Silverwood Park • Doodle Bugs - Sam and David - 3 hours
This was a very exciting week at doodlebugs! Our day was a little backwards, due to an extended outdoor activity (kick sledding!) We started the day with playtime and a book called Winter is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer, a Minneapolis author/illustrator. Then we switched things up and did our craft first- Sam taught the doodlebugs about warm and cool colors, which was applied toa snowman finger puppet craft. Sam is an excellent teacher, seeing her interact with the 4 year olds is always educational. She is always kind and encouraging while at the same time managing the attention and mayhem of twelve 4 year olds. A technique of hers that is effective and I really like is what she calls the "tickle rainbow", which she has the doodlebugs sit in a semicircle and keeps them at an arm's length (if she can tickle them, they are too close) while she explains the craft and makes an example.
After the craft, we put on our snow suits and went outside to play! It was about 30 degrees, so it felt good for all of us to run around without feeling completely frozen. David invited the parents to come and play with the kick sleds for the last 20 minutes of class, so a handful of the kids had their parents with them to play. Something I have been noticing about Doodlebugs is that there really is an equal emphasis on education and play, which is so important for kids this age. Every week it gets better, as I get more comfortable being in the classroom and the doodlebugs get more comfortable with me!