Dr. Seuss In My Head

Oh what a fun day we had yesterday
As we celebrated Seuss and we learned through word play
Cat in the Hat, The Foot Book, and Green Eggs and Ham
How the kids love those rhymes with that Sam I am!
Little ones will remember
That school can be fun
Not just sitting so quietly
And getting "work done"
They will smile at home with their striped rhyming hats
They will practice word families, like "at sat and cat"
Some will draw funny pictures and then will write more
Silly kids may chant rhymes as they shop in the store
So thank you Dr. Seuss with your love for word play
In Kindergarten we love you on more than one day!

Easier to Blame the Kids Than Reflect: What Happened Today?

Today was not one of my most favorite days in kindergarten. A multitude of factors influenced the day and I must give them their fair props. Amongst those that stand out in my mind:

• I was out of the classroom for an entire week while my intern was doing her solo week. She is wonderful and the kids love her; it's just that having 2 teachers is a lot like having a 2 household situation as in the case of divorced parents.We are consistent, but they still test us!
• Before last week was winter break, so it's been 2 entire weeks since the kids have had me with them in class.
• It was Monday, a day in general where we have to introduce lots of new information; This means lots of time on the carpet and lots of having to participate and pay attention! Even though we have movement breaks, long stretches on the carpet pose a huge challenge.
• I felt stressed after reading the District writing assessment prompt which requires my students to do writing that, at first glance, appears to be much higher than the stage they are at. 
• My most unique special student normally has some transition challenges on Mondays; so, with me being back and, in addition, a new class helper for her today, things were a bit high energy/anxiety.
• The kids talked over whoever was talking at many points in the day; whether it was one of their peers sharing or me speaking, they were interrupting and generally being disrespectful. Do they do this at home? It makes me wonder.
• Kids are still adjusting to their new seating arrangement from before winter break. I am still evaluating if I have put the best combinations together. Time will tell.
• One of the students has been acting out with attention seeking phrases and today hit an all time high or is it low with his blurt out, "I just wanna die." Of course I am concerned about any child who utters those words and will be following up with his parents. 

So now that I reflect, was the day all bad? Well, not really. Did the kids learn their new "word of the week" and letter of the week? Did we introduce the new theme, "Wheels go Around" and share items brought from home? Did we work together in partners to decide which vehicles from our story are most important?  Did we celebrate a student's birthday? Did we learn about subtraction and make up stories on our white boards?
Yes, we did all of that. And I think we went home with smiles on our faces. Perhaps everyone, except for maybe me?
I need to remember that teaching is messy, imperfect, and often exhausting. And when I am mindful of that, I can have much better Mondays.

Missing my Kids

I suppose this title could be confusing: Which kids is she missing? Her real kids (ages 22 and 23) or her 180 days a year kids? I didn't realize that I would be referring to both when I set out to write this, but I am.
My own kids are with me in spirit every day, and often through texting, facebook and phone! though both are way too far away for my liking. I just saw Nick last week and enjoyed spending time with him, Melissa ( his girlfriend) and their two dogs. Stef will be coming in a couple weeks on her way to Southern California and I will be so happy to see her. I recall one time telling her that when I have her and Nick with me I feel like I have all of my limbs attached.  I love my kids and have always promoted their autonomy, but I miss them so much. My own life is full of many important meaningful relationships with kids and families, and is made even better with a wonderful loving husband who shares many of my passions and soapboxes.
But this week, on top of that, I am missing my class. It's my intern's solo week and I am out of the classroom. Before you get the wrong idea, this does not mean I am strolling around, drinking coffee and wasting time! I am cleaning out my office, running off things for my Kindergarten team, finishing report cards, attending a day long equity training and presenting on it to staff.. yes, I am busy!
Busy, but missing something. Missing the hugs and stories from my students. Missing the inspiration to write, as their comments and learning "ahas" often inspire me to make connections and reflect on good teaching practice.
I know that they are in wonderful hands. I am confident that they are learning and thriving in my class this week. But selfishly, I miss them.  I suppose if I didn't, then, I would worry.

Looking in the Mirror: The Power of Self-Reflection

Last November I wrote a post about building self efficacy through daily self-reflection. I was on a mission to build independence and teach kids how to reflect on their behavior and learning at school.  Yesterday, as my husband and I enjoyed a nice conversation over dinner ( yes, yet again a discussion that came back to kids and school!) we began discussing how these daily self-evaluations are contributing to kids' growth. It struck me that the value of this practice is even greater than I intended.
Here are a few of the "aha's" and reasons why I will continue to have kids think about their respect, responsibility and safety at school and communicate their reflections to their parents each day.

