our school family
Conscious Discipline
Our practice of Conscious Discipline is at the core of everything we do. Offering positive choices, discussing facial expressions and emotions, learning our "commitments" to each other, practicing breathing exercises multiple times each day and leaning into morning and goodbye rituals with the children are all ways we use Conscious Discipline at outdoor preschool. Every member of our school family is valued, seen and heard. We do not use punitive discipline measures when working with our young people. We use tricky moments to guide them toward self-regulation and healthy choices. This builds a feeling of true community and collaboration, as well as children who are happy, confident and expressive.
Daily Songs
During every circle time, the children get to join in songs such as "We Wish You Well," which helps the children build empathy as they notice which school friends and teachers are not there that day.
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Breathing Exercises
Children get to take turns leading their school family in breathing exercises which help their bodies to be calm and prepare for rest time.
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There are many breathing exercises to choose from and often students create their own type of breathing exercise to teach everyone.
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Practicing breathing in calm times helps build a skill they can return to in times of stress or upset.
Commitments
Every morning students choose which commitment they are going to focus on that day.
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All of our commitments are practiced everyday, but having each child choose one to focus on helps them concentrate on one skill at a time.
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At the end of the day, children can do a self-check-in and ask themselves if they practiced their chosen commitment well that day, and give themselves a pat on the back!
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Daily Jobs
Every morning, after choosing their commitment, each students chooses which school job they would like to have that day.
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Students take great pride and joy in helping out at school and working together with their school family to get the job done.