Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

In 2011, when I finally made the effort to seek out and meet Bev Bos. One of the many things she told me to grab a pen and some paper and to ask the children.... "How does your story start?" Bev was very specific, Do not ask children IF they have a story.... Simply ask, "How does your story start?" and be ready to write.....  G. age 4- "I saw the car looks like ours, but our purple car is SO BIG, but our car is purple and I saw Alex's van. I went to work with daddy and I saw a truck and a taxi. I saw the truck and I saw the police and I saw the snow plow. I saw a fire hat and the police and a pilot and a doctor and he was so mad he looked like a tiger and he was SO BIG, but I wanna be so big like my mom. Levin is my friend but Billy is my cousin. I love Grace and I shot it and is trying to get me all the time and Charlotte is a caterpillar and looks like a tiger and he's trying to get me and I saw hats outside and just went home all of the time and he...

Embracing play, and child led investigations means letting go of adult agendas. It means dropping your preconceived ideas of what "needs" to happen at the door, and it means trusting the children. You may have some ideas of what might happen, but what or how things happen are not your decision to make. The investigation belongs to the children. It does not mean that you as an adult don't have a role. It means that your job is to follow and to help meet the needs of each child, you are there to assist when needed and to be an invisible support.  In the art area it means being ready to help change out paper, refilling paint containers, and assisting children to navigate social situations when needed. It also means cleaning and refreshing places so that it is ready for the next child. This is HARD! I know- to let go of all of the "cute" projects and crafts that take you hours to prepare, and children seconds to complete. (or were primarily complet...

"NO BOYS ALLOWED!!!!" A few years ago, hearing that statement would have stopped me in my tracks. At the time in my journey, with all good intent, I would have made sure that exclusion was not a part of our day. "Everyone plays or no one plays" was part of our mantra.  I was concerned about everyone feeling like they belonged and I used my power as the adult to impose that false sense of community upon our program. Looking back- I do a palm slap..... what was I thinking? I mean, in reflection I was trying to create an environment that was not real, and that was in no way helping the children I was entrusted to care for. My job, as their teacher and caregiver was to assist them in being where they are developmentally and to help them navigate their social world. Creating an environment that was not real- that was falsified by "everyone is friends here" and "everyone plays" prevented the children from opportunities to experience their ful...

I am part og an amazimg new collaboration over at www.playempowers.blogspot.com My first post on exclusion in play is now live! Hop on over amd check it out! (CLICK THIS LINK).

We are always looking for ways to repurpose, reuse and "upcycle."  After one of our family dinner excursions, I was inspired to make these DIY  Upcycled Translucent Blocks to use on our light table.  Please note that this post contains affiliate links.  When we go out to dinner, my family often entertains each other by building structures with the various things on the table at the restaurant while we wait for our food. We have made some very interesting towers and creations with the coffee creamers and the single serving jam containers. After one of our recent ventures, I was thinking about different things we could use to build at home... and voila..... the inspiration: Empty plastic baby food containers! However, I didn't just want to use them as is. I know they are fun to build with without doing anything with them, but I wanted to add some color and make a nice set for our light table. So, I gathered my supplies. (If you remember we have used the lids from these cont...

With the extreme weather this week, we have not been able to spend time outside. (When I say extreme, I mean that the windchill has been so cold that the local public schools have closed). With the extra indoor time, our easels have been busier than normal! Today, one of the "paintbrushes" of choice was a hand drill.  The set up for this is quite simple, instead of using a drill bit-- screw a paintbrush into the drill, set out for exploration and... sit back and watch! It usually takes a bit of concentration and tinkering to figure out how to make the drill work. Sometimes the paint never makes it onto the paper as it is quite engaging to spin the brush in the paint. The drills are always available for us, and having them at the easel is a very different experience from painting with them on the table or floor. A different muscle set is required to hold the drill up to paint on the easel. I cannot remember for sure where I first saw this idea, but I'm pretty sure it was i...

Life has been wonderful, amazing, and super busy! One of my goals for the new year is to get myself back into a regular blogging schedule where I can share a bit of our world with you on a more regular basis! For now, please enjoy a look at 14 seconds, 14 photos from our play journey over the past year. (If you are looking for more photos, hop on over to our Facebook Page ) Thanks for sharing in our journey, and hopefully I'll be back soon to share more of our adventures in as we learn through play!