MAY-DAY... Helps is on the way! Part 4

Hey, Play Advocate.

In many of our programs and lives, we are preparing to wrap up the regular year and enter into Summerland. This month we will be chatting all about: End of Year Celebrations.

Each week, I will share with you one the ways our staff plan and celebrate the work of the children. Sprinkled in over the weeks will be some storytelling, goal setting, and tips to quell that nearly inevitable feeling of overwhelm that sneaks up on us all.

I got you. We got this.

👌 End of Year Celebration #4

A Child-centered / Child-led Celebration

A child from our Nature Play Cohort (Early childhood) adorns the bridge with treasures.

At my very first place-based teaching job, the school celebrated the closing of the school year and transition into Summerland with a Bridge Crossing Ceremony. This was a tradition borrowed from The Girl Scouts and Waldorf pedagogy (Rainbow Bridge Crossing Ceremony). Both are symbolic and physical representations of rites of passage through time; marking the end of one year and the beginning of another.

In years past this was a very formalized and almost theatrical event that was organized in a way that did not quite put the children's vision of this day at the forefront.

Several years ago, when finishing a pilot program at a local nature center, staff proposed the idea that the children create the bridge together, without our input. This was a novel idea and was the single most transformative choices we made. Children who in years past were too "shy" to cross the bridge in front of family members, teachers, peers etc., stood tall and walked proudly across the calico assembly of lose parts that was assembled with their own hands. Blocks of wood adorned with charcoal drawings, fresh peonies and herbs from their home gardens, and special nature treasures (feathers, shells, fungi, ferns, trinkets, rocks, shells, etc.) accompanied them as they passed by.

To begin the celebration, we gather as a community to sing a song. Then, children cross one at a time to meet their teachers with a hug, high-five or a shared glance. Each child receives a gift from their teachers, and off they go into Summerland.

Post bridge crossing, the community hosts a potluck and bonfire. In my humble opinion, this is a perfect way to end a year and celebrate the growth and monumental work of the children we all love and care for.

Annual Bridge Crossing Celebration and Community Potluck.

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