Grandmother Magic
“But these blankets have holes in them,” one of the children observes as they spread a crocheted blanket across their lap.
Of course, our collection of crocheted blankets have every kind of design and vibrant color, but most of them feature those lovely open spaces between flowers and squares. All part of the design.
“Don’t you worry, those blankets are made with grandmother magic. You will see, they will keep you warm as warm.”
And they do.
Teresa and the Seeds (two and three year olds) class cozy and ready for cold weather.
“A few words on warmth - more than a few.”
This is a post from Teresa’s “week in review” for the Seeds class. The week in reviews are shared with enrolled families and this one about warmth is a great example of getting us all “on the same page.”
First I want to say thank you to all of you for sending your kids in layers, with plenty of food - all are set up well to stay comfortable through these wet, chilly mornings. I’m noting cold weather strategies here to document what is already in place and give us a reference point for the even wetter, even chillier mornings ahead. It’s not even actually winter yet!
One more preface: I’m Cuban, and grew up with my Tías’ warnings about El Sereno, the ghoul who comes with the chill evening wind to steal babies’ souls (anyone’s souls, really) when they aren’t bundled up enough against the cold. Those cold, cold, Cuban evenings. That folklore and over 30 years spent in Florida’s various - all mostly warm - climates are my context, and I am not trying to mess around with feeling cold if not absolutely necessary. And really, not even then. I know kids who are happy to face the cold in shorts, but myself and my child are not those kids!
Those things said, here are routines I’ve noticed are helpful for myself and my kids, and for Purple School kids when they are here at the Outdoor School. Once we get temperatures down into the 40s, I dress myself and my outdoor preschooler in no less than 3 layers, everywhere, feet included. The warmest days are when the base layer is a wool blend or synthetic. Hat and scarf are nonnegotiable. Mittens live in the backpack if not on the hands. On days with a wet ground, a waterproof layer goes over at least the bottom half of the kiddo. They’ll very likely sit or kneel in a wet spot at some point, and wet and cold is not what we’re going for. As I’ve heard Lesley tell my children many times: If you start the day warm, you’ll stay warm. You can always shed a layer, but getting your base temperature back up when it’s gone below comfortable is a much harder task.
*Classroom participation tip*
Speaking of wet and cold, hand washing. There will be warm water for hand washing in the tippy taps, and as the weather gets even colder we'll point the children more and more to that warm water. They’ll also need reminders and assistance in making sure their sleeves are rolled up and well out of the way of the water. On dry days, if we can have them walking away from hand washing with dry clothes, that is a big win.
Warm food and warm tea go a long way to regulating the internal temperature. On many of our chilly days, we will serve tea to the children - this is a ritual with benefits beyond warmth - but a thermos full of a warm drink from home is also a very good idea.
*Classroom Participation Tip*
The crochet blankets are out! As long as it’s not pouring, we’ll bring out the School’s collection of blankets to be available on the classroom floor. These must stay on the classroom floor, lest they pick up sand and mulch from the play yard which will tear the blanket when we wash them. We’re building blanket nests for the children at circle time so that they stay cozy while we’re seated and still. We’re also putting blankets down on the benches before they sit for snack, for another layer of warmth between them and the cold wood.
Which brings me to my final stay-warm strategy: movement. We’re building plenty of music and movement into the mornings in the classroom, and neighborhood walks will pick up frequency and become a little longer. Bodies in motion are warmer!
