SURPRISE!!!

Every blue moon, I go to reach into my big blue trunk-on-wheels to get out the next 'surprise' and I've forgotten to have the children close their eyes. There's always someone to prompt me to pause -- which allows them to get their eyes closed just in the nick of time. It's amazing to me, that in this media driven, immediate world of ours, these little ones pictured above and even pretty mature preschoolers enjoy the ritual of closing their eyes in anticipation of what might be coming next. A brief opportunity for their imaginations to drive the bus, I suppose. A wee small example of building 'rituals' into your group time, that allow children to process what is about to happen. The more you do it, the more they come to depend on you. Which is as it should be.