Our Bloghttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/en-US2012-02-23T23:41:42ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Play Outdoorshttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/2/20/play-outdoors.htmlBloom Preschool2012-02-20T05:46:35ZA lovely little blog I enjoy following posted this great little piece "Outdoor Play Is Not a Waste of Time."

]]>You will not find pink princess toys here!http://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/2/10/you-will-not-find-pink-princess-toys-here.htmlBloom Preschool2012-02-10T21:49:42ZI just read this article, and must say that I can not agree more.  Needless to say, the toys and materials you will find in our school are quite gender neutral and support femenine and masculine play.  No pink and princessey here! 

If you are parent to a little girl, read the article.

If you KNOW someone who is a little girl, read the article!

If you know someone who WAS a little girl, read the article!

Here is another link to the article, in case you have missed the first link I gave at the top!

 I have not yet read Peggy Orenstein's book, but I am going to need to do so!  You can find more about Peggy here.

 

 

 

]]>Beyond sink or floathttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/1/24/beyond-sink-or-float.htmlBloom Preschool2012-01-25T02:45:13ZThe children in our school explore the properties of water and the properties of "things" in the water frequently.  

They've moved quite a bit beyond evaluating whether things will "sink or float".  

However, one day, as they were trying to find something to carry their animals and vehicles as a boat, I observed a first in our school.  After some discussion and some experimentation with various blocks that float, they decided to try...

...paper!

And it worked...

...briefly...

...but not for long!

So, they crumpled up the paper...

After trying one more time, they moved on!  I wonder when I will observe this experiment repeated.

 

]]>Little Foot Stampshttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/1/24/little-foot-stamps.htmlBloom Preschool2012-01-24T15:00:10ZI think these stamp pads are absolutely intended for the use of little feet in stamping!

]]>Solitary playhttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/1/24/solitary-play.htmlBloom Preschool2012-01-24T06:24:09ZSometimes we, as adults, become concerned when our children are not playing with other children.  It's just not right.  Children need and deserve the time and space to possess and explore things in a space on their own, free of social interaction and interruption.

Sometimes, it's just nice to be able to occupy the entire train track and all of the trains in solitude!

]]>Sometimes you just need to curl up with a good book (or a few)http://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/1/23/sometimes-you-just-need-to-curl-up-with-a-good-book-or-a-few.htmlBloom Preschool2012-01-23T23:21:50Z

]]>Dot Painting (with liquid water color)http://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/1/20/dot-painting-with-liquid-water-color.htmlBloom Preschool2012-01-20T23:02:47Z


]]>What Should a Four Year Old Know?http://www.bloombend.com/journal/2012/1/19/what-should-a-four-year-old-know.htmlBloom Preschool2012-01-20T04:18:44ZA friend and educator posted a link to this blog post this evening.

To the blogger...THANK YOU!

 

]]>The holidays from the perspective of a preschoolerhttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/2011/12/21/the-holidays-from-the-perspective-of-a-preschooler.htmlBloom Preschool2011-12-21T22:12:18ZOne of our staff's favorite educators is Dan Hodgins.  He provides excellent training on various aspects of working with children in early childhood.  He encourages adults to take a step back and evaluate our practices, formulating appropriate methods based on the early childhood developmental stages and processes.  Often his trainings require some effort on the adult's behalf to truly think outside the limitations we have learned and chosen to put ourselves in.  We have to consioiusly work at modifying our past habits and thought-processes.

As I've said before, I highly recommend his book Boys: Changing the Classroom, Not the Child to ANYONE (teachers and parents alike).  Something I love just as dearly as his book is the fact that Dan also puts out a newsletter each month.  I absolutely CHERISH the few minutes it takes each month to read his newsletter!  It serves as a monthly reminder of why I do what I do.

I'm posting below his December newsletter.  This is probably a bit on the late side, as you've likely all done all your holidy shopping (I truly haven't done any!), but let it serve as a reminder to you of what this crazy season can be like for a preschooler.  Please step back and view the holidays from their precious perspective!

Happy Holidays!



 

]]>Dinosaur castlehttp://www.bloombend.com/journal/2011/12/8/dinosaur-castle.htmlBloom Preschool2011-12-08T23:37:58ZAparently this is where the dinosaurs live!

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