Morning Rituals at Kids Place by Lorah Steichen

Final Installment: Egg Drop Experiment

by Sarah Stodola

 Our third group,named the Tiger Leapers, included Sydney D., Myles, Junwon, Katie, Ingrid, Kellen and Hatton. The group started out their exploration by rolling an egg down the slide with nothing protecting it. Hatton sent the egg down the slide. Junwon noticed it broke on the slide a little bit and then broke A LOT when it hit the ground. We headed over to the table to talk about ways to save the egg. Kellen noticed that the egg broke because it was bumping down the slide. He suggested it that we send the egg down in a truck because that would roll and make it smoother. No suggestions were made about securing the egg in the truck so we placed the egg in the dump truck and Kellen sent it down the slide. It rolled and did not break on the slide but as Ingrid noticed, it rolled too fast. The egg flew out of the truck and hit the garbage can and broke. Hatton dragged over the large birch limb and placed it under the landing of the slide to shorten the fall. Junwon, Myles, and Kellen rolled a larger log from the sandbox below the landing. Ingrid, Katie, and Sydney D. placed a soft sheet over the log to make it softer. Hatton suggested we use the excavator truck this time and we attach the egg to the scoop in front. Katie mentioned we could use tape to attach the egg to the scoop. Junwon suggested that we wrap the egg in toilet paper first. Everyone helped put tape on the egg to secure it in the scoop. Hatton also suggested that we make the scoop in the upright position to keep the egg from breaking. Sydney D. and Katie suggested we could use string and tape to hold it up. Ingrid thought the excavator would go slower because it did not have wheels.

Our invention was now complete so we decided to head over to the climber. We sent the excavator down the slide and it indeed went a little bit slower. When it hit the soft log it tipped over and landed in the bark. Everyone ran down to report if the egg was broken or safe. IT WORKED! Our egg was safe - we worked together and figured it out.

Now it was time to send it off the climber from up high by the fire pole. When Junwon dropped the egg with nothing to protect it, the egg broke hard and went everywhere. Ingrid and Kellen decided to start out first with an egg drop that involved an egg placed in a sock with string attached to the sock and tape around the sock and egg. Katie and Sydney D. noticed as it dropped down it hit the wood on the way and broke. Kellen reported you could tell it was broken because the sock was wet so we didn’t have to try and take the egg out. Sydney D. thought it might work to put the egg in a blanket. Katie suggested that they tie string around the blanket so it didn’t fall out. They had secured their egg in the blanket and added tape also to make sure the egg would not fall out. They headed to the top of the climber and tossed the egg down over the bar. This time it fell behind the wood but alas, still hit the wood. The blanket was wet and we had another cracked egg.

Kellen, Katie, and Sydney D. thought about how we could make that wood softer. Katie mentioned we could use soft stuff on it. They all ran to get pillows, blankets and cushions to soften the hard wood. Junwon and Myles had a different idea. They took toilet paper to the top of the climber and made a toilet paper slide from the top bar to the ground to roll the egg down. They taped the toilet paper to the bar and then secured the bottom of the paper on the ground with bark. The egg did not roll down the paper completely but the slide idea did shorten the distance of the fall and helped the egg avoid the wood. The egg hit the ground and IT WORKED! They tested it again and again and it worked every time!

Kellen decided on a different approach. For his next experiment, he used a caution cone and a small pot. He dropped the egg into the cone and then taped the pot over the top as a lid so the egg would not fly out. When the egg it the ground we could not tell if it was broken. Kellen soon reported that it was broken because egg leaked out the top of the cone and he decided that it broke because it hit the hard dish. We removed the dish and tried again just taping the egg into the cone. Kellen dropped the egg and Katie, and Sydney D. helped to watch and report. Katie and Sydney D. really enjoyed reporting about the drops. Sydney D. was our official counter during all of the drops, counting to 3 before her team would let the egg go. When Kellen's egg landed, they reported that IT WORKED! They had fixed the problem and the egg was now safe.

