Teacher Profile Series: Paola Flórez
Paola Flórez, Kindergarten Facilitator
Kindergarten is a magical and monumental time at PCS. Children are growing into their backpacks and the longer days and the school routines and their independence. It’s exciting to celebrate their bravery and accomplishments, but it’s also an honor to hold space for their sweet littleness. There’s an ebb and flow of venturing out and seeking shelter that is at the heart of this time of tremendous social, emotional and cognitive development, and we can think of no one more uniquely suited to working alongside Kindergarten students than Paola Flórez. With her guidance, children move closer into the fold of the primary school community, joining the structures, routines and projects of PCS days while simultaneously beginning to establish themselves as individual learners.
It could be her eternal warmth. It could be how intuitively she recognizes and values the whole child. It could be her trust in following the children’s interests where they lead. Or, it could be how wonderfully good her classroom always smells … whichever the reason(s), Ms. Paola is something of a mythical creature at PCS, revered for her ability both to see and to soothe her students. She understands that kids’ words and behaviors, their worries and questions, their tears and triumphs are windows to their hearts and an invitation into their world. Says Ms. Paola, “Children have an unfiltered wisdom that they are happy to share if and when given the opportunity to do so.”
Ms. Paola uses the wisdom and interests the children share with her to guide their learning experiences. Literacy moves to the forefront when the children express an interest in visiting the Early Childhood classroom to read books to their younger friends. Numeracy becomes a priority when the kids want to track how many days they’ve been in school, and a sewing lesson is in order after the class Skypes with students in Zimbabwe who sew dolls to sell to fund their school. In fact, the sewing becomes such an abiding interest that the kids compose a work song to sing during their stitching. “I am in love with the magic that happens here,” says Ms. Paola. “I am in awe of how it happens… I love that we put children first and follow their curiosity and desire to want to know… because when children are genuinely invested, real learning happens.”
Stepping into Ms. Paola’s classroom, this real learning is visible all around. Works in progress hang in the windows; students’ words are scribed and tacked to boards; often, multi-cultural music plays as a backdrop for a movement exercise; and an entire wall of the classroom is dedicated to tracking the students’ thinking about the trimester’s Integrated Unit. Ms. Paola’s classroom is the archetypical, Reggio-inspired “third teacher:” flexible, accessible and reflective, with materials chosen and arranged purposefully to encourage exploration, collaboration and play, and to promote critical thinking as well as creativity. The experiences arising from the children’s interactions with this space often form the foundation of the project-based learning that happens in Kindergarten, whether building leads to the constructions of homes and a village during the “Telling Our Stories” Unit, or the loose parts and glue guns spark a mini-Maker unit, or the dimmed lights and cozy, cushioned setting of the post-recess classroom inspire a yearlong meditation practice.
While it is Ms. Paola who nurtures the care, curiosity and mindfulness that have come to characterize her classroom, it is her trust in her students’ capabilities and wisdom that makes Kindergarten at PCS magical, a place where children’s ideas come to life. “I hope to be able to provide a loving, nurturing, accepting, encouraging environment where the children feel safe and comfortable to explore, to ask, to speak, to be. I hope to support my students on their journeys. I hope to help my students find their voice, see their light and share their gifts.”