Potential

First, if you've been reading this blog for a year, thank you!  New readers are great, too - I preface this post to old readers because I'm making a connection.

Last April, we discovered our outdoor space.  The door opens right from the classroom onto this terrace, and ideally, it will allow children to choose an outdoor activity or an indoor activity.  Last year, most of our experiences on the terrace were unstructured - we dug in the dirt of old potted plants, we drew with sidewalk chalk, and we drew in our sketchbooks.

As the ground starts to thaw this year, I have gardening on my mind.  This is an ideal space for growing some flowers and perhaps a few very simple vegetables, depending on what the children have in mind.  Thanks to Jolayne, I just ordered a copy of Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces, which I think will be helpful on our journey.  We definitely have a small space, and it would be wonderful for it to produce some great food - any food, really.

There is more information on the book's website here.

The other PreK class also has a door to the terrace, and we could have a really nice collaboration between the two classes outdoors.  We have a free-flow work time between the two classrooms twice weekly, and incorporating outdoor activities would be interesting.  Hearing the children's ideas about the terrace will have to come into play also, obviously - this is a different group from the initial terrace explorers, and they may have some very new ideas.

The sun is shining, and even though it is cold, I'm looking forward to our outdoor work.