Junwon and Myles had another idea. Myles wanted to use an old paper towel tube and Junwon wanted to use sticks. Myles carefully put the egg in the tube and Junwon put the small sticks in the tube and the big stick on the end of the tube and they worked together to tape all the sticks on to hold the egg in. At the top of the climber they mentioned that their egg experiment looked like it had a propeller on the top like an airplane. They decided to drop it with the propeller facing up. The egg plane dropped and IT WORKED! The egg was safe so we decided to drop it with the propeller facing down. IT WORKED! The egg still was safe! This was a very safe egg plane.

I could tell that Myles wanted to see an egg crack from the top of the climber so I asked if we should just take it out of the plane and drop it. He excitedly dropped it down and the egg splattered everywhere. Hooray!

Meanwhile Ingrid was working diligently on our last egg drop. She wanted to try the egg in the sock again. This time we had our hard wood protected by cushions. She put the egg in the sock, secured the bottom of the sock with toilet paper and tape then added string to close the sock and longer pieces to lessen the fall. She headed to the climber with Kellen, Sydney D. and Katie. Ingrid let the egg go and it made a hard sound when it fell. They all came down to check it out. The sock was not wet they noticed. They started to feel excited. Teacher Sarah helped to take the egg out of the tight sock and…IT WORKED! We worked together learning from past experiments and made the sock work! This was a great way to end our egg drop exploration. We discovered that when we listen to each other’s ideas we are very successful with our outcome.

Egg Drop Part II

by Sarah Stodola

Our second group was named the T Rexes. Brady, Evie, Bridget, Sylvia, Sydney B, Mitchell, Gus are part of this group. The group wanted to start out their exploration by rolling an egg down the slide with nothing protecting it. The only change in the climbers' environment was suggested by Evie. She moved a hollow log to the bottom of the slide for the egg to roll into. Everyone agreed this was a good idea. The egg rolled down the slide and it cracked. After some investigation and discussion, the evidence showed that the egg cracked a little on the slide (egg white on the slide) and the rest of the egg completely cracked when it hit the log.

We headed back to the to the table to collaborate on how to save our next egg. Brady suggested the egg could fall into a bucket. Suggestions were made on how to make the bucket soft. They added grass, sand and leaves and placed it carefully right at the bottom of the slide to catch their egg. Sydney B. remembered that we needed to protect the egg on the slide also. She grabbed a small bowl from the sand box and a potholder from the kitchen. She carefully placed the potholder in the dish and then carefully put the egg in the middle. She said it now looks like a nest. Everyone decided that this looked good and our egg would make it safely down the slide. We headed up to the top and Sydney B. had the honor of sliding the egg down since she worked so hard on it’s cozy nest. It WORKED! Our egg was safe even though it didn’t land in the soft bucket. The egg and bowl flew over the top of the bucket and landed on the bark, actually falling out of its soft cozy nest but it still survived!

I asked the group why did our plan work? Many suggestions were made. Sydney B. mentioned that the egg was warm and safe and that helped. Bridget noticed the bowl made it go down the slide slower. Evie noticed the bowl protected it all the way past the bottom where the slide stopped and it didn’t fly out until it landed. Gus mentioned that the egg did not jump hard at the end.

We were excited about our success and now we were headed to the big drop from the top of the climber by the fire pole. Gus started out our independent drops. He decided to use a bowl and carefully tape string in an X over the top of the bowl as this would keep the egg in. He also made a roof out of toilet paper and attached a string long enough to lower the bowl to the ground. The reporters gathered around and Gus’s egg only had one small crack. When he reflected later at the end of our project he said next time he would wrap it up inside the bowl so the egg couldn’t roll around. We worked with the theory of elimination for his next drop. He wanted the egg to crack so instead of lowering it down he dropped it and it cracked. Now we know that lowering it down is safe and also making string or something over the top helps to keep the egg in its bowl.
Brady went next. He decided to use a smaller dish that fit snugly around the egg. He added the potholder for safety to snuggle the egg. He used tape, toilet paper and string that formed an X over the top of the bowl to keep the egg safe. He dropped it instead of lowering it. It WORKED! The egg was safe. Later he eliminated some elements and dropped the egg so that it cracked. Cracking the egg after was fun.

