Self-Care

When we give tours at Skytown, the Director often says that one of the only formal curricula we practice is the practice of self-care: giving children space and support to take care of and trust their own bodies. Watching children wash their hands, go to their cubbies, and get bags that are half their size to carry to the lunch table always fills the teachers with joy. They are doing so much work in what seems like a small task for adults—getting ready to open their own containers and feed themselves as one of their first acts of bodily autonomy.

One thing our teacher has wondered recently is exactly when do children learn that rolling up their sleeves while washing their hands helps them stay dry for the rest of the day? It is fascinating to watch as children learn to perform this fundamental act of self-care.

What may seem tiny for an adult—rolling up sleeves to wash hands—is a big deal to children who are figuring out cause and effect (sleeves down during handwashing means water, which means being wet).