This is something I've begun conversations with employees about. The fact that their work does not have to be just like it was the day before, that is something we hold onto. Instead it is the process they are working on.

I like this as a piece to talk with parents about.

I find this interesting. This is a delicate balance between what we guide and what we step back with.

This is an interesting space when our classrooms are so small this year. The investigations become one for all and ideas are really group focused. How to really know your children with small class sizes is easy, how to differentiate is harder.

Love this!!! Giving some guiding questions to support the open ended piece.

This is what my teachers struggle with the most. How to ask open ended questions and not ask questions to answer what they think is needed for the project.

Such an interesting concept. Looking at the larger idea and bringing back to how the children can feel supported.

Such an interesting space to be. This again, helps us focus on stepping back and really understanding the simple, basic feelings of a child, without our imposition or assumption.

This is such an incredible image and message. This relates to so much of what the children are doing each and every day. The wonder is, how to take that to the next level with teachers. Finding the time in a setting where it costs so much to have too many employees.

I really love this idea. I think, so often, our youngest children are not given all of these resources. Finding ways to incorporate and respect children from birth with their education is key to our future.

This is the dream, right?!?! How to make sure that the youngest of children are given the same rights as the older children. That these teachers or guides are also given the same respect.

My question is how to support my teachers with this. Observation and documentation are huge. How do we support our teachers in this idea and give them the time to work together on solutions?

I watched this outside the other day with two children who are not able to fully communicate yet, but were able to share their feelings. The adult reminded the two toddlers that they can both have their own ideas, and do not need to push away, but rather share.

This is an interesting piece that I would love to dive into in more conversation. Understanding awareness is a huge piece of our work. How we begin to think about this with staff, what awareness means, and how we are stopping ourselves (myself) from jumping....

So so true! The issue I find, is then when and how to sit back, ponder, and not fix!

What a great way to put this. The meaning is as said below, something that is never complete. We are learning as adults right now, how do we connect this meaning with the meaning of something a child put out there yesterday. I love this about this course and about our practice.

What a beautiful metaphor for life :)

Is this not counterintuitive to what was said above? I understand that the projects are a space with an intended outcome, but wonder where the balance is here. What is the difference between the learning of teachers and learning of children?

The no outcomes piece is a space I would like to grow with. To question, to fall into. Teachers so quickly jump without realizing that the outcome may have nothing to do with the process or product. The outcome may not even exist!

YES! This is it! This is the area we need to take a breath before engaging, as parents, teachers, and administrators work through knots, I see intervention instead of investigation. Fixing rather than questioning.

I wonder how to begin this process. Teachers seem to be writing down the quotes that every child has, but not the circumstance or the actions. I've been thinking a lot about documentation and how you really find the balance between words, photos, and quotes.

This is so important! When to jump, and when to listen. When to ask a guiding question, vs give an example or an experiment. When teachers engage in the conversations brought on by the children, how and why are two pieces we all need to re-imagine and pause with.

This is the space that I find many of my teachers getting stuck. When to move in and guide vs. when to observe and sit back.

I have been thinking about this quite a bit as an administrator. The relationships and strengths of my community come not from me, but from my parents, teachers and childre.

This is such an important focus. I look at my rooms by this time in the year wanting to remind my staff of the importance of preparing the environment. Thinking about this philosophy, it is also about planning and preparing an environment for the child....not the adult.

I really like this quote. It is getting to the heart of what we're hoping for in our educators or guides. it gives all involved a moment of clarity. Sharing with others that this is an explicit philosophy about the nature of childhood is just good sense.

So often, with my Montessori background, it is working a lone because that is what we're told. Watching the children play in my center had me thinking hard about social interactions, starting from birth. I appreciate this idea.

What a wonderful way to think about the adult's assumption.

Right. In our world, slowing down and taking a moment, even to breathe takes practice. Wondering how to start with breath and move to observation.

Speaking about child sized spaces. As some of my parents have said when they walk into the classrooms, wow! Look at how everything is just their size! It is also notable that we are using real things, so the adult world is translated to the child's size.

Yes! Sitting in an infant room, it is not just the sounds they make, the steps they take, but watching the actions. what comes before? what comes after? Is the outcome exactly what you think it is?

This is it! How to change the view of the child to fill their space with their own thoughts and ideas. How to listen and understand with patience and compassion. This is a hard task to do. Where do you start?

Isn't this interesting and so true. This is what our schools are based on, the idea that things must be done for someone else. We must make sure the teachers are happy . We see this every day in our classrooms, "is this right?" "did I do this the correct way?"

This is connected to the article read prior to this about the society we are creating in our schools, our classrooms. How are we building these relationships with the families? How are we allowing our children and families to bring in their societies and cultures, while also infusing the society of the children?

Again, beautifully written. I speak with our teachers constantly about their presence, about how they 'move' through hallways, through our lives. Thinking about our presence is so important.

I LOVE this quote. It's such a beautiful way to think about the ecosystem of our schools. Thinking about the idea that it's OK to not always understand, to feel alone, to let children go and explore, as it is also true for us to move through classrooms and the school society with grace and curiosity.

So true, especially this year. I spoke with teachers about this in a past meeting. How we move around school and leave our work outside of school, our work on ourselves, and bring our work with children. This is such a difficult space in todays world. This is a training of adults that takes year.

I have been thinking a lot about this over the past months. How do we slow down teachers to ask the same questions as children are able to ask on a daily basis. So often we are jumping to our assumptions and not realizing that the children's socialization is based on the socialization of the adult.

So important. Focusing on the repetition and practice is where our young children learn.

THIS is my work. As a public school educator, this idea is taking such time and space for me to follow and understand...The emergent curriculum is such an impressive idea.

This is such an interesting topic. Children with special rights, is that not all students? For instance, I have a 2 year old who is super focused on letters. What I'm learning from these texts and my education is that EVERY teacher has special rights, it is our job to observe them and understand where their interests and need are coming from.

This theme is shown throughout our readings and the videos. I find that the cooperation connects with the independence, self-discipline, and so much more.

I would love to see Montessori in here as well. I know that this was a time when the poor and the 'unteachable' were taught. It's so nice to see how families came together, with parent support.