Mitchell was next. He was the minimalist of the group. We made some suggestions for materials but he decided a shallow dish would make for an interesting experiment. What will happen to the egg? Will it splatter? Will it fly? I asked Mitchell if he thought it would crack, he looked up with a big smile and said “YES”. Sure enough, the egg cracked and the egg flew out of the dish and yolk went everywhere. Mitchell looked down at it well-pleased with the result.

Bridget decided to use the same bowl as Mitchell. She added the potholder on top of the egg, some tape, some toilet paper and some medium string to lower it down. When she dropped her egg, it cracked but we noticed that is was a very minimally messy drop. The entire cracked egg remained in the shallow dish. She reflected later that a deeper dish might have kept her egg from breaking.

Evie used a deep bowl and put the potholder in. She decided to also add a little sand. She placed some toilet paper over her egg and taped it down. She dropped her egg and it WORKED! She reflected later that her egg did not break because it was cozy and it couldn’t jump out and break.

Sydney B. decided to make her egg a safe purse out of a bowl, potholder, toilet paper and tape. She used the string to make a strap so she could carry her bowl safely to the climber. She also added a sheet of paper on the ground where the egg was to drop. She wanted to give it a soft landing. She let her egg drop and it cracked. She later reflected that it cracked because her soft stuff was on top this time and her egg could roll around.

Sylvia decided to use all of the ideas she had seen and add one more. She wrapped her egg in string. She used a deep dish, put a potholder in, put toilet paper and another pot holder over the top of the egg, put tape over all and added a string to lower it. Bridget mentioned that if it cracked the string would hold the yolk in. Gus said that it would hold the shell in but the yolk will fall out. We were excited to test this new theory. Sylvia dropped her egg and it WORKED! The egg was initially safe and sound. We asked Sylvia if we could PLEASE drop her egg once more to test our string theory and she graciously agreed. She dropped the egg and the yolk burst out. The shell came out a little also but most stayed together with the string.

 We all decided that it’s best to make your egg cozy and make sure you can keep it from falling out and rolling around if you are going to keep it from cracking. We also decided it’s really actually fun when they do crack. It’s fun to figure out different ways to make eggs crack with big and small messes.

Egg Drop Problem Solving

by Sarah Stodola

It all started out with our bird & nest observation walk about a month ago. Gus noticed that the nests were all up high to protect the eggs from cars, bicycles, animals and other things that may cause baby birds & eggs harm. Questions arose about animals falling from so high. When can baby birds learn to fly? What happens if the egg falls from the safe nest so high in the tree? We decided that the egg would most likely break and the bird would die. We decided to investigate the egg drop situation a little further and experiment with ideas to protect precious eggs.

Teacher Lisa talked with the children about how we were using cold eggs that the birds have not been nesting on. They all realized there was no live bird in the eggs for our experiments and we were not going to harm any of our bird friends. Still as Lisa stood up saying what would happen if I dropped the egg from up here? The class all said together, “oh no don’t do it! It will make a mess.” Lisa crouched down and said well what will happen if I drop the egg from down lower? The children agreed we could start there to see if it breaks. It cracked slightly but was not too bad. Next she dropped the egg from up high. The egg cracked and yoke spilled out over the tray and onto the floor. Claire quickly got a paper towel for clean up and the conversation progressed. The group was definitely intrigued. The children kept in mind the knowledge that the egg was safer from down low. Sydney B. suggested that if you slide it down the slide into the dirt maybe it would not break. Everyone thought this was a great theory. Kellen and Noah quickly chimed in with valuable information about how an egg might break. Kellen said if you throw it like this (showing us through a demonstrated pitching motion) it will break. Noah said if you throw it on metal or concrete it will DEFINITELY break. The class agreed with both of these theories. The topic switched back to safety when Tyler mentioned that if we put a snuggly blanket down and drop it on that it would not break. Most of the class agreed that this would help but it might still break from up high. Isabel said that a plastic bag is not strong enough to keep the egg safe enough because it’s not strong and Claire chimed in that if you juggle the egg it will break. Ari mentioned we could use the dump truck as a safe vehicle to put the egg in. Ideas were beginning to brew. Our helper Robin helped us break into three groups and taught us the word hypothesis and we talked about challenging our theories through experimentation. We are scientists. We were going to make Hypotheses. Our wheels were turning and we were ready to experiment!

