Bring back the Art of Improv, yo!

Years ago, when I started teaching middle school, I witnessed my first kindergarten dance presentation. I must confess I was impressed. The presentation was clearly rehearsed—arguably to an obsessive degree. 

Years later during my first years of mentorship training with Originateve, I started to learn more about the art of improvisation and the dire need to regenerate, back into our educational models, this forgotten approach to the arts. This is the primary reason for which our preschool OPEN MIC curriculum exists. Our goal is for all of our kids to always be ready to perform, not simply after tiresome and stressful rehearsal. 

As you will see in the videos below, this morning we created a little space for IMPROV. Here are a few contextualizing details that will help delineate the powerful experience we shared together. 

• Nobody knew about our improvised dance session this morning—not even me! Our Diguan teachers (kids ages 4-6) knew that we would have a DO SI DO dance time, but none of us had planned for it to be a public performance.  
• If you look carefully at the first video, you can see what I hoped for most clearly in Momo’s face (the first girl in the line-up) as she entered the room, hand-in-hand, with her partner. There was a blush but also a solid determination. This is an essential life quality we hope to foster in all of our children. Momo for her first 2 years at MT, was the queen of saying No! Always too shy! Well, sorry, not anymore. Our kindergarten team has chiseled away at all silly sheeping away nonsense. 
• Due to the success of our first round of DO SI DO, I then decided to take the improvisational risk a bit further. Time for the little brothers and sisters to dance. I had no idea how they would respond. Let me say that again: I HAD NO IDEA HOW THEY WOULD RESPOND. This aspect is key to any serious educational model. Overly paid curriculum developers in far away sky scrapers are way too hung up on eliminating any unpredictabilities. Like mad lab scientists that want full control of outcome. Theories cease to be theories when they’ve already been test-proofed to death. Nothing new can ever come, if we are always trying the same approach. Today we ventured and took a risk and our kids surprised us with their brilliance and natural inclination towards improvisation and live performance. 
• And what about all of the peer to peer learning that is taking place. Kids are helping kids know what the hell is going on. Now, that is what the experts call child-centered learning! 
• One final point I want to make is regarding the importance of learning to be a good audience. Too often we focus on the performers rather than on the audience. Great performers are all great audiences first. They understand the respect that performance merits. 

In closing, our kids did today what adult parents and teachers often shy away from. As always, we would do well to learn from the littlest in our midst.

CBE

MT Teaching Director

A Scary Way to Help our kids Overcome Fears and Anxieties

    

MasterTree Kindergarten approaches safety by easing children into a relationship with elements of danger. Research demonstrates that sheltering children from danger does not in actuality create lasting protection for children but instead increases the likelihood of being hurt. Children safely introduced to danger are better able to recognize potential hazards and avoid the possibility of peril.  A child who has spent little time in the woods is more prone to getting hurt than a child who has developed a relationship with the different elements of nature in a forest. Each environment is not the same for any two individuals. Children shielded from exploring and taking risks are more naive.  The unknown poses a far greater threat and requires heavier assistance to navigate potential threats. 

This educational philosophy is best understood through our world class curriculum, but is, likewise, speckled all through our daily activities: Zao Jun Cooking, Old Mac Donald's workshop, our rooftop garden and animal area etc…

Similar to this model is our approach to building up strong emotional intelligence within our children by allowing moments of encounters with fears. Our 4 annual gatherings around the fire, our 2 annual sleepover parties, and especially our Halloween curriculum are essential aspects of our holistic curriculum that seek to allow create real opportunities for our children to encounter their fears in close proximity to caretakers that can guide them into a healthy relationship with that which frightens us. 

As children grow, many parents notice that their once-fearless preschooler is suddenly scared of the dark, frightened by thunderstorms, or convinced there are monsters hiding under the bed. Each child has a different time-clock for when fear becomes a recognizable and addressable response to a given situation. These emergences are signs of growth of awareness and abstract thinking. For this reason, we may be surprised to often see some of our youngest children at play with the scariest monsters of our Halloween curriculum. It's natural for children to develop childhood fears-it's part of their normal growth and development. As kids try to comprehend the world around them, they are not entirely sure of what's fantasy and what's reality, so their imagination can create incredible things, like monsters. Some of the most common fears experienced by young children are the dark, thunderstorms, monsters, animals and loud noises. Embracing those fears intentionally within a safe community can provide the necessary environment to generate life long skills in autonomous emotional management.