• One of the huge benefits of this practice is that each child is reflecting on his day and not looking to the teacher to "report" if he has had a "good" day or "bad" day. I have heard teachers tell parents that "Johnny" had a "bad" day. When I train kids to use this form, we don't use the words "good" and "bad". We talk about how some of the choices they made might have been wise choices or "not the best" choices where they "didn't think" before acting. We talk a lot about how sometimes a decision to act seems like a good choice but on further reflection, it's not such a great idea. Each day is a fresh start, where we know more about ourselves than the day before!
•  As my students fill out their forms, I welcome them to solicit my input only after they have already thought about how they will rate themselves. Often kids are tougher on themselves than I would be, but their perceptions give me lots of information. It's a great opportunity to point out positive choices they may have overlooked. Sometimes they get stuck on one challenging moment and generalize it to the entire day. 
• The report is a daily communication with parents and usually bears good news! I have seen the tendency for some teachers to only send reports home that focus on when a child has had difficulties that day.
• The kids can fill out the form and know what the icons mean even if they can't yet read the words. The training period was probably about a week and after that, the kids were able to fill them out on their own.
• The evaluation generates a conversation between the teacher and the student about how "we" can work together to have success in the classroom. When a child has had some tough times focusing and getting work done, and the evidence is in the unfinished pile of work, we can brainstorm together with the parents about possible strategies to help him/her solve the problem. When kids begin to realize that they need fewer distractions, or that when they are tired they don't work as well, they can begin to take responsibility in the classroom and ask the teacher for a "quiet area" to work in or an earlier bedtime from parents. Believe it or not, I have had kids go home and tell their parents that they need more sleep!  

          These are just a few of the reasons why I will continue to have my kids reflect. Most importantly, so far, is that happy, engaged and independent learners come to school excited and "ready for a challenge" each day.

They Want to Know..About us

A few days ago I was reminded of an important lesson about working with kids. As I closed down a presentation featuring pictures of my students during recent lessons, a voice cried out from the crowd of 5 year old fans. "Show us that picture! " "That Picture" was a family picture of my visit to my Dad's house at Christmas. I hadn't planned on taking a 5 minute diversion into  "my life story" because that wasn't on my lesson plan. But what happened next was indeed, a vivid example of the "teachable moment" and the importance of relationship.
As they giggled at the silver haired man I called, "my dad", questions flew. "Who's that next to him?" "Is that your mom?" Oh great, I thought. Now I have to explain that my mom died 10 years ago and that the woman next to my dad is my stepmom. There was a moment of silence and then more questions. " Do you miss her?" "How did she die?" Then came the spontaneous sharing of empathetic little souls," My grandma died too, and I miss her too." I heard and saw students comforting each other with hugs and kind comments.
 The scene reminded me of those moments in the car when my children were small and they asked much braver questions than when we sat face to face, eye to eye. In the dark room, illuminated by the light of the projector, I took the time to ease the curious minds and share with them just a little more about me. I think we all grew a step closer to understanding each other that day. And, of course, I learned more about the nature of relationship: we want to know about each other and we yearn to care.

The Teacher Dog and Pony Show

It's that time of year, or is it "always" that time of year when your door flies open and suddenly your classroom is filled with strangers, looking for evidence of your incredible teaching prowess.  As these moments often bring me considerable stress, I thought I would share my attempt at dealing with it by humor and song.  SO, here it is. The song you've been waiting for. Watch out, Weird Al!

Teacher Dog and Pony
(sung to the tune of Hokey Pokey)

You let the big suits in
You send the big suits out
You let the big suits in
And you wish you had some clout
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to keep your job
That’s what it’s all about!


You hope your kids tune in
You watch your kids tune out
You watch the suits come in
And you want to scream and shout
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to keep your job
That’s what it’s all about!


You do your best lesson
You try to impress them
You do your best lesson
And you hope the time goes fast
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to keep your job
That’s what it’s all about!

So just remember then
It’s not about the show
It’s all about the kids
And it’s them who truly know
You do the dog and pony
Cause you want to be with them
That’s what it’s all about!

Preventing Learned Helplessness by Promoting Independence

It's that critical time of year when kindergartners are becoming more independent. This independence can lead to a strong sense of efficacy with an "I can do it" mentality. Sometimes, though, our actions actually sabotage a child's strides toward autonomy. 
The progress toward independence can be tentative during this time as kids become more aware of their growing bodies, abilities and those of peers. At times kids seem to sense that their parents miss their "preschool years" and their precious dependence. It's wonderful to reminisce and share their sweet memories, while also pointing out how great it is that your child is growing stronger and more capable each day.
If you feel the need to jump in and help your child conquer a challenge, please stop for a moment and think: will my help encourage my child to move on and be willing and able to attempt tasks himself? Am I encouraging and modeling that hard work can solve problems? Or will my help give my child the idea that she is not capable of doing the job herself?
The most effective way to support a child in learning a new skill is to scaffold him, support him to take on a task (or even a step of a task) just beyond what he thinks he can do. Have you ever seen the smile of mastery on the face of a child just learning to ride a bike? Yes, we give them training wheels so they can learn to balance first and get the feeling of the bike.  We run aside them cheering them on, teaching them to keep going when they get scared. We also must eventually let go and encourage them to try their hardest and be prepared for the inevitable fall. Not only must we teach them to work hard to succeed but to fail well and learn from it.  
Yes, we tend to want to protect our children, but we must not hold them back. They deserve to thrive with the right amount of autonomy and independence.