Our first group to start out was named the STAR egg droppers. Maddy, Ari, Isabel, Tyler, Noah, Dakota and Claire were part of this group. We decided to take into consideration Sydney B.s idea and start with the slide. Ari had mentioned a dump truck for safety and we went from there. We could tell that this was not going to be safe though. The egg was rolling around all over in the back of the truck. STICKS Claire chimed in. That will hold the egg down. Everyone scavenged for some small sticks. We put those around and our egg still was not so secure. Is there any other materials that we need I asked. Isabel suggested we could use some toilet paper and stick it in the holes around where the egg was. We carefully added the toilet paper. Noah and Dakota suggested we use sand. We used lots of sand to secure the egg. We even carefully put some sand over the top. What if it all falls out they said? We needed something to secure our load. Ari and Tyler came up with tape. Maddie suggested we could put sticks across the back and put tape over it. Sounds great. Our load was secured and taped up. Dakota suggested we use some string and Ari said we could hold onto it as it goes down. Our Dump truck egg drop was set up. Noah helped carry the truck to the climber. Some of the group stayed at the top of the slide while others chose to be reporters and stay at the bottom for the results. The truck was slowly lowered to about half way down and as it was let go it flew off the slide and landed on its side. WAS THE EGG CRACKED? Our hypothesis stated that it would not break if it was rolled down the slide and it was cozy so it could not move. We were correct. It didn’t break our egg was safe.

Our next hypothesis was that the egg might break if there were two eggs in the truck - they might hit each other and then crack. They were not in the safety of the sticks, toilet paper and sand. They just had some tape so they would not roll out. As the truck went down the eggs flew out and both cracked instantly. We were right that they might crack but it was not from hitting each other but rather it was from flying out of the truck. 

We decided to do more independent egg drops from the top of the climber by the fire pole. We initially wanted to release the egg from high up like Teacher Lisa.  Dakota went up to the top first with his egg in a brown wood bowl. He released the egg and it flew out and cracked. The reporters noticed it was the impact of the egg flying out and hitting the hard ground. 

Isabel was next. She realized from Dakota’s experiment that the egg needed to be taped in. She thought toilet paper again might help its safety. She placed the egg in the wood bowl and put a toilet paper roof over the top and taped it in. The egg was dropped many gathered around to be reporters and again it broke. This time it broke in the bowl though. Noah, Claire and Dakota filled buckets with sand to cushion the fall of the next egg. Tyler brought over the mat and set it close to where we hoped the next egg would drop.

Claire decided to wrap the egg in toilet paper and change the bowl to a smaller bowl. She wrapped it up taped it in and decided to throw hers down with the egg facing the ground instead of facing the sky. The egg dropped and the reporters gathered it WORKED! We had a few more eggs to experiment with so we continued on.

Noah put the egg in a round shallow circular dish. He put string around the egg and then taped it all into the dish. His theory was that he would use the string to lower the egg. This was a new idea. The reporters gathered and he lowered the egg but the string was too short to lower it all the way down. The egg dropped from about 4 feet. The impact of the fall caused the egg to break. 

Ari decided to wrap it in toilet paper then put string around it and placed it in a dish that was almost as small as the egg. He lowered it down with string also. The string let the fall be from about 3 feet and the impact of the fall was too much and still the egg cracked.

Tyler decided to try something new with the bowls. He put the egg in one dish and then put a lid out of another bowl. He taped this whole thing together and lowered it carefully with a long string. He lowered it about 6 inches above the ground and let go. Reporters gathered around and removed the lid It WORKED! 

Maddie wrapped her egg in toilet paper and placed it in a cozy dish with a lid similar to Tyler’s idea. She covered it with tape and added string. Her egg about 2 feet from the ground and the reporters said it cracked but only a little tiny crack. It was close.

