Nadirchat

Scary, to cause fright or alarm, has many interpretations depending on the person who is scared. For children the source of "Scary" can be come from anywhere; a fire alarm, a imagined monster, a character in a movie or book, a neighborhood dog. The list is endless. So how do we help them to deal with "scary" Drawing and discussions are a good place to start. For Sophia, aged four, scary was the witch in Snow White. Of particular "scariness" were her long fingernails, the wart on her nose and her scary nose. Sophia chose the color green to accent the features that scared her the most. She also added a bubbling cauldron filled with poison apples. Here is her story A witch isn't real it's just in your mind. If you think about it in your mind it could be scary but it's not real. It's just imagination because there is no such thing as witches because they're just in movies and stories. They're scary because they could kill people and bec...

Meet Marlow (the youngest of my nieces), a capricious two and half year old that would astound the most seasoned educator. This preschooler has the vocabulary of a child 3 times her age, she recognizes letters and is able to give examples of words that begin with the letter sound. She sat through the Broadway production of the Wizard of Oz and was able to answer questions about the story line, knowing that in order for Dorothy to get home she had to bring the Wizard the witch's broom. She recalls details of family vacations and events. She converses in full sentences, using part of the question in her answer. She holds her pencil using a firm pincer grasp and draws a face; two eyes, a nose, mouth and a tear drop for good measure. So what makes Marlow so exceptional? Was she born with amazing aptitude or is it environment? Marlow has two older siblings 12 and 10 years old and she attends daycare.  She has one cousin who is ...

This afternoon, as I browsed through old folders, I came across these beautiful photos. Of course, I've seen them many times, but today I was captivated by the way the sunlight filtered through the window and came to rest on the children and their work. The beauty of this particular experience was not only about the art created but also about the way the drawing table was placed by the window with intention. It makes us reflective of how the environment impacts an experience.

When you provide children with a bucket full of objects, interesting experiences happen.