The Garden School Tattler

Last week we finished our Following Directions week with a tour of the old jail. It was a nice outing and we thank Susie Kirk for such a wonderful adventure.

Judge Trockman welcomed our group into his courtroom, and after Addie was arrested for possession of a sugar packet, there was a little trial with Emma as her attorney and Jay as the prosecutor. But Addie was innocent and everyone knew it and the jury exonerated her. Then we were off to lunch at Newburgh Fortress of Fun.

The tour of the jail was something Miss Judy had never seen before. I think I became one of the kids. The kids were interested in the whole idea that this was OTHER than what their experience had been up to then. We tried on handcuffs and found them very heavy.

Learning the rules, listening to directions, and following directions is a main teaching scheme all year long. It's impossible to take the children anywhere if they don't know the traveling rules, listen for the next direction, and then follow that direction.

Helping children with listening skills means taking the time to ask them what you said. Then asking them what that means. Sometimes you will have to interpret what the answer is, but listening and getting it right is an important skill.

Following directions is a modern word for obedience. Children should always question when they are unsure, but they should learn to trust. Blind obedience is never the issue. But obeying the rules, and understanding that the adult in charge who they know and love will probably not lead them in error. The problem most young children have is a failure to believe that the rules include them and that they must. These few weeks help get the point across that the rules involve everyone.

This week we will start our October theme: Work people do; community work; what I will be when I grow up. These are eye openers for young children. We will use terms such as "green grocer" and "haberdasher" this week just for fun.

We are thinking of adding a field trip to Owensboro to the botanical gardens and the bug museum on the 19th. There will be a trip to the farm on October 3, and there will be a tea party on September 26 for all our grandparents, so it's going to be a busy month.