They decided it’s best to lower eggs down to the ground or surround them in a lot of comfy toilet paper and tape and drop them from upside down. If you send them down the slide you have to make sure they are really secure in the truck with sand sticks and toilet paper and tape. We are excited to see what inventions the next two groups come up with. We learned from watching each other’s egg drops and the other groups will learn something from us.

Art Appreciation

“Everyone wants to understand art. Why don't we try to understand the song of a bird? Why do we love the night, the flowers, everything around us, without trying to understand them? But in the case of a painting, people think they have to understand.”     Pablo Picasso 

“I like to draw...ummm...kitty cats and...hokey mokey pokey smokie – yup.” Mabel

 
I recently had the great good fortune to read a retrospective Artist review written by one of our Kids Place parents. The review spotlights the creative development of his daughter's first three years of artistic expression and it is truly awesome. Mabel's unique style and energy clearly shine through her father's appreciation of her artistic endeavors. Rather than simply stating “Mabel throws away many of her pictures.”, he invites us to see the phenomenal spirit guiding his daughter's finished product: “We are fortunate to have [the artwork in the collection] because, like many artists, Mabel sees the destruction of her work as part of the creative process. She believes that, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, great artistic creation is born of destruction.” With his words, Mabel's Dad has placed a velvet rope around a very young child's fingerpainting that tells the whole world “This is Valuable Work.”

 While I absolutely respect the University of Washington's multi-million dollar Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences Developing Mind Project, their assertion that “Fundamental to understanding human learning and development is finding a way to peer inside the human brain to see how it works.” is so very academic. Their website goes on to say: “I-LABS is now home to a one-ton machine that can safely read the mind of a seven-pound baby, yielding important clues into how, where and when human learning happens. The exquisitely sensitive MEG brain imaging device can map the mental activity of an infant only a few days old and proves that newborn brains are anything but empty.” I'm betting that Mabel's Dad already knew this.

He divided Mabel's Art and Photography collection into periods of which the first two are The State of Chaos and The State of Measurably Less Chaos:

Period #1: The State of Chaos is the period not long after Mabel left the peaceful, rhythmic, cozy confines of the womb and entered a world of loud, poking, prodding, sleep-deprived giants. It was a world in which Mabel had little control over the daily choices in life, and the word “NO” had not yet entered her limited vocabulary. During the State of Chaos, her art is characterized by chaotic scribbles in a random assortment of colors. She exhibits little control over her pen strokes, and this is a reflection of the time.

Period #2 The State of Measurably Less Chaos is a time when Mabel began to learn to control the world around her. She learned the word “NO”, and she learned to use hands to control her world and reduce the chaos. During the State of Measurably Less Chaos she uses her hands to positive effect in her abstract art, and she also uses her hands to make non-abstract objects like turkeys and pumpkins.

Outside the research laboratory, parents and teachers must “peer inside” children everyday - their ability, their motivation, their anxiety – with very few experiment controls and much, much greater consequences. Regular engagement with young children is an ever-shifting platform: what worked yesterday is only slightly likely to work again today and absolutely guaranteed not to work with your second child if it worked with your first. As the parent of two amazing, infinitely different girls, I firmly believe that no matter how fully scientists can map the electrical, chemical, and structural processes of the pediatric brain, understanding our children is mostly a leap of faith fueled by love.

As teachers, we must make this leap a professional standard. Professor Lilian G. Katz in her article Taking a Stand on Standards of Experience suggests that the question, “What does it feel like to be a child in this environment day after day after day?” should be a primary assessment rubric in devising early learning programs. Professor Katz goes on to assert “A curriculum or teaching method focused on academic goals emphasizes the acquisition of bits of knowledge and overlooks the centrality of understanding as an educational goal. After all, literacy and numeracy skills are not ends in themselves but basic tools that can and should be applied in the quest for understanding.” Diane Trister Dodge's The Creative Curriculum has evolved into the “Whole-Child” assessment tool adopted by the State of Washington's Department of Early Learning. On page one, Dodge states: “The primary teaching goal is to help young children use the environment productively and see themselves as capable learners – as individuals who are developing the skills and understandings that will enable them to make sense of the world and to succeed in it.”

