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misc thread of threads about working in a preschool https://t.co/MSOwSenLXe
@love_of_reason @sashachapin people sometimes try to get at that as the mothering and fathering force, but i really like these: the desire-centered and the adaptiveness-centered, and where they meet one of the things about working preschoolers is often helping those parts meet
thinking today about culture humans pass down culture to their little ones and to each other. in a way, that's the grand fire of humanity: the fire of knowledge and skill, kept alive generation to generation, spread around, made even grander https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
there's no time for me to "get properly ready" for my shift. i just need to show up however i am. however i am, that's what the kids get i am getting the sliiiightest taste of what it's like being a parent. it doesn't matter if you're ready. whatever you are is whatever they get https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
“The teacher must be dignified as well as attractive. The teacher must be superior and not just a friend, as she is in today’s schools. The teacher and the children are not equals. There are enough children in the class without the teacher becoming a child with the children…
the most important thing i did today was plant a bee bush that will bring native californian bees the most important thing i did yesterday was play and tend to preschoolers the most important thing i did the day before that was hold what used to be a beating heart in my hands https://t.co/91Knhfw3oU
when kids make art, it's so obviously about whatever's just on their minds i think that would be good for me as an adult too. when im making art? it's just about whatever's on my mind. no fancy themes. just straightforwardly whatever's on my mind https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
on preschool and time: >The concept of allowing a child to complete an activity… was subordinate to the compelling nature of the 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦. >Instead, structure was believed efficient by the staff… and intended to give children a sense of security and consistency https://t.co/FMQLSA6HsR https://t.co/1xNbT6yd5u
>Thus, the roles in this book occurred in many homes naturally and without reflection. The behaviours of…parents and children were so embedded in the setting that they became invisible and hence unimportant. Today…essential to recreate an experience that once happened naturally https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk https://t.co/6NFHCEhUMF
so much of working with kids is just remembering things about them. having trouble leaving parents? "i remember before you loved playing with X! want to…?" feeling distressed and ill? bring over their favourite children's book https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
i am developing hate in my heart for the playground inspection people. so many iconic play elements gone. and they're still after the remaining ones. they have no room for nuance. you can't explain to them no one ever got hurt on the fireman's pole, or the rope swing https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
not me but ❤️ https://t.co/PbXJNgVWxW
So picture this: you’re a little kid climbing a stegosaurus statue and it is dwarfed by a featureless white plastic wall. The construction company pictured that. And painted an 8x10 foot dinosaur themed mural on the temporary wall. That’s the entire story.
the same things that make me confident and effective as a teacher in the preschool (a feeling of mastery, autonomy, connection) are the same things that help kids be engaged in a new activity so much of helping them with an activity is helping them feel those things https://t.co/QGAT4a6bo6
so this is actually how chatgpt has helped me write too, and to be honest, when i want preschoolers to figure out something themselves, i sometimes "do it in a bad way" just for them to be like "NOOO THAt'S DUMB" and suddenly they're engaged and figuring it out https://t.co/sz1uDIWaM2
completely tangentially, research on baby language acquisition shows that the size of your vocabulary or number of distinct words spoken to the baby matters way less than just how many conversational turns you take back and forth https://t.co/cYRH4P2HAg
ime it seems false that kids have a short attention span? they seem to have very long attention span—if it's something they're interested in they just have a short attention span for boring adult things like reading and homework https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
some observations about lying 1. at some point, children seem to discover lying 2. some do it more than others 3. some have phases where they do it a lot 4. it is extremely funny to see parents realise their precious little one has played them in the most gangsta way https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
it's funny, some of the older children are so much better than others at resolving conflict. it's a real skill. they flexibly propose solutions, peacably work it out, aren't too bothered. i can see how the skills and experiences here actually accrete https://t.co/rih8KV9wPk
one of the things they recommend to work with difficult children is to observe them for a while. when you do that, you can't help but like them more and you know one of the heartbreaking thing about kids is they always know which adults actually like them https://t.co/QGAT4a5Dyy
>Would another teacher have rushed in to correct him? Would they have not noticed that he actually knows when his letters are written funny? Would it have sucked some of the fun out to have a teacher correct him every time? Would they have not waited https://t.co/5vpS0YYUWG https://t.co/4AUVIFXLU4
it takes effort to put our hands into the world, and make things. i see this with my preschoolers all the time. cutting paper, does not come for free. moulding sand into shapes, does not come for free. they fight for the right to mould the world as they see fit every day https://t.co/QGAT4a6bo6
my intuition was spot-on i learned way more about mythosomatics and ritual, and storytelling and singing and communal cohesion building, from working at a preschool than from adult attempts to "create ritual" and "group bonding" in the same way
it’s something i saw at the preschool all the time. did someone stub their toe? spill their water and feel kind of dumb about it? you could almost see the charge of energy build up in their body. some would completely try to arrest it. some would cry
my "productivity technique" is "do whatever feels like the most important thing to be doing right now". and quite often, it'll be scary, or tedious, in which case i help myself do it the way i'd help a 5yo it works. it feels obvious. it makes me think what was i doing before?
@webdevMason standard advice to preschool teachers was to not ask a question if you don't genuinely intend to give the child a choice 1. ask questions when you genuinely intend to give them a choice 2. otherwise, kindly say, "i am going to do this now, ok?"