"What if Sunny is allergic to cat treats?" This question led us on a journey which had an ending that we could not have anticipated! I brought a bag of cat treats in one day for the children to give to the tabby neighborhood cat that we had affectionately named Sunny. Sunny had been visiting our playground for over a year and the children had built a relationship filled with belly rubs and gentle pets. I thought the children would like having something to offer the cat on his visits. When I showed the treats to the class, A. was worried that Sunny might be allergic to them. We decided to send a letter on Sunny's collar to ask his owners about his allergies (as well as many other questions!) After a few weeks of waiting, we received a reply carefully pinned to Sunny's collar from his owners our neighbors across the street. We learned that Sunny's real name was Percy and that he had a sister cat named Sunny! We also learned about our neighbors house (made of wood not straw!!) and about their pet bird. This inspired the children's curiosity. We decided to write another letter in the hopes that Percy would be a good mail cat and send the letter. We created a small mail tube and wrote a reply together at circle time, asking about our neighbors, their pets and telling them a bit about us too! We are so excited for the next leg in our neighborly communication. When we chose to call ourselves the Nest Community School, we had a vision of how the preschool would find ways to interact with the Community and be connected to the world around us. This newfound connection is a wonderful way to reach out and be connected to the community in our neighborhood. In the words of childhood and neighbor advocate Mr. Rogers, "In every neighborhood, all across our country, there are good people insisting on a good start for the young, and doing something about it.”
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