Growing Together as a Community With The Dancing Primes (Toddlers)

We are now seven weeks into the school year, a significant period of time in the life of a toddler, and a length of time in which the amazing, unique, and individual personalities of each child are shining through every day.  The Dancing Primes have worked hard learning one another’s names, remembering the physical layout of our classroom, school, and outdoor campus, learning the classroom routines, and “moving together” during our transitions very seriously. The Dancing Primes truly enjoy and love one another and we can see their relationships connecting them together as a cohesive group.  Now that the Dancing Primes are sure that school is a safe place to learn and play, have figured out the expectations of our days, and have begun forming strong interpersonal relationships, they are able to begin the deeper work of understanding what it means to be a part of a larger community.  For students this young, this happens in several different ways, including the introduction of ideas through books, songs, and visuals, and practicing these concepts throughout their daily interactions with one another and other Center School community members. 

In addition to We Move Together by Anne McGuire and Kelly Fritsch, the Dancing Primes have been reading Yes! No! A First Conversation about Consent by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, & Isabel Roxas. This book has many big ideas and concepts to tackle and so the Dancing Primes teachers have been reading one or two pages at a time in order to allow the Dancing Primes ample opportunity to hear the words as they are read aloud, look closely at the pictures, and answer guided questions about how these ideas relate to their days.  For example, this book has helped us learn that everyone is different and that we can ask for a hug, a turn with a toy, to sit close to one another, and to play together. We are also learning that “no” can take many forms and be said in many ways, including using words such as “no” or “it’s my turn,” or through body language, such as moving away or putting out a hand. The Dancing Primes have been studying the pictures in these books carefully to learn which emotions are displayed on the characters faces and what their bodies might look like during these scenarios, and the Dancing Primes teachers help to demonstrate this as well as remind the students about a time when this happened in our class. 

Because this important work, trust and understanding continues to grow between all Dancing Primes and their teachers. As we all learn about each other, we are able to take on new challenges and adventures during our days, including longer outdoor explorations of our campus. These adventures now include walks to the field behind our school, the tunnel beneath our school’s driveway, both Woods Primes classrooms, and the meadow for a picnic snack with the Woods Primes.  The Dancing Primes continue to incorporate the foundational ideas of We Move Together and how to be safe when walking in our school’s parking lot and along our road by looking for cars, staying to the side when walking, holding hands, using “walking feet”, and making sure our bodies are calm. As we navigate new areas of our campus, the Dancing Primes have learned about taking “big steps” in taller grass, walking around or over rocks and branches, and looking at the ground to identify the best “path” for walking. The Dancing Primes teachers use familiar language during these adventures in order to ensure we move as a group and stay safe in these new places, including, “Let’s stay together!” and, “Are we all together?” The Dancing Primes have learned to stop, look for one another, and come back to the group if need be in order to move together to our next destination. One of these destinations included both of the Woods Primes classrooms, where the Dancing Primes continued to apply all of their new skills when navigating both the physical environment as well as social interactions, as the kindergarten and first graders eagerly showed the Dancing Primes around. Feeling comfortable in this new space with new faces shows just how far the Dancing Primes have come since their first days of school.  Keep an eye out for us around campus to see where we will go next!