Children's Comments on Day 1

Today was the first day! The doorkeeper and storyteller were in their roles, and the third teacher (we have a three-teacher rotation in this room) was there, too. There was no story today, but rather an introduction to the classroom.

As coffee hour was winding down, a couple of the children--two ten year olds--went back down to play in the room. (This, in and of itself, was a good thing! It means we effectively set up an inviting space that feels like "theirs.") When I walked past, one child was pretending to be storyteller and the other was in the "circle." I asked them how the first day went, and I asked that they be really honest with me. This is what they said:

"I liked that we got to choose what to do, that it wasn't just one activity that everyone had to do." (One chose to look at things on the examination tray, the other chose to play with modeling clay, and both chose to play some with the salt tray.)

"I liked the work rugs, and that we got to sit on cushions." (The cushions were an afterthought, but proved to be important in helping the children to be comfortable sitting on the floor. With eight kids ages 7-12 in our small room, it helped define space better, too.)

"I loved the feast! I love that we get snack every time." (Feast is an important part of Spirit Play. Snack had been a happy sometimes-thing in years past.)

Then they reflected a bit, and one said, "There weren't really any con's." I asked if there was anything they thought they might miss from the way classes used to be done. One said that he liked sitting in chairs. He also said he preferred for the story to be told quickly rather than unfolded slowly, so they could get right to the work. The other child did not contribute a drawback.