The Inside Scoop

What do The Butterflies and Dragonflies talk about all day long? How are they interacting with each other and in what ways? What from their home life and experiences are they expounding upon through social interactions, dramatic play, building, story telling and art? Quite a bit! So much, in fact, that we have a pretty juicy archive to share with you! Here's a little peek, enjoy! 

I can show you how to tear the tape.
You have to hold it straight and cut it with the scissors. -Gaia

I'm calling our mother! So, we dressed her up and put on her bottoms.
*makes a beep sound* on no I can't hear her! - RIva
Our baby is so sick! - Basha
I know! Uch, she is sooooo cute! - Riva

I can see it from here, it looks different but does not look different. - Noam

Hi! Yes, I can ask Alex if he's available to fix that.
Alex are you available, no?
Okay, maybe Hendrix can because he's fixing the sea patroller.
Hendrix is not available either. Are you at Georgia Tech?
You are? Okay, I can meet you there. - Leo

Oliver- lets dig a deep hole

Hendrix- that’s deep, that’s China! 

Leo- Pandas are in China! 

Alex- make sure you don’t cover China up 

The baby is sick and she needs a shot.
After her shot she needs medicine and to rest. - Basha

Hendrix - These cakes have to bake a hundred a million times.
Leo - Mine (cake) is a strawberry-googer-de-googery

If your face is in the sun, that means the sun is hugging you. - Hudson

I like to eat popcorn only when I watch movies, 
yeah, me and my entire family. -Sloane

Maybe a long time ago, we're going to turn into adults. When
I grow up for real, I'm going to be a mom. For real life! - Maya

"Ice cream is NOT for breakfast!"- Raleigh

I ate dinner all day!
I had Mac n Cheese and my daddy ate all my salad! - Emilia 

This sign says “keep out”. This is a house 
that has cans full of oil. 
The oil charges the light and the light is what keeps 
the house charged. -Oliver 

Do you know how fast a cheetah goes? You don't know?!
It goes 100 fast. - Liana

Eric - (giving Raleigh a suggest on where to find his toy)
You have to go peaking for it. Do you know what peaking means?
It means you have to go to the hole (in the fence)
and squint your eyes under the crack.
Once you find your toy, you can reach your hand in and grab it!

I'm at the hospital and Emilia is my doctor. I’m sick.
I danced too much, and that’s why I’m sick.  -Yael

Baby Doll Circle Time in Pre-KA

We are starting something exciting in our class. It’s called Baby Doll Circle Time! Baby Doll Circle Time is a curriculum created by Conscious Discipline designed to promote healthy bonding and social-emotional skills in infants and toddlers.

Once a week when we gather on the rug for our regular circle time, the children are met with a big basket of cute, lifelike baby dolls. The children are prompted to choose a doll for themselves. We sing:

 “Get your baby, get your baby,

 get your baby, time to play,” 

to the tune of “Oh My Darlin,” 

signaling the beginning of the playtime. Then the fun begins!

 There are five steps to Baby Doll Circle Time:

1. Transition to getting your baby

2. Beginning awareness

3. Connection

4. Cuddling and soothing

5. End and transition to next activity

The children will interact with their baby dolls in the same ways we interact with the children individually. If we play peek-a-boo, stop and go, or tickling games with your child, your child will play the same game with the baby doll. In doing so, the children re-experience that connection over and over again, helping to optimize their social-emotional development. Baby Doll Circle Time is based on scientific understanding of brain function. It taps into "mirror neurons," cells in the brain that allow for the transfer of emotions merely by observing them.

Soothing our babies

 When children act out gentle, loving behaviors with their babies, they, in turn, receive that attention as if an adult was doing it with them! This is a huge boost in empathy development and will help children form more caring relationships.

KDH visits blabla Dolls

KDH has shown a keen interest and love for dolls. When we needed more, we made them by stuffing baby clothes, and making challah dolls with stockings and stuffing. What could we do with this interest to give our children a deeper experience?

Morah Dena suggested that we visit blabla dolls. blabla dolls is a company based in Atlanta that was begun by two friends, Susan Pritchett and Florence Wetterwald, who visited Peru together. They saw the knitting cooperatives and were inspired to start a business making cotton knitted dolls.

The car ride is always a treasured part of our field trips.

Less than 1.5 miles from IJP, on Virginia Avenue, tucked into a residential street is the store front and design center for this beautiful enterprise. 

The owners and employees prepared a special program for us. Our experience began in the store with  the children being encouraged to look around and asking them which dolls they wanted to hold and examine. The children chose the ones they liked and passed them along to each other. 

We were struck by the beauty and peace that we felt in the store. The love and respect that the blabla personnel have for children truly resonated with us.

After watching videos of the dolls, it was time for the children to help design a doll. Florence drew the basic doll on a very large chalkboard and asked the children what kind of doll they wanted to create. A koala bear blabla doll complete with a whistle was the result of this cooperative effort.

We were taken to the design center. Flo and Lora showed us the props that they make to use in their books and videos. They demonstrated how they stand up and steady the dolls for the picture taking. 

 May read us two entertaining books. We also saw videos of the women knitting the dolls. There are about twenty hours of work that go into making each doll!

Before we left, each child was presented with a bag with the catalog, stickers, a note pad, a coupon. 

 Anslee went home and found the blabla doll that her brother Reed had gotten when he was a new born. It stills looks new. Natalie used her pad and drew many more blabla dolls.

The next morning the children designed more blabla dolls and named them.

 These are being used for a thank you note!

Yinon's mom came in and showed us the knitted finger puppet that she knitted. She is coming in to make them with the class!

Dramatic play, knitting, geography, finding the hidden treasures in our neighborhood and the kindness of  the blabla dolls owners and employees are all part of this exciting outing!

Morah Ruth

Morah Sara