For those of you who thought I'd never post again, I am back, and I will try very hard to post at least three times a week. We'll see how I do...
I've found that I really enjoy my little 3 and 4 year old classes. They're so curious and eager to explore new things. They work very quickly and love to follow along. They're also very creative.
A couple of weeks ago, I had them all sit on the floor and I started putting different types of paper on the floor with them. I encouraged them to try new things with the paper. We folded, we tore, we even crumpled paper. In my 3 year old class, one out-going young lady took a whole stack of old dot-matirx printer paper and began unfolding it into one long sheet. She then started to wrap it around and around herself. Before long I had a 3 year old wrapped in white paper sitting on my floor with a huge grin on her face. Maybe it's because I was throwing a bridal shower for my sister-in-law to be, but I couldn't help but think of her as a little junior bride. I also kicked myself for not having the camera; I'm certain that her mother would have loved that photo.
Last time I saw them, I let them explore some clay. While we were practicing making our clay flat, I heard one of my 4 year old boys do a heart-felt rendition of "Who Let the Dogs Out". There's really nothing like watching a 4 year old beat on a hunk of gray clay who barking like a dog.
I have to admit that before this school year started I was a little nervous about having such young students. Now that I've seen them several times, I'm happy to admit that I love them. Not only are they entertaining, but it's refreshing to see how they look at things. I think I'm learning as much from them as they learn from me.