Saturday, October 17, 2015

Relationships

Dear Families,

Welcome to our Infant South Blog - Protagonista!

As I think about how excited I am for us all to be able to communicate through our new blog, I am reminded of why we wanted to start a classroom blog. One of the reasons is that a blog allows for natural dialogue between everyone who interacts with it. We foresee that as all of us engage with the blog, we will form and maintain strong relationships as we reflect together throughout the year. We hope the blog will be like a two-way window, allowing you to see what is happening in our classroom, and allowing us to learn about our babies’ lives outside of school.


We feel so fortunate to be able to spend our days with your babies, bonding with them, and watching them interact and develop relationships with each other. When I see Oscar on his tummy exploring Theo’s nearby feet as Theo pats his shoulder…Adi and Nate looking into each other’s eyes as they lie on the carpet…or Rui sitting next to Edith as they smile and coo at each other, I can’t help but smile and think about how significant relationships are, from infancy and beyond. When our babies smile at us as we say “good morning,” the look of ease and comfort in their eyes seem to show how we have developed trusting relationships with one another.



Through our time in the classroom each day, our face to face conversations with all of you, and our dialogue over the internet, I am confident that all of us – whether you and your baby have been coming to school since August, since September, or if we are waiting with anticipation for you to join us – will come to develop a deep understanding of who we are, as individuals, and as a classroom community.
This week, we ask you:
What do you notice about how your baby interacts with you, other family or friends, or peers at school that shows they are bonding and building relationships?

Thank you for sharing your babies with us and trusting us as caregivers and co-learners to you and your families.

With care,
Christina (with Amara, Dilcia, and Susie)



13 comments:

  1. Rui establishes connections by intense smiles and lots and lots of hand holding.

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    1. Yes, he certainly gives a lot of great smiles! I know you've seen our collage in the classroom of "hand-holding"...Rui is in every photo! :)
      -Christina

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  2. Oscar definitely connects with faces. When a face can fill up his world/vision, he gets very engaged and beings to talk -- a sure sign that he has trust and wants to interact. I think one sign of a relationship is also when he leans against someone while playing or reading -- he's comfortable and confident being with that person.

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    1. I've also noticed the relaxed way Oscar has been leaning on me when we are sitting on the carpet. It's nice to hear that he is showing trust in his teachers in a similar way you see at home with you. And he has been very vocal!
      -Christina

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  3. Great to see pictures of all the little ones, and hear about the things the teachers are paying attention to!

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  4. This is beautiful. Thank you Christina for sharing these images and thoughts.

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  5. Thanks for reading our first blog post, everyone! We truly appreciate your time and your thoughtful comments. Sorry the video is not working...we will work on sharing it with you - it's a great one! :)
    -Christina

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  6. Theo has been on an imitation kick lately. He'll stare at us and smile, stick out his tongue, or close his eyes and laugh until we do the same back to him! He's started to get a little shy around friends and family; he'll play and interact from the safety of Jon's or my lap until he's comfortable enough to branch out on his own.

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    1. It's so ironic that you say that, Kelly, because we had just started to notice Theo close his eyes and make raspy sounds, taking turns as we follow his lead and continue the imitation game. Dilcia and Amara first noticed him doing this in front of the mirror, and then he started engaging teachers in his game. It seems like he is using the trust he has in you and Jon to determine how "safe" it is to play with others. It sounds like he starts to warm up to them when he sees you are comfortable around them perhaps.

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  7. Adi has been getting into jokes lately- he has always smiled a lot but recently he enjoys the repetition of funny things: throwing a toy onto the floor with a "bang" and seeing me over-react over and over again, watching people hide and re-appear, silly noises and faces. It's fun to watch him start to connect the past with the present within a few minutes, as it seems like the foundation for the beginning of more permanent awareness/memory!

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  8. Late to the protagonista party but so glad to be join. Anais has a wonderful smile, that started really early and just grabs my heart every time. She seems to feel such uncomplicated happiness to see me smile and to be able to respond in kind. It took longer for her to share her smiles with Jn and Esther. Now Anais makes a lot of noises and I swear she is trying to communicate with me, and really be part of an exchange. It is such a delight.

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