A 2021-2022 Day in the Life of Dancing Primes (Toddlers)
8:00: Drop off, Free Play, Art Explorations
The children are welcomed into their classroom space with a wide variety of inviting materials such as tools for digging, balls, slides, climbing trees, and a “clubhouse” to play inside. We offer art projects outdoors such as decorating the fence with stringing beads, wrapping beautiful yarn and ribbon on trees, or painting large sheets of fabric hanging up on our clubhouse. Children are offered a chance to explore all of their senses in a welcoming, supportive environment that invites freedom of choice and creative expression.
9:15: Morning Meeting
We greet each other, we move and breathe together through stretching, yoga, or games. We share with each other and we make plans for our day. We often discuss the weather and what we will need to prepare for our day together. Some days we pack our adventure packs and head to the woods for snacks. Other days, we stay on the playground and eat our snack under our tent.
9:30/9:45: Snack time is our Story Time
Sometimes, teachers read picture books to the children and sometimes the children take turns making up their own stories. We often play, “and then what happened?” This is a game where the children tell stories and then take turns filling in “what happens next.” We eat, we play, and we practice our independence by unpacking and packing up our own snacks.
10-10:30: Potty Time and Free Play
Children are encouraged to use the potty indoors or in our woods spot. We encourage independence from even our youngest children and empower children to learn how to take care of their own bodies. During potty transitions, one teacher stays with the children. This is typically a time where children are “free playing.” In the woods, the children typically use this time to climb on “The Dragon,” a downed tree in the woods, find trash to clean up the earth, run away from snakes, or decorate the Forest with string.
10:30: Playground Time or Woods Adventures
We use our bodies to learn and grow by climbing, running, playing structured games, or exploring pretend play with each other on the playground or in the woods. We split up our week so that we spend half of our morning time in the woods and half on the playground.
12:00: Lunch
We eat lunch under the tent outside. We often tell stories about our day. We take turns sharing stories or talking about the food we are eating. Sometimes, teachers ask questions about the kids day such as “what did you play at school today,” and we practice listening to each other and reflecting on our days together.
1-2:30: Rest Time
Children nap indoors on cozy mats with quiet, relaxing music. Children who do not sleep are offered a mat to lie down and books to look at or quiet activities to play at their spot
2:30-3:00: Wake Up/Pack Up
Children are gently woken up. They are then given help by the teachers to pack their things up. We then walk outside together to greet our grown-ups for pick-up time.