3 WAYS TO GUIDE OUR KIDS TOWARDS INNER STRENGTH

1. BE THERE FOR THEM

AT SCHOOL     - Children often encounter these scary experiences on their own. Bringing Halloween close to our children, allows for children to feel our support and comfort in the moment of fear. Their fears are not dismissed rather embraced. We observe their individual responses and guide them towards their next step of inner strength.

AT HOME     - You can also help your children at home by bringing them closer to possible fears. Some children may not yet sleep in their own bedroom, some may not yet sleep with the light off. Don't be afraid to allow them to grow into deeper stages of relationships with being alone or in the dark. 

2. FIND MOMENTS TO TALK

AT SCHOOL - An essential component of our Halloween curriculum is the time allotted during special circle for kids to share their fears and acknowledge that fear as something that is valid.   Find your calm and reassuring voice and then watch them learn to find their own, internal, calm and reassuring voice. 

AT HOME - Finding moments of dialogue at home is also essential to a proper processing and emotional maturation within our children. Encourage your child to talk about his or her fears so he or she can learn to gain control over the fear. Show your child ways to cope with fears, such as taking deep breaths or keeping a flashlight by the bed.

3. MODEL THE CHILD YOU WANT YOUR KID TO BE!

AT SCHOOL - Children often pick up on fear from the adults they are around. By interacting with Halloween at school, our children are able to see the fearlessness in the adults and even some of their peers. This helps them know how to respond to feelings of fear. 

AT HOME - Parents can also help with this process by encountering the various halloween characters upon arrival at school. It is important for parents to model a calm approach to confronting fears in achievable steps, rather than allowing children to avoid all of life's moments that contain anxiety.

Letter to Staff on Holy Disruption

September 11, 2020

Shishi, Fujian - PRC

Dear Team, 

Today's lunch was disruptive and at this kindergarten, now (and I hope always) that is absolutely welcome! I am a fan of disruption. Many take disruption too far and advocate for anarchy, others conform too much. Both extremes are futile. The secret is finding the Yin-yang in it all. Adequate and responsible disorder is an art that few understand, and far less can do well. 

The longer you have been at MT, the more you have witnessed this type of holy misconduct. Penny and Carmen are the most fortunate of all. They have witnessed every single moment of insanity. A few of my favorite memories of madness are: 

1. MT Water Wars

2. Parents jump fires with little babies in their arms

3. Burying bones in sandpits for epiphanic learning

4. Classroom Forts

5. Secretly carrying out a curriculum of world class (though legally we should only have one outing a month)

...and many more. 

Back to our lunch today. This is week 2. Lunch feels stagnant. Mechanical. ...and in the simplest of terms: BORING. I severely dislike the corona virus protocols that no longer allow us to execute our Zao Jun curriculum we so beautifully created together over the last 3 years. And so, that is what happened. I needed some ROCK AND ROLL. 

To all who felt bothered: I look forward to your equal or better disruption of lunch with some artful disruption of your own. Consider this a competition. Who can turn our boring lunches into the most fun? And please, don't use your ordinary duty as an excuse! If you take the role of being on stage, and then running around chasing the kids with Vick, and then rallying all but 7 of our children to head down to an early nap, I will gladly take your place with our slow-eaters. We are a team, we need to know how to wear different hats. I can feed, wipe butts, dance like an idiot, tell a story and write a goddam manifesto in favor of holy disruption. And I love it all! 

To all those who joined in the singing of QUEEN's: WE WILL ROCK YOU. Thank you. 

I did make one mistake: I forgot to put the climbing toy back in its place behind the stage. 

I have one last confession to make: Learning the skill of being a menace has not been easy. It requires a sound dose of luck, primarily in the form of great Mentors of Disruption. The list of blessed-wretched-havoc-makers I have learned from is not necessarily long, but each and everyone lives through me in moments like today's lunch. Among the best of them is: Dr. Seuss, renown author of books for children (ages 1 to 89.3).

Long before writing children's stories, Dr. Seuss was already stirring trouble in the world of global politics with his anti-war comics. He was loathed by many, and loved by others. (See picture below). He eventually gave up on trying to change the hearts of big children (aka adults). He became convinced that the only true possibility of revolution was to be found in the hearts of children. I have a similar story to tell on how I gave up on trying to change big people and decided to work with preschoolers but that's a story for another time: I've already been too longwinded and should probably get to some sort of point:

Consider THE CAT IN THE HAT. Think carefully about the storyline. What can we learn from this book which our MT kids probably know better than we do? Is the Cat a character we should avoid? Is his disruption a setback? Who are you in the story? 

a) The bored child that finds nothing to do on a rainy day? 

b) Or are you the Cat causing messes? 

c) Perhaps you feel more like Thing 1 or Thing 2?

