THE SCHOOL WITH THE FIVE SENSE

Thanks to the fact that the members of the SISU team have been to 6 different schools, we can offer the families of the AHFFA association, six different psychological stories of our centers. But not worry because this story is organized according to our five sense. We hope you like it.

When we enter in a new space we are always invaded by new scents, essences, and flavors, which make us move to different memories of our childhood or give us a series of sensations.

¨As every day when I enter at the center, I pass through the teacher’s room, where there is always a deep smell of coffee that makes me realize that a new day begins when I must leave my skin, so I drink a glass of coffee with hot milk before going to the other block where my students are located¨ (Paula Castro, Divino Maestro).

                       

¨When I go to the entrance, I proceed to disinfect my hands, a process that is very present in everyone´s life right now, and this is the smell with which I am aware that I am getting closer and closer to entering my class¨ (Lucía Sestafe, E.I. El Carmen)

 

¨I must confess that when I smell a child´s perfume, I fall in love with it is charms. It is softness, it´s smell of fresh showers, etc. In addition, it makes me travel back to my childhood and all the memories when my mother or grandmother used to do my hair and put drops of Nenuco on me. The smell of cologne represents the entrance to the school and the characteristic smell of a classroom with children¨ (Alba Fernández - Calvillo, CEIP Miguel de Cervantes).

  

¨It is true that now with the mask we perceive the scents and essence in a smaller quantity. However, this did not prevent, even wearing mask, the fragrance and essence of one child from always standing out from others. I must say that this fragrance was due to the softener that his mother uses when she washes his clothes.

Besides, my day also began when this child came to the class door and, before we saw him, his smell was running through the class announcing his arrival.

On the other hand, his essence was permeated in our clothes, especially when we were around or played with him¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

   

¨At midmorning, all children bring a piece of fruit from home, With the situation of the Covid - 19, the fruit is taken from the backpack by teams and eaten at their table, when this happens the whole class is flooded with a sweet smell that reminds me of childhood. That moment of regaining strength in the middle of the morning before or during recess, the only time you could unwind running and playing on the school swings.

It is a different feeling to see it from the outside, it is very comforting to see the faces of children enjoying their favorite fruits, besides that it is very good for their health, and they get used to eating at least one piece of fruit a day¨ (Irene Martín, Colegio Amor Misericordioso).

  

¨In Cigüeña María, all spaces have their own essence. Inside the classroom, we have the animal corner where the classroom pet, which is a crab, is located. All the children must take care of the crab and as we changed the water every day 3 days, the smell of the crab and dirty water stayed for a short time in this corner. But the children were so careful that the crab would not escape and the did not noticed this scent.

However, one of the best essences of the center were in the gardens where er spent most of our time. In each of the gardens we have a corner of nature where we have a lot of flowers that always give off very pleasant flavors and, in this way, we feel more in contact with the nature.

Thanks to all these flavorings, we can say that the identity of Cigüeña María is in contact with nature and our representative animal is the stork¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, Cigüeña María).

        

¨Every Friday at some time of the day we take a walk around the school so that the children can leave their living area (class and recreation), because now, due to the Covid-19, they can not be free to move around the school or with children from other classes. As they know the route, we let them go ahead at their own pace, but we set up a series of steps that the children must make to check that none are missing and that they are well. One of those stops is the orchard, which these last few years are taking care of much more than when I was at school. It is full of beautiful flowers and vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers that smell wonderful and gave a touch of freedom and countryside to the school¨ (Natalia Fernández, Colegio Estudio).

We consider that the sense of sight is perhaps one of the most important sense of the human being, and it has been the one we have had the most active during our time in schools. With it, we have been able to perceive and interpret images, actions, reactions, events, etc.

¨When I enter school every day and see it is striking façade, I return to those days, which have been years, almost my entire life, when I had to go five days a week to receive my classes. I remember it very fondly because I spent all my school years at the Colegio Estudio and there are many memories I have here. The school is filled with yellow railings and the ceiling give a feeling of Japanese building¨ (Natalia Fernández, Colegio Estudio).

   

¨When I enter the classroom I automatically teleport back to my childhood, I look at the hangers with the children´s name, the walls decorated with their draws, their materials and all this makes me feel like a child again¨ (Lucía Sestafe, E.I. El Carmen).

