Chrysa Vaitsi

Shall we play?

/ dorothysnot / 3 Comments

One of everyone’s chlidhood favorite games is definitely blind man’s buff.

14442739_1000999946679655_1935169707_n

All of us have funny stories on wrong identifications to tell and all of us still clearly remember our intense feelings at the moment of blindfolding, when the game was starting.

14445626_1000999843346332_1636305618_n

Same with very young kids: this process is especially well taken by them. There is great anticipation on who will take the place of the next “blind man”.

14458941_1000999803346336_706888286_n

But why is this so important from educational point of view?

  • Because they play and have fun
  • Because they strenghthen their bonds and relationships
  • Because interaction with each other is enhanced

14445542_1001000173346299_400832558_n

  • Because they develop orientation skills
  • Because they enhance their optical memory
  • Because they learn in practice what “drama” means
  • Because they constantly ask to repeat the process

So, shall we play?

(by Chryssa Vaitsi, teacher in post-toddlers class, in Athens)

Advertisement

One day after swimming class…

/ dorothysnot / Leave a comment

WP_20160211_11_23_35_Pro

Last Monday,  only Cynthia, Poppy and Marina from toddlers’ class participated in swimming lesson.

WP_20160211_12_02_40_Pro

Girls got ready in few minutes after lesson was finished. We had plenty of time since post-toddlers’ class was still in locker room. So, l asked them what we were going to do, and theιr answer was “We can discover the place!”

WP_20160208_12_13_39_Pro

And so the game began…

WP_20160208_12_11_09_Pro

We found water in the road…

WP_20160208_12_13_19_Pro

And jumped in it….

WP_20160211_11_53_35_Pro

We focused on the plants…

WP_20160211_11_53_42_Pro

Smelled them….

WP_20160211_11_56_48_Pro

And brought one back to school….

But time was running so fast, so we had to return in our school bus!

(by Chryssa Vaitsi, teacher & projects’ coordinator in Athens school)

Ophthalmology class in school bus (II)

/ dorothysnot / Leave a comment

After the experience children had in school bus with Spyridoula’s eye glasses, they asked me if I can see clearly while not wearing mine.

WP_20151216_13_28_03_Pro

I replied that when not in glasses, I use eye-lenses. Next day, I gave them a pair of lenses to come in contact with. They touched them, smell them and realized that after a while they got dry.

smell2

So, I told them to place them into their own case with the special liquid and lenses became wet and resilient again.

WP_20151216_14_54_08_Pro

Since then, every time that I don’t wear glasses, children look into my eyes and try to “locate” my lenses.

(by Chrysa Vaitsi, cross-class projects’ coordinator in Athens school)

Creating a loose parts’ springboard!

/ dorothysnot / Leave a comment

WP_20151218_12_24_03_Pro

Andreas, a kindergarten kid, had the brilliant idea to create a springboard using loose parts, particularly old tires arranged in a pile and a pallet, serving as a ladder).

WP_20151218_12_22_05_Pro

First step was to collect all the items needed for his idea. Second one was setting up his construction and testing, while the final step was…. the actual game!

WP_20151218_12_24_16_Pro

In a few minutes, all pre-K and kindergarten class formed a long queue in order to jump off this makeshift springboard!

WP_20151218_12_32_23_Pro

Its one more time I see waste material (items with no practical use from an adult’s point of view) to become the center of children’s outdoor play. Kids only add imagination and ingenuity- so easy for them!

WP_20151218_12_29_57_Pro

(from Chrysa Vaitsi, cross-class projects’ coordinator in Athens school)