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Writer's pictureMycah Klinker

Critter Camp Communication

This week in Magnolia Outdoor is all about the tiny friends and little critters that inhabit our outdoor spaces with us. Explorers will practice moving like tiny friends, creating their own version of a tiny friend using forest putty and thinking about how they use body language to communicate. Guides will attune themselves to their explorers body language and pay attention to what ideas or feelings their explorers might communicate with their bodies both during class, and after in our home and community outdoor spaces.


Unable to join us for classes? Check back on Wednesday where I will share a book for connecting with little critters as well as some resources and ideas for at home play!



Designed With Learning In Mind

The rhythms we keep in our Tinkergarten classes are specially designed to support the development of communication skills. Each week here, we focus on a different part of our class rhythm to attune guides to how we are supporting their explorer’s communication skills. Last time, we looked at our Welcome and Transition as well as our use of American Sign Language. This week is all about our Opening Circle and the monikers we use.


Opening Circle - Songs

After we’ve welcomed all families and everyone has had the opportunity to explore and settle into our classroom, we call explorers and guides to Opening Circle with our Come to Tinkergarten Song. At Magnolia Outdoor, we learn that the Sparrow verse invites us to find our family's nest while the Dolphin verse invites us to move to whatever part of the classroom our teacher can be found in. We remember and sing verses from the last class to help explorers connect back to previous play, then we learn and sing a special verse each week about a featured creature that will help inspire us for that day’s play.


In our Summer Camp Tinkergarten season we sing the Camping With Our Friends Song. During this song, each explorer has the opportunity to hear their name and feel welcomed personally to class again. Then they share a move or sound and after listening carefully, we echo back what friends show us.


Songs are a wonderful way to get a listener’s engagement and to communicate ideas and feelings. During our Come to Tinkergarten song, we celebrate creatures and their superpowers. Camping With Our Friends provides opportunities to practice the give and take communication skills require. Every child also gets to share and practice active listening. This is also a great way to intentionally practice nonverbal communication.


Explorers and Guides

Throughout all Tinkergarten classes, we call children “explorers” and adults are “guides”. These names focus on our shared purpose rather than our identity. In doing so, we communicate that we are a community and that we include everyone.


Join Us for Class!

Our Communication series is going strong and we still have so much to learn! Our Fall Wellness series is also just around the corner! Learn more about our Communication or Wellness classes and register here! Not sure what a Tinkergarten class is like? Try out one of our Stone Soup Pop Up Play lessons, happening only in September! If you’d like to register for Fall, you can use code EARLYFALL for 10% off. But hurry! The code ends September 22nd.

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