Kath’s Blog

No matter how much time goes by, or what country I’m in, certain activities remain perpetual favorites with children. I see an empty box and think about the work of breaking it down and putting it into the recycling bin and did that little tiny thing really need to be delivered in a giant huge box. Our kiddos see a big empty box and think — fort!In spite of all of the many toys here at Oak Lane, big brown boxes are a...

Last week, a toddler resisted putting on his coat to go home. Did he a) not want to go home, b) not want to put on his coat, or, c) did he just want to do it himself? (The clue is in the word “toddler”.) His mom wisely gave him the opportunity to show what he could do. He didn’t mind putting on his coat at all — as long as he could do it himself.It has become a cliche, how toddlers want to do things themselves,...

Wednesday is Pizza Day here at Oak Lane. Our kiddos start announcing it to us and each other long before lunch time: “Today is Pizza Day!!!” Yes, triple exclamation points — that’s how excited they are, every week.This morning, our kiddos came inside after their morning adventure and sniffed the air. “The pizza is here — it smells so good!” (A couple little ones even pointed to their noses to...

A parent who usually arrives at the very beginning or end of the day, when only a few children are here, arrived mid-morning today. She expressed a sense of awe and gratitude for the wonder of toddler friendships, seeing first-hand how happy her little one and his friends are to be at school together. A classmate had warmly welcomed her child, sharing a cookie cutter to play with play-dough. Her son was delighted with his welcome, and...

How many times have you heard your child say that? And, how many times have you wanted to say that yourself? A child’s list of “I don’t want to” clean up the toys, sing that song, let my friend go first even if she’s the line leader today and I know I’ll get my turn tomorrow could easily be translated into my list of figure out next week’s schedule, clean out the stroller shed that the...

Last week, we had a couple of drills — fire, shelter-in-place. (You know the kind of thing, typical for this time of year at a school.) It’s a curious situation for a child — and a teacher — to be in. We always want our kiddos to feel safe. Yet, in order to keep them safe, we sometimes need to practice with our students what we would do if there were an unsafe situation. During both drills, our kiddos...