March is here and thanks to a few scattered days of warming weather, we are looking forward to the arrival of spring. The bulbs in our little garden started poking their heads above the ground, which unfortunately got covered up with a layer a snow. The children are now wondering what will happen once spring officially arrives and it is actually time for our plants to start growing again. Will they survive the confusion? That’s a science experiment that we will just have to monitor and learn from. Meanwhile, the children are being very careful not to step inside the garden space, so they can allow the tender shoots the space they need to grow. We have been practicing how to run carefully around the rocks that form the boundary of our garden, so that we do not fall into the garden. It is often difficult to see the boundary since it is covered in snow, but with practice and patience we are slowly learning to find a way around the garden.

The same is happening inside the classroom as we practice walking around the many works that are happening across our floor space. There are maps, mathematical operations, words and stories with the movable alphabet, counting chains, and reading, all happening on rugs or at low tables around the room. It takes patience and practice to walk from one place in the room to another without disturbing any of those works. This is just one of the many parts of the ‘Grace and Courtesy’ of our classroom. These are small lessons that are given so that the children have the tools to be successful in their social interactions in the classroom. They can include anything from greeting a friend in the morning, introducing oneself to a new person in the room, saying please, thank you and you are welcome, all the way to asking for or offering your help to someone. The children have the opportunity to role play and practice these exercises in context, so that they can get comfortable with what to say or how to respond in a situation that might arise. This allows them to easily use these tools in practical application in their everyday interactions.

This is something that can be done in any situation at home too. Picking a neutral moment and role playing situation with step by step instructions on how to respond can often help the child when those uncomfortable moments arise. That being said, the most powerful way a child is going to get information on grace and courtesy is by seeing the adults in all circumstances be graceful and courteous. Being mindful in our interactions with the children can go a long way to show them how to be mindful in their lives.

Archana