We finished up D Week where we learned that dots do a lot! We gave our cardboard Dotty the Dot D her eyes and name tag and they joined Abe the Apple A, Bobby the Bubble B and Claudia the Cloud C. We sat on dots and next to dots, we finished our fine motor sticker dot work, we made more noise with dot painting all while exploring the opportunities for Containment: getting small and cozy, using blankets, getting held, safely hiding. You can read more about this Coping Skill below as well as some ideas to try at home.
We played so much today, learning every step of the way. Enjoy these pictures, videos and 3 fun questions below…
Our Story Time book this week is Dad’s First Day. This sweet (and a little silly) book is from our local library and I will return it after this week.
We also welcomed October with new orange things: all the Tiny Things are orange, there are orange pumpkins in the Cloud Dough, the play dough is orange and the books have a lot of orange pumpkins and leaves.
Here are 3 questions to learn more about Thursday:
What did you eat for snack today?
During Snack Time we read Curious George and the Puppies (it’s at our local library!) since we know that puppies are baby dogs. While listening in the morning we had donuts from Arthur and Julian plus grapes and goldfish. In the afternoon we celebrated Axel’s birthday with cookies all the way from Wichita, juice pouches and oranges…we got great hand exercise peeling them! Thank you, Arthur, Julian and Axel!
Where did you put dot paint marks?
On the table? No…. On the front of your journal? No… On the paper in your journal? YES!
Some friends matched the dots on their journal label, some mixed colors and some used blue dot markers to put out pretend fires, just like the fire fighters would.
Did you hide at preschool? Did you find anyone at preschool?
There were children, teachers and stuffed dogs hiding all over the place! We were just like Oliver’s daddy in our Story Time book. Dotty the Dot D even got to help find children who were hiding!
Our Sound Shower turned into a great hiding place as a Sound Tunnel and a great cozy place as a Sound Cradle. My dad made this for us a couple of years ago and it is such a treasure. You can hear it in the background of our playtime videos.
However, an important part of the work we do with hiding is explain the safety parameters. Hiding is safe when children will call out “I’m here” if the caregiver needs to know where they are. We practiced this too with a subtle connection to fire safety prompted by a Circle Time drawing of a house that had a fire problem inside. Ms Kristin drew a girl who was so scared she wanted to hide, but the safe thing was to go with her grown ups.
Another thing that the children don’t hear from me is that they are also learning the skill necessary in crisis situations (intruder, lockdown, ALICE). They are following my directions immediately, being silent, being loud, crowding together, calling out, “I’m here!” and more. I did a little rant video for other educators on social media because I am so committed to keeping children safe while also not carrying responsibility for adult jobs. Let me know if you have questions or concerns.
BONUS “Phone Mirror” content (when I put my camera on selfie mode so the children are looking at themselves):
Coping Skill of the Week: Containment
This week we are exploring “Containment.” We already have practice with sitting or laying on our dot spots at Circle Time, making our bodies small to hide in our cubbies and curling up in blankets. This week we will be naming these behaviors and noticing how and when our bodies want it. When children come and lean in to a caregiver’s body, it may be meeting this need. When they request a blanket to make a fort or a cozy den, it may be meeting this need. Read on for some ideas to use at home as well as understanding how your child uses this Coping Skill at preschool.
This week’s Coping Skill questions you can ask your child:
What blanket do you like to use at preschool? Children have access to a wide variety of blankets at preschool: knitted and crocheted afghans, cotton quilts, synthetic fuzzy blankets and thin sheets. We have hooks and clips for making forts and also allow children to have a blanket whenever they want one (at snack time, Circle Time, while playing, outside, etc).
Do you ever like a teacher to hold you or do you like to sit by a teacher? We will absolutely hold children when they request it. As you can see in many photos, the teacher’s hands will be by their sides so that the child has 100% autonomy in ending the interaction. We will also honor a child’s request to sit by a teacher (when there isn’t room because both sides are occupied, we might invite a child to go to another teacher, make a plan for next time or to squeeze them in behind…I call this the Mama Hen pose lol).
Is there a cozy spot at home? You can offer a corner in a room, a place under a table or even a box. When given a designated space to “hide” or contain themselves, you may notice your child gravitating there. This could very well be them intuitively knowing they need containment to regulate their nervous system.
newcreationpreschool.com 
I just enjoyed a relaxed viewing of your posts for yesterday, October 10. I feel more hopeful — and more contained — than I did when I first woke up. Thank you for your love and creativity and energy and joy and emphathy and relaxed guidance you are offering these precious children. Couldn’t be more proud of you! ❤️