        

¨At COAMI, they have an artificial tree inside the classroom, this is something that caught my attention and talking to the teachers at the school is something that they thought of introducing so that the children have a fresher and more pleasant atmosphere in the classroom, a touch of fun and adaptation to nature, the children, depending on the time of year, hang fruits, flowers leave brown or snowflakes on the branches of the inner tree.

They also have a small garden next to the school door where children are involved in the cultivation and growth of fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries or onions. This is something that I have not experienced in my childhood years, but it is very gratifying to see how children live and experiment with the small garden and that everything grown can be enjoyed at home.

Children enjoy watering and tasting some harvested fruits. It is exciting to see the children with their hands full of earth, touching and checking the texture of the mulch and even the satisfaction of pulling the vegetables out of the earth with a tug¨ (Irene Martin, Colegio Amor Misericordioso).

         

¨One day, the children left this toy cheese on the floor and suddenly, Lucas came and said, ¨This is what dinosaurs eat¨. I was so confused by what he had said, and I told him ¨Do dinosaurs eat this? ¨ to which he replied ¨No, maybe if they existed, they would eat it. Or, well, only those who are herbivores¨.

I have to say that Lucas is a fan of dinosaurs and he knows most of their names, but when we asked him, what dinosaurs ate, he always told us which meat or plant, but this answer was so thoughtful that it caught my attention and kept in my memory.

On the other hand, another girl of the class, when we come up from the garden, likes to place her classmates´ shoes in a circle or row. But she also tends to try on their shoes, especially those that attract her most attention and we decide to leave her in her world because she seems so focused that we are very sorry to disconnect her¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

        

¨In Early Childhood Education, putting on a smock is usually associated with moments when it is time to work. In this way, children are more aware of it. However, there are some specific times when the smock is not necessary. These moments are, for example, the playground¨ (Alba Fernández - Calvillo, CEIP Miguel de Cervantes).

      

¨We work every day in an activity where we travel to different countries around the world, which is where the students come from. We have already traveled through Romania, Morocco, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.

I find this activity interesting because we observe different things during two sessions of forty-five minutes. On the map we have in class we always stop to look for where each country is and as a result, we work with culture, typical foods, customs, currency, etc. We take all this information from the internet through images and videos that we project on the class screen and from which we do not stop. We learn new things¨ (Paula Castro, Divino Maestro).

   

¨The school Miguel de Cervantes (Tres Cantos) has a space for workshops. Above all, the sense of sight develops in the room. During my stay, I was able to observe the blacklight workshop. This month, the children discovered the ultraviolet black light, the fluorescent paints, and the fun and creativity they have hidden. A morning to enjoy, discover and above all to experiment and manipulate¨ (Alba Fernández - Calvillo, CEIP Miguel de Cervantes).

        

¨Until the last week, I did not realize that a ray of sunshine came through the bathroom window every morning and sneak into our classroom. I remember that I noticed this lightning bolt when we made use of the reading corner and I sat down next to the crib and all sudden, this lightning bolt started bothering me.

Another moment that I have been able to enjoy a lot in space and I have been able to see, is how children learn to express themselves artistically when they are in the garden. That is when we perform plastic activities outside to enjoy it much more than when we do it in the designated classroom currently.

Also, many times I have seen the children put sand on the tables in the garden and start drawing with their finger or pick up a stick and drag it across the floor making a drawing that it could be a house, mom and dad, a rainbow or anything they wanted to represent¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

        

Who does not remember the taste of their school food? For many of us, it might taste nice, while for others it may be very unpleasant. But the flavors of school not only encompass mealtimes but go far beyond.

¨The children are given a half lunch at 11.00 a.m. which consists of a piece of fruit, which alternates between pear, apple, and banana. I have always loved pears of school, they are small and very juicy, I have missed them.

The days when there are pears for breakfast make me very excited because I enjoy it a lot. This was not done when I was little, and I think it is very good idea because in this way they force the children to eat some fruit every day and they eat it gladly because at the time of the morning they get anything.