Before a child can see themselves as capable learners, they must first be encouraged to see themselves. Before they can integrate what they have learned into their understanding of the world, they must first understand how they themselves fit into that world. Children are definitely aware of their differences from each other and even from themselves at earlier stages of development. Helping them to identify and utilize the strengths of these differences builds a picture of themselves, a foundation on which all other learning will depend.

 This is what Mabel's Dad has collected as surely as the saved paintings and photos.

Self Portrait Art as Education

The Annual Kids Place Art Show will be presented at Brasserie 4 beginning January 28th! While the children are absorbed in creating art in our classrooms, I'd like to share with you why we believe their time is so well spent this way.

Project Zero, a research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has investigated the development of learning processes in children, adults, and organizations since 1967. Their chart showing 8 Studio Habits of Mind provides an exceptionally clear framework for discussing the science of a child's artistic expression. In fact, this same framework uncovers habits of self-awareness,

risk-taking, creativity, critical reflection, social connection and collaborative thinking in our classroom activities. Let's take a look at these eight perspectives through the particular focus on the self-portraits that our kindergarten-bound students are so diligently creating.

Our classrooms all have open access to and regular encouragement in the use of drawing supplies meant to enhance fine motor skills. In addition to markers and chalk, pastels and colored pencils, we introduce the children to the nuances embodied by watercolor versus tempera paints. The first Studio Habit of Mind “Develop Craft: Learning to use tools, materials, artistic conventions; and learning to care for tools, materials, and space” reinforces their awareness not only of the physical technique but the variation possible in expressing exactly what they mean.

We consider the full self-portrait to be one of our best proofs that these older children are mastering the skills they will employ for the rest of their lives. As such, everyone wants to be certain they have the chance to do their very best work. Each child works individually with Teacher Sarah to first pencil draw, then outline, then embellish and fine-tune their self-portrait. The approximately two hours of focused, careful effort occurs in our regular classroom with all the sound and motion distractions nineteen classmates can muster. It's easy to see the second Studio Habit at work: “Engage & Persist: Learning to embrace problems of relevance within the art world and/or of personal importance, to develop focus conducive to working and persevering at tasks. ”

While we encourage the artist to study their body in a big mirror, the production of the self-portrait usually occurs with minimal references back to the mirror. I have watched Teacher Sarah touch a child's shoulder at the point that it connects to the neck or to the arm to explain what may be missing in the child's drawing but the transfer of this information to the child's mind, then to their drawing hand is incredibly sophisticated. Studio Habit three: “Envision: Learning to picture mentally what cannot be directly observed and imagine possible next steps in making a piece. ” is a perfect example of the wondrous achievements occurring constantly in our children's early learning.

When Teacher Sarah sits down with each child, the direction is rather simple – make a picture of your whole body. Easy right? Well, the children can make it appear so but I have tried and it is really difficult! Not only are they working with art elements of proportion and perspective, we have asked them to fulfill Studio Habit four: “Express: Learning to create works that convey an idea, a feeling, or a personal meaning. ” We display the portraits on the classroom wall as each is finished. During our morning circle, we have talked about what makes us look the same and what makes us look different. I am amazed at the prompt, certain response as we point to each self-portrait and ask “Who is this?” These four and five year old children have created a picture of themselves so unique and full of character that their peers can identify the artist.

I've mentioned that these self-portraits are not initiated nor completed in a closed studio. The children watch each other creating, make suggestions to the artist, and give feedback on the finished portrait. I've yet to hear superficial judgement commentary such as “That is pretty” or “It looks good”. Already, our preschoolers are experts at finding small details that set apart items and experiences that are apparently alike. I invite you to listen closely to children using Studio Habit five: “Observe: Learning to attend to visual contexts more closely than ordinary “looking” requires, and thereby to see things that otherwise might not be seen.”

Most adults think of art as subjective – you like what you like and it can be hard to explain why or why not. Studio habit six: “Reflect: Learning to think and talk with others about an aspect of one’s work or working process, and, learning to judge one’s own work and working process and the work of others” exercises clear articulating and listening in ways that our society often forgets. Imagine if you can, the adults in your extended family or workplace involved in the self-portrait process I've described at Kids Place. Maintaining a willing and open mind while working with a facilitator, incorporating random feedback from peers, and noticing the physical details of another artist's expression rather than just judging it – these are attributes well worth championing!