3) Or are you the foot of the mother coming home instilling fear in all those who just want to play—even if it's raining outside?

I know who I am, and how I try to live. And I want nothing more from anyone who wants to responsibly consider the art of teaching. This is not Beiling or Montesorri. This is MT! 

With deep love, 

Carl Emmons (MA)

MT Teaching Director

COVID-19 = More Quality Time

Most mornings, I am the first up in my home. My early mornings are always sacred. They are a guarantee of time for introspection, through reading, writing, prayer, composition and at times catching up with friends on the other side of the world. During the regular school year, right about the time when everyone is waking up, I am getting my work clothes on, looking for my motorcycle keys and sneaking one last sip of coffee before zooming into Shishi for a day away from the family. Thanks to COVID-19, my late mornings now consist of cooking with my boys! Pancakes with blueberries, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, sprinkles, maple syrup and melted butter are somehow a favorite we now have time to enjoy making and munching on together!

After that, it's time to start thinking about lunch. I have always enjoyed cooking, but time has always made it tricky to really enjoy trying out new recipes in the kitchen. During the regular school year, cooking with the boys usually only happens on the weekend. Thanks to COVID-19, we are trying out new recipes daily! Our diet is healthier and tastier as we have been able to add new recipes to our bag of tricks.

Eating lunch together! Not only has our diet improved throughout these COVID-19 times, but also the time we take to sit down and eat together. Gosh, I am going to miss lunch with the family when we get back to school. What a blessing to sit down, each day, hold hands, say thanks and enjoy some laughs while eat together!

After cleaning up, it is time to sit back and read! Having more time to read is another blessing brought about by the COVID-19. Our older son, Owen Jazz, has become a fully independent reader. Since the virus outbreak he has moved through 5 out of 7 books from the Harry Potter series. Though I miss cuddling with him, we are proud of his growth. Thank goodness, his little brother still likes Daddy reading to him. Nothing like hanging a hammock and cuddling in for an after lunch read.

Then, it is time for Dad to get back to some Dad stuff. Thanks to COVID-19, I have been able to reconnect with music. Writing and recording songs is something I have always loved, but in the busyness of the school year, I struggle to find time for. (See video embedded below for a new project born over the Covidays alongside fellow teacher: Javier Lastres.)

In the evenings, we all come together again for a board game, night walk, a movie, a tarot reading or some songs and stories. Again, none of this would be possible without the COVID-19 outbreak. And so, though I know for many families, elsewhere, this has been a very difficult time of sickness and even death, we have been blessed by a local government that has kept our village clear of the virus, granting us plenty of quality family time.

How has the COVID changed your family's rhythms and routines?

Almas Gemelas by D-ende

From The Descent EP

2020

There is a yin in every yang but can you see it?

A new cycle down through the eternal spiral of the Zodiac Calendar has begun. However, the beginning of this Year of the Rat has failed to remind us of that first celebratory moment when Rat, “a long, long time ago”, leaped off Ox's back and took first place in the Great Race. Somehow, we are all feeling more like the Cat that, though once being a Rat's best friend, was pushed off the back of the Ox and into the heavy current life's river. 

The threat of the Corona Virus has certainly shifted everyone's plans of travel and play. Nonetheless, as a father, I reflect back on the last 3 weeks of holidays and allow myself to see the Yin in the Yang. I can't remember the last time we spent so much quality family time together at home. We have started and finished books we are reading as a family. We have pulled out board game favorites that we haven't used in a long time, as well as learning to play a couple of new ones. We have enjoyed nights of story around a fire and also, cuddled up in a new room in our home we designed just for song and story. Oh and the cooking! I can't forget the cooking. So many new dishes! Gosh, I wish there was more time during the year to slow down and enjoy cooking more meals for the family. 

Our kids, are aware of the virus, but their innocence and playful spirits have not been affected by it. This is our duty as parents and teachers. Through difficult times, keep an even keel. I am reminded of my all time favorite film by Italian Director Roberto Benigni, La Vita è Bella, in which a Jewish family is forced to survive through the terrible tribulations of the German concentration camps during WWII. The father and hero of the film, Guido Orefice, goes through an infinite amount of effort to shelter his son from the horrors they were undertaking by turning everything into play. If you have not yet seen the film, make sure to put your kids to bed early and cuddle up with your spouse for this inspiring film of superb parenting. In the meantime remember: There is a yin to every yang...even during these times of Coronoa virus threat. The question is: Can you see it? As parents, one of our many duties is to create magical times for our children, no matter the circumstances. Stay informed, stay safe but don't forget to savor the moment by exalting the Yin in the Yang.