I have always boasted about the food from my school because the truth is that is delicious, almost everything is homemade and the cooks know how to do their job very well, as well as being very affectionate. As my schedule is from 9.30 a.m. to 16.00 p.m., every day I go to the dining room very excited thinking what they will have prepared this time¨ (Natalia Fernández, Colegio Estudio)

   

¨At mid-morning I return to the teacher´s room, which for me means a moment of unity and comfort where they treat me as if I were one more, we discuss different activities or situations that have occurred, in short, we catch up on both school and personal issues. It is a very special moment for me, not only because of that but because when I walk into this room, the smell of hot bread floods my nostrils and gives me that little burst of energy I need to fulfill my children.

When I finish my toast with tomato, which is usually the one I eat, because I have also found jam or ham, I go straight to my class, where a tour of the world awaits me¨ (Paula Castro, Divino Maestro)­.

  

¨The children ate in class along with the rest of their classmates making their meals more enjoyable. Teachers ate in the teacher´s room where depending on the shift at lunch, we did it in the company of some teachers or others.

I think these moments were the most enjoyable because we took the opportunity to talk about how our day had gone, the concerns other teachers had looking for possible solutions and, above all, we took the opportunity to tell each other funny anecdotes we had lived through.

The lunch time was the time when the teachers enjoyed the presence of other colleagues. At meals, everything was laughter and good vibes, where you could disconnect for a second from what it is work in the company of friends¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

      

¨On the day of the book, at the end of our day, one of the teachers came and gave us this sweet and sour rose.

When we ate the rose together, the moment became sweeter because we were spending it in the company of people with whom we have a good relationship. I think that this day was one of the sweetest I could feel¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

 

In the school we not only observe what is happening in our environment, but we also perceive and feel it trough touch with people, objects, and event spaces.

¨Every morning at about the same point, which is when I go upstairs from the children´s playground to go in their section, the children in my class who see me coming run towards me and I bend down to hug them. I think there is no better way to start the day than with a hug as sincere as the one my children give me¨ (Natalia Fernández, Colegio Estudio).

¨When I got to my class, children showered me with warm hugs and afterward we all sat on mats in front of the assembly, where every day I hear confessions about the students´ lives and that made me learn a lot from them. As the morning progresses, we perform different activities, such as math chips, or play with clay, this I have realized that they love, every day they make me different gifts with this material and I have received flowers, potatoes, hot dog, snails, etc.¨ (Paula Castro, Divino Maestro).

  

¨When children arrive, they come running to hug me and enthusiastically they seek my attention and tell me what they have dreamed at night, show me the clothes they are wearing seeking my approval and I talk to them, while I think how fortunate I am to be there, with them.

When it comes time for breakfast, Manoli, a worker at the center, oversees bringing her breakfast and her cups on a plate. When Manoli goes in class, the children all run towards her and hug her, every morning they feel the same excitement to see her, they feel cared for and grateful, and it is her way of showing gratitude and love.

   

Something similar happens with Deivis, a child who, because of his family situation, as the teacher told me, needs a lot of affection and to feel cared for.

From the first day he looks for me around the class to come and hug me, no matter what he is doing, he leaves it and comes.

He always has a detail for me, every break gives me a leaf or a stone.

He loves to feel close to me, to play with him, to hug me, to touch my hair, to smell it, to caress it, that makes me feel very valued¨ (Lucía Sestafe, E.I. El Carmen).

   

¨When it is time to queue up to get in or out of the classroom, the children get excited about the exit. That moment when you grab the smock of the partner in front, a feeling that if you let go you will get lost or that when you went backward everyone followed you like a domino.

Now, as teacher-to-be, I love to see the kids all holding on to each other, no matter who is behind or in front. When you are a kid, the time in line is as exciting as going out to play, being the first and being able to shake hands with the teacher was a privilege you could not always enjoy¨ (Irene Martín, Colegio Amor Misericordioso).

        

¨At nap time, many of the children would grab my hand and they focus on the bracelets I have. But they do not only touch it, but they also often focused on, analyzing these small accessories and start to tell what their characteristics are, if are big for them, what colors they had, etc.

At one of the meals, Ían and Bea focused more on the more colorful bracelet, but there was a moment when they realized that there were bracelets on the other hand, and Bea said, ¨These are only red¨, and Ían immediately focused on them.

