It's a busy time of year for all of us. We're creating new beginnings. Parents, teachers, administrators and, of course, children are anticipating a brand-new school year.
We, the teachers, met for a full week prior to the opening of school What were we doing? We organized our materials, shared some new and important concepts, and we set up our rooms.
Why do we put so much thought and energy into the process of preparing our rooms? The Italian educator, Loris Malaguzzi has written about the concept of the environment as the third teacher. You, the parents, are the child's first teacher. The classroom teachers are your child's second teachers. The third teacher is the environment--our classrooms and our playground. We strive to make our rooms, and the yard, functional and beautiful. All three--parents, teachers and the environment, serve to "ignite learning."
We're off to a wonderful beginning--so here's to a year of function, beauty and learning . . .
fondly,
The Morahs of Kitah Gimmel
(Some information about the role of the environment was adapted from the NAEYC website. Go and visit to learn more.)
