This is a letter from Finn's Grannie Annie, who visited us for Squash Soup Day last week:
I want to thank Audrey for the opportunity to spend the morning at your school. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I have worked as a visiting nurse in a maternal child health program/parent-child center in Vermont for 22 years. Part of my job allows me to work in our preschool program. So it was especially interesting to me to see how you do things in your preschool.
There were many things that impressed me, but I’ll just mention a few. I think Audrey does a wonderful job of creating a feeling of safety for children. This is so important as they begin their long school careers. They will be comfortable venturing forth in the future from such a secure first experience. The predictable rituals and routines, the gentleness of the teacher-child interactions, the effort made to help children feel a part of a little community--all of this allows children to relax and be open to learning, This is a strong foundation for whatever comes next.
I loved the organic way stories are created around the children’s experiences. The use of familiar puppet figures invites them to enter the stories (which are really about them) and practice their own problem solving skills. I like the use of simple open-ended materials. When children use simple objects--for example, pieces of fabric and blocks to represent themes in their play, it builds creativity and symbolic thinking-the precursors to literacy.
Of course I loved how the big squash from my garden was adopted by the school and eventually inspired an exploration of seeds, soup making, and reading the story Stone Soup. I was impressed by how every child stayed in the circle and listened to the reading of the entire book.
Sarah’s music is a wonderful contribution. I was impressed with how often she found ways to bring music and song into what was happening in the morning. She did this in such a natural, spontaneous way, as if music were just one of the ways people naturally communicate joy and fun in the course of a day. I would like to steal her away to Vermont!
Thank you, Audrey, for the opportunity to spend a morning in a very special classroom.
Anne Damrosch
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