As I always wear a necklace, Iván, many times has the habit of touching it while telling me some of his stories. However, Ían, Bea and Naiara, whenever they saw the necklace, they not only touched it, they also said to me ¨You lose it and Lucas found it in the garden¨. I was curious about why they gave such importance to this small object because that event had happened several weeks ago. But then, I understood it was because when Lucas found my necklace, I was so happy and they give an importance to thar event¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

  

¨At Miguel de Cervantes school (Tres Cantos), the English teacher suggested that the students have to make a butterfly with their feet using tempera. In this way, children can develop a sense of touch through texture. Games or texture activities are an excellent working tool for the sensory stimulation of children. Duran (4 years old) did not like this activity very much and he did not want to do it.

The teacher told me that Durán did not like textures, and, for that reason, he had to me encouraged.

In the end, with María´s help and mine (a girl with whom I was interning) we managed to get Durán to do the activity¨ (Alba Fernández - Calvillo, CEIP Miguel de Cervantes).

        

¨I think that one of the best things we can enjoy, in practice and when we are already work, is to see how the children research each of the objects or materials we offer them and look for different uses that can be given to them. With beads, some children could make any accessory and others just see that as their fingers are so small, they go into the hole that these objects have. The best thing about these two different concepts is that, in one way or another, they made these objects of theirs either as an accessory that you can put on and take off your body quietly or, as others did, adding them to their body as if they were a part of them¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

       

¨One the other hand, toys, and games with fine motor skills and symbolic games. While at school, as future teachers, we discovered the game in corners, related to the symbolic game, with cars, trains, constructions, etc. Children learn to cooperate as a team, such as when collecting. The feeling of playing with them and getting your hand into the building pieces to be able to make the tower taller or even create something that is in your imagination. It is gratifying to be told what they are creating with their face of illusion, all these observations make you relive the emotion of the teacher paying attention to what you were doing while you were playing as if it were something unique and unparalleled¨ (Irene Martín, Colegio Amor Misericordioso).

       

¨In the garden we have a corner of nature where the children have several plants to take care of. On one rainy day, some empty pots had been filled with water, and Iván, seeing it and decided to stick his finger in the pot. I think he liked the sense of feeling the fresh water on his skin because after a few minutes he put his two hands in and told me that the water was fresh, and he can feel a little or earth.

Another of the children decided to start passing the water from one pot to the other. He was so focused on the action he was doing, and it seemed that he was somehow satisfied to hear the water falling from one pot to another that I decided to take a picture of him and not deconcentrate him¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

       

The only way to connect with our environment and with the school is through the continuous listening that we do. However, thanks to this sense we generate memories that we can remember at any time.

¨While I disinfect my hands and I walk to class, I can hear music in the background that the school doorman plays every morning, it´s cheerful music, it gives me energy and happiness to start a new day¨ (Lucía Sestafe, E.I. El Carmen).

¨My day could start in different ways, giving a few simple ¨good morning¨, with a hug from some children when they came to class or, as was more common, with Iván talking to me about all the things he had done or singing me a song he had invented.

However, one of the days, two girls started singing the song ¨Sofía¨ by Álvaro Soler while they were in the garden playing with a bonfire that we had created with sticks a few days ago. I was a few meters from them with some of her colleagues ordering our workbox, when suddenly I started to hear Matilda sing this song and when Silvia wanted to sing it with her, Matilda replied ¨You don´t Silvi, this is Alegra´s song¨ and continued to sing it alone, but second later Silvia joined her and they began to sing it together¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).

SONG

´During this month of internship, I remember a lot of children´s songs that I was learned at school when I was little (Horse Pichirilo, Good Morning, Wizard Relinchín, Silencio….). The children´s teachers sing very well and at least twice a day we all sing together some songs accompanied by claps or some play of hands to exercise memory and fine motor skills. Children love that we sing, and they have a great time doing it¨ (Natalia Fernández, Colegio Estudio).

   

¨During these weeks, we have had very sunny days and others where the rain has taken over.

On one of these rainy days, while we were napping and everything was quiet, I started to hear the rain knocking into the window and I could also hear the wind.

At the moment, the only thing I could think of was to close my eyes and enjoy this relaxing moment that the nature was offering, and we rarely enjoy¨ (Mercedes Gallegos, E.E.I. Cigüeña María).