were able to do more and more work outside.

Always, the real meat of our work begins, when we say, "Okay, let's pretend..." Vivian Paley, the educator who inspires much of our work at ALG says, "Above all, I think, the continued observation of children at play demonstrates the importance of make-believe as the thinking tool children use. The reality is that most social, linguistic, logical interactions are usually better explained and understood in terms of these imaginary themes. Vygotsky pointed it out brilliantly. Famously he told this story: Two little sisters are walking together, and suddenly one says, “Pretend we are sisters, and pretend we’re taking a walk.” They are sisters, they are taking a walk. But what the older child has intuitively realized is that to view a larger perspective of the narrative, to be able to expand the story, they need to pretend they are the characters acting the roles."

 Children play out the story in a range of ways, in spontaneous play on their own in the play house or outside, in miniature using little people and blocks and in a more formal dramatic play structure with assigned characters, lines and with a stage setting and some costuming. In creating the costumes and setting they experience working a project over a sustained time, they strengthen their developing hands as they draw and cut and they learn to subvert thier impulses as they stay in character, take turns and listen to each other. Their language grows ever richer as they speak in storybook, "Stars remain forever. We will always be beautiful."  Storis and play are a safe, accesible space for children to tackle ideas that might otherwise be too complicated or frightening. The Lost Children gave us many opportunities to think about kindness and wonder what we will do when we see some "lost children" or feel like lost children ourselves...

Their cognitive capacities for abstract thought grow and strengthen as they create and use dramatic sets. As we moved on to Dona Flora, a flower becomes a trumpet, silky blue fabric becomes a lake and an old plastic lid becomes a tortilla which becomes a boat floating on the lake.

 Children told lots of stories and each storyteller had that precious opportunity to sit one on one with a teacher and let their language and imagination bloom. We explored ideas of measurement and scale as some children made puppets just the right size to be the giants to our exsisting people puppets. We revisited this idea of scale again through a different angle.

On a warm, sunny day, children were invited to make their footprints with paint and then to imagine and then paint a giant's footprint alongside their own.

Alongside our study of storytelling, we also began working with our Hector Collections in earnest. Initially it was primarily a math and science activity with the children sorting the myriad treasures into smaller families. The initial sorting instigated by the children was by color and the results were so pleasing and compelling it set the template for duration of the sorting. We used bits of the collections in the beginning: a plastic lid for a tortilla here, a button for a giant's eye there, but with our Apple Pip Princess study, these rich and beautiful materials took center stage.

We spent a lovely morning outside painting firm pieces of cardboard which would become the base for a forrest and castle. We built the castle with our Hector collections and then used special finger puppets: a King, a dragon! to tell more and more stories.

In the Apple Pip Princess, three sisters compete for their father's kingdom. One commands the townspeople to bring her every piece of metal in the kingdom so that she may reach the sky an other sister does likeswise but demands wood. Children were asked how we could find the metal in our collection. "It will be silver!" "It will be shiny!" "Heavy!" Eventually, older children suggested using magnets. So using magnets children searched through the collections hypothesizing and testing their way into a mass sorting project. When, after several days, we had sorted out all the metal and wood, we went back outside to construct our towers.

Our youngest children mostly explored the materials. They felt the different textures of wood and made simple stacks and piles. There was great focus and interest but more dropping bits of wood through the holes in the table and tussling over the materials. There was little actual tower building going on.

In great contrast, the older group was bubbling over with intense discussion and collaboration. Children had lots of different ideas and they worked closely with great communication and deliberation. "What will make the best base?" "It should be big!" "That won't work!" "I want to try it this way." "What if I put this here?" "Don't forget support!" "Awesome! Now put this piece there!" Careful!" "Ahhhh! Now let's rebuild it."

We also used our collections to make a beautiful if impermanent art project: a rainbow! Each group was invited to create a part. We discussed lines and arcs and each child made choices and arrangements that were pleasing to them and thier group.

 We also sorted through the collections to recreate the Apple Pip Princess' magical box. An old whistle became the nightengale's song and a yellow playdough cap became the speck of sunshine. Older children were then invited to label the objects with the numbers one through seven as they are in the book. This is what a numbers worksheet looks like at ALG! (smile) 

There was great interest in castles this year and so within our Apple Pip work, we did some delving into castles. Children were invited to depict thier knowledge of castles with some drawing and then we took our fieldtrip to a castle in Dupont and children were invited to draw again. You can see looking at the before and after pictures how just one experience expanded the children's drawings with realism, detail and distinct shapes.

To close our work on storytelling we decided on a massive outdoor play with Pickett. During circle we pooled our collective memories and wrote down the main characters and themes from each of the three books and children were invited to join the story of their choosing.

