This year, the children in my classroom became interested in law enforcement and started playing games like "police" and "bad guys." The games were pretty simple, with some children playing the role of the good guys or the police and others playing the role of the bad guys. They would chase each other around and capture each other. Then they would bring the bad guys to “jail” where usually the bad guys would escape and the game would start all over again.

For many years there has been a debate within the early childhood field about whether we should use the word “care” when describing our profession – calling ourselves “caregivers” or calling preschools “childcare centers.” There is a sense that when a teacher’s role is seen as that of a caregiver, it diminishes them. We may be regarded as less skilled or professional than if we insist on being called “educators.”

Three preschoolers are attempting to climb a boulder. One decides to try running and jumping onto the boulder. Success! They are on! Now, two others are feeling disappointed. They want to get on the boulder, too, but are having a hard time using the same method as their friend. The preschooler on the boulder immediately looks at the friend having a tough time and says, “Can I offer you a helping hand?”

“I sincerely believe that for the child, and for the parent seeking to guide him, it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.”

-Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

As parents I’m sure we’ve all wondered, “When is the right time to talk to my child about X?” or “Is it too early for Z?” I can almost guarantee that the answer is, it is never too early!

Perhaps this is a familiar scene at your house: It’s bedtime, and it’s time to snuggle up for a read-aloud before you tuck your child into bed. Perhaps, like at my house, you have a shelf full of varied and interesting books from which your child can choose. And perhaps, like at my house, your child chooses the same book every night. Do you ever wonder why…?

Seniors who come down regularly to read books aloud in the classrooms have been integral to All Seasons Preschool from day one. They offer openness and love on a regular basis. Some offer their laps, offer to write children’s stories, to check on the muffins, to string popcorn or shape playdough. For all of this, teachers are full of gratitude. But to the children, the senior readers’ biggest offering is the one that matters most: time spent together.

Here at All Seasons, you won’t find mass produced posters on the wall of the alphabet or numbers. You also won’t find a rigid schedule or children in small groups moving from one table to another every fifteen minutes with a teacher instructing them how to do it properly. What you will find is children building with blocks, climbing a boulder outside with their friends, baking cookies in a small group, making cards and delivering them to the grandparents who live upstairs, and setting up tables for lunch.

The Dakota term, Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ, means “we are all related” or “all my relatives” when translated into English. At its core, Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ values stewardship of land instead of ownership of land. For children and grown-ups alike, this Indigenous knowledge can be put into practice by taking the time to get to know the piece of land that we work and play on.

We often find our toddlers painting, singing, building and deconstructing, creating, and imagining, as they find many different ways to engage in sensory play. Even something as simple as filling buckets with water and dumping them into a larger bucket can provoke wide-eyed wonder.

Inviting preschool students to use adult tools like hammers, saws, and clippers might initially seem like a bad idea, but there are multiple benefits to doing so!

There is a long tradition of celebrating holidays at All Seasons Preschool. It emerged from years of sharing holiday activities as a way to connect the children with the seniors. Celebrating the holidays that were important to the grandmas and grandpas feels natural and authentic because it evolves within the context of a community.