Studio Habit six: “Stretch & Explore: Learning to reach beyond one's capacities, to explore playfully without a preconceived plan, and to embrace the opportunity to learn from mistakes. ” Have I mentioned that the artists are four and five years old? They have just mastered the fine motor skills of holding a pencil correctly, drawing straight and curved lines and we expect them to create a recognizable, relatively accurate portrayal of their own human body. Teacher Sarah starts with the things we know that we know: I have this many legs, this many arms and hands, this many ears, my hair is this color, my eyes are this color. The stretch from knowing how many fingers they have to actually drawing them, in the right proportion and often in the right shape to convey their own special personality requires risk-taking. We do not have a tracing template of the body that each child then decorates. Every element of their publicly celebrated art reveals their skills.

Many of our artists have had siblings or friends who have been through the self-portrait process themselves. This is one of the gifts of an Annual activity – the children enter into a group who has already achieved similar creation. In addition, all of the preschoolers in our Big Room go on walking field trips during the month to find Art in our neighborhood. Studio Habit eight: “Understand Arts Community: Learning to interact as an artist with other artists i.e., in classrooms, in local arts organizations, and across the art field) and within the broader society. ” allows these very young people to view themselves firmly as part of society, capable and confident in their ability to participate productively.

As you may guess, there are reams of research studies documenting the value of Art education in all classrooms from toddler through elder care. Here is the first link that webs to one hundred others: http://www.pz.harvard.edu/

From a Parent's Perspective

Mary Burt, Science Outreach Coordinator at Whitman College

Our first experience with The Kid’s Place was the year before my oldest started kindergarten. Although I had been working part-time since he was a toddler and was already attending another childcare center, I had just accepted a position at Whitman College and thought I should take a look at the center on campus. I went on a tour and I brought my mother, who is an elementary school teacher. I had no complaints about the preschool my son was in, but the minute we left the building, my mother (who rarely gives advice) insisted that I get him signed up for Kid’s Place as soon as possible. As a specialist in early childhood education, she immediately recognized the value of the Reggio philosophy and child-centered care.

Fast forward three years later: Our son is now in 2^nd grade and our two daughters happily attend The Kid’s Place two days a week. Katie is 3 ½ and is in “The Big Room” and Libby is 20 months and is part of “The Baby Room”. We have three very different kids with unique personalities, and somehow The Kid’s Place has managed to be a perfect fit for each one of them. It has also managed to be a great fit for me as well. As a part-time employee, I needed part-time childcare for my children that didn’t involve sitting in front of a TV screen eating crackers. This is surprisingly difficult to find, particularly for children under 3. With my youngest daughter, we simply weren’t able to find it and I had to take an extended leave followed by hiring an in-home nanny two days a week until she was old enough to go to Kid’s Place (at 18 months). Kid’s Place is known for offering families flexible schedules. Families can choose a “regular schedule”, “Whitman faculty schedule” or the local “school district schedule”. Families can have care for two days a week, mornings-only, full-time care, and options in between. Families can also choose to enroll their children over the summer for the number of days that are needed or choose not to enroll them. Many childcare arrangements require that families pay for childcare over the summer, whether they use it or not, so this is a great benefit to parents who do not require summer time childcare.

The Kid’s Place is a non-profit organization, and the founding Director, Kathy McConnell, does amazing things to help the center work for each child and family. There is a sliding fee scale, which was put in place to ensure that high quality childcare is attainable not only for tenured faculty who may have higher salaries, but also for new faculty and staff members and other members of the community. As a board member for the past three years, I can attest that this flexibility has not made the center much money, but somehow Kathy has kept us in the black each year, just as she has for the past 28 years.

The staff at The Kid’s Place are dedicated to the Reggio philosophy and to each of the children. They are truly the shining stars of the place and their enthusiasm and commitment to the organization is what gives the center its unique culture. Each of my children have benefitted from their teachers working together to develop budding interests and build upon the kid’s strengths.

My children are more well-rounded, happy little people because of their experiences here.