We made our towers and planted gardens from Apple Pip.  Young children collaborated with older ones as we worked to save the kingdom from the brink of despair!

Children were giants and townspeople searching for the puma in Dona Flor. The puma was found and a grand celebration was had.

There were many coyotes and dogs roaming the side yard and the tribe of lost children again found thier way into the sky.

This was a lovely study, particularly near and dear to us at ALG because stories are such an essential part of our work here. The reading, listening, telling and playing of stories might be something like the life cycle of ALG! Again we turn to Vivian Paley:

 "Having not listened carefully enough to their play, we did not realize how much time was needed by children in order to create the scenery and develop the skills for their ever-changing dramas. We removed the element—time—that enabled play to be effective, then blamed the children when their play skills did not meet our expectations.

Although we feared the influence of television, we were cutting down on the one activity that counteracts the mindlessness of cartoons. We blamed television for making children restless and distracted, then substituted an academic solution that compounded restlessness and fatigue. The children may have been the only ones capable of making sense of the confusion, and they did so when-ever the schedule was cleared so they could play."

In this study, and in all our work at ALG, we strive to give children, and ourselves, this gift of time; time to talk, time to listen, time to explore, and always, always, time to play...Till the next time!

Hoo, hoo likes to play at night?

What a lovely, cozy few weeks we have had here at ALG as we have studied the enchanting world of Nighttime. As we have learned about all manner of critters, creatures, lullabies, stars and more we have also worked to cultivate a slower, deeper pace at ALG that better matches our maturing group. As part of this slowing down, for example, we have begun to play board and card games during our 1-3 time. Here children learn lots about managing themselves in a group; they learn to listen and take turns. In a game of Go Fish, they learn about numbers and pairs, in our game Hoot Owl Hoot they learn about colors, strategy and they work cooperatively to have the owls return safely to their nest. 

We have sung many songs and even had a Family Sing one blustery Friday morning. With the wind blowing outside, we nestled in with our parents and teachers and were led in many tender renditions of classic Nighttime songs like Blue Moon and Goodnight Sweetheart.

 The children and Melissa worked intensively this study creating amazing shadow puppets and elaborate stories to accompany them. Children learned about shapes and spatial reasoning as they drew, cut and assembled their puppets. They also strengthened their hands and fingers and again learned about how to work in a group sharing space and materials.
In telling their stories, children experienced working with the elements of a story: setting, characters and plot. The older children especially were able to generate stories with a coherent narrative, a problem to be resolved, shifting settings and dramatic tension! "Will the princess save the train????" (Yes.) During this study we also selected a hibernation tale to act out as a group on several occasions. Children learned lines, developed their language and curbed their impulses as they stayed in character.



We worked a lot with Owls this study. Children were given many ways to access and assimilate information about these amazing birds. They were invited to make them in art, using repurposed materials like muffin cups and buttons. They learned about drawing and cutting shapes and when the line to make Owls was too long, they learned about using lists and writing names as a tool to take turns. 










Children were asked to come and explore Owl pellets. Using their hands to manipulate tools, they dissected the pellets and discovered a treasure trove of bones and fur. We learned about how and when owls hunt and eat. We read books, listened to a remarkably catchy song and so delved deeper into the world and life of these nighttime birds.

 Lastly, each child sat down with Deborah for a one on one session of drawing. Children honed their powers of observation and visual perception as they broke the owl down into distinct parts and shapes and then used their fine motor and coordination to recreate these shapes in a figure on paper. We have hung up all the owls from the youngest artist to the oldest and we invite you to come and see the amazing progression.

 Children were invited to do weaving. We set the stage talking about how someone wove many of our blankets and warm sweaters and that we too could do some weaving on our own. First using paper then using yarn and a small loom children strengthen their hands as they move under and over, under and over. Weaving was also another opportunity to practice patterns.

At our trip to the planetarium, we were all able to experience the night sky together! We learned about constellations and about using the sky as both a real map and a place for fantastical inspirations. We also got to observe and interact with all manner of live and stuffed creatures in the Nature Center.

 We also had many pajama days at ALG which have now, in their second year, become a beloved tradition. What better way to beat the winter doldrums then eating pancakes with your flashlight in your jammies!

You can keep this study going at home by making shadow puppets at home (ask Melissa or Cara), by writing down your child's stories, by searching for Owl Pellets in Rock Creek Park, revisit the Nature Center, look for stars in the sky, learn a new lullaby and, most importantly, take time to play in your pajamas! This is ALG reminding you to smell the (nighttime) roses. Till next time,