We knew it was coming- the rain- and we wanted it to, really we did! Being out in the pouring rain with 3-5 year olds is actually pretty easy if they have good gear. Most of the time everyone is very happy to play, explore, puddle jump and develop a relationship with water. Our educators are skilled at finding fun things to do in the rain.
The true chaos and challenge arises when 20 children switch out of their wet gear and change into their dry gear. For our Eagle students, this transition happens a lot in winter. And let me tell you- it is comical. We learned early on that we needed a few key strategies to survive this mayhem.
- Have a sense of humour. Changing wet clothes is not life or death so we can all just chill out and enjoy the ride.
- Be patient- it is hard to peel off wet clothes
- Teach children how to help each other so they don’t call our names repeatedly, encourage peer to peer support
- Help when hands are cold, children are crying, undies are so wet they are scrunched up and cannot get pulled down and socks are stuck like glue onto the foot.
- Use a calm, joyful voice in the Pod
- Have a sense of humour
- Know that all children will eventually get changed and get out of the pod
- Use every little part of this experience as a teachable moment
- Make sure the heater is blowing nice hot air
- Have a sense of humour
Yes, sense of humour wins out on this list- a mantra for us. If you are an Owl parent and YOU do the changing in your car after class, we invite you to try out some of these strategies- let us know your experiences!
Enjoy the photos taken on the drier days.
With affection,
Emily
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