We've got peace like a river

On Tuesday, we learned that we live in the United States of America, in the state of Connecticut. The whole state/country concept is a little fuzzy, still, but we're working on it. More importantly, we learned two new songs, both of which we sang all day long:

This land is my land, this land is your land (right, because this is everyone's land, we share it)

From California to the New York islands (hey, look, more states!) 

From the redwood forests (big, big trees! "like the one in my backyard?") to the gulf stream waters

This land was made for you and me.

Also: 

I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. 

I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.

(this is the bucket-filling verse:) 

I've got love like the ocean, I've got love like the ocean, I've got love like the ocean in my soul.

We heard some great singing from a few of the kids who had had the dazed-and-confused look at circle time yesterday, which felt like a big accomplishment. We had a few requests for the good morning song, and more dancers than on Monday. On our way to play outside, we stopped at the map in the hallway, and talked about how our entire country is made up of fifty little colored states. We found Connecticut and the home states of each of the kickstart teachers. D was even able to point out Florida (!) and told us about how she flew on an airplane to get there.

The day wasn't quite as seamless as our first - J had a bellyache all day, L chose not to eat her lunch and had a pretty cranky afternoon (complete with arm-crossing and shouting "No!" when asked to wait her turn to paint), and A only sort of remembered the letters in her name from Monday. We learned something really important when our sign language lesson got off to a slow start: the first activity after quiet time has to be active. We ended up going outside earlier than planned and then returning to the classroom to learn more sign language before pick-up. In the future, we'll plan for a music-and-movement or outdoor activity to help us wake up before our afternoon guest teacher arrives.

Here are a couple of things that have been on my mind:

• We're sure that A is ready to read, but she's also stubborn and skeptical and I'm not sure how to subliminally persuade her to spend center time with me in the reading corner. We're making sure that kids have the power to make their own choices about how they will play with their free time, so it's important that A is the one to choose to read instead of paint (her specialty). How can I rope her into a reading lesson without implying that she needs to learn to read because she is more advanced than the other kids? 
• I'm positive that L would have fewer temper tantrums and much more fun if she ate breakfast/snack/lunch like the other kids. Her mom has said that she's really picky, but also has told her that she needs to eat. Do we give her special treatment and provide food that she likes (rather than what everyone else gets), or do we stick to our guns and stress the trying-new-things and take-what-you-get message?

Success story of the day: K's older sister visited the classroom during centers, and K invited her to join us in the dramatic play area. She was shocked at how outgoing, funny, and creative K was - apparently she's "not like that at home." It's really phenomenal that in less than two full days of Kickstart, most of our kids are already feeling comfortable and coming out of their shells in a way that not even their families get to see. 

Also adorable: when D's family arrived at 2:45 to pick her up, she saw them and instantly burst into tears. "B-b-but I want to p-p-play!" Not that I like to see children cry, but I love that she loves being with us.