Fascination

Fascination is one of the positive emotions that seems to flow naturally when students are truly engaged in learning. I decided to teach my students this word today, using my new "Cognitive Content Dictionary", a strategy I learned in GLAD ( Guided Language Acquisition Development) training a couple weeks ago. I was floored when I heard a student use this word spontaneously, only 10 minutes before I was to teach the lesson. He found it "fascinating" that Miss Brown, our new student teacher, had used such "cool" things to make her 100th day of school collage. Groups of 10: bottle caps, marbles, beads, pennies and other fun items studded the 100 outline and my student was "fascinated." And so was I, fascinated that this 5 year old had spontaneously used this word in my classroom while joyfully exclaiming that the collection was, so cool!
As we talked about fascination, I watched the little faces light up as they shared something they were excited to learn about. The energy seemed to take us, effortlessly, into the rest of our learning day.
Later in the morning, I had a brainstorm, perhaps fueled by the mindful time I had spent pondering my students' interest in the word fascination. I decided to give each child a small notebook with the words, "My Fascination Journal" on the front. I told them that they could write about anything they are fascinated about, whenever they have free time or have finished their work. The response was a group cheer, "Awesome!" One boy drew pictures of planets and copied the words "outer space" above. He wrote " I am fascination by..outer space!" It was adorable.
Fascination fuels discovery and work in a classroom. Kids were looking at picture dictionaries to write about space, bugs, tractors and more, and I promised that we would do some "research" to find facts for their new journals.
I am excited to explore more ways to bring positivity and engagement to my classroom. And I am fascinated by the simplicity in implementing strategies to fuel and harness the power of these emotions.

Putting Positivity into Practice

I am so excited that Barbara Fredrickson's book, Positivity, http://www.positivityratio.com/book.php is out! It is on it's way from Amazon and will be here in a few days. I took the online quiz, available free on the book's companion website, http://www.positivityratio.com/, and registered to keep track of my daily positive ratios. There are wonderful tools to help learn more about the process of increasing well-being through positive emotions.
Today, as I thought about the range of positive emotions that can be elicited and built upon in the classroom, I decided to focus in on occasions where kids were amused, curious, silly, fascinated, playful and downright cute! As I purposefully savored those moments, I overheard one little girl say to her neighbor, "Are you kidding me?" in the most adult tone that a 5 year old could muster. As I grinned and noticed her watching me, a warmth flowed through my body and a calmness seemed to fall upon the room. I was reminded that kids watch my face often, looking for signs of my reactions, and I need to be mindful of that power. As easily as I can elicit a giggle, it is far easier to elicit a negative emotion or expression.
As I joined my class in singing our regular good morning song with the puppet we so fondly call, Mr. Monkey, I watched the students' faces as Mr. Monkey tried to sing in my ear, or hang from my chair. Whereas in the past I would not have dared to make my kids "silly" for fear of losing classroom control, I now know that eliciting that joy and silliness gives them a safety and a calmness that increases ability to solve problems as they arise during the day.
When a student interrupted, or wanted to tell me a story that we didn't have time for, instead of reminding him to be quiet, I told him how wonderful it would be for him to share that story at snack time. The look of satisfaction on his face was priceless.
I wondered if I could keep up this positivity as recess approached. Thursday is my yard duty day, a day I normally dread. I decided to intentionally strike up conversation with students who were looking a bit lonely, or seemed to need a chat, instead of my normal tendency to look for students getting into trouble. I hugged former students who came to visit, helped a few kids find classmates to play with, and before I knew it, the bell was ringing and recess was over. I couldn't believe how I calm I felt.
After recess and before lunch, I set out to give the district writing assessment to my kindergarten class. Where normally I can help students as they attempt the very difficult task of writing, I was mandated to remain quiet after verbally administering the writing prompt. I knew this would be a stressful endeavor, so I decided to try an experiment. I decided to use manila folders as dividers between students to reduce distractions and eliminate the possibility of cheating. This technique is hardly original, but my adaptation may have been. I asked my new and wonderful student teacher to draw a big smilie face on the side of the folder that the student would be facing while writing. I told my students that this smilie was to remind them to just do their best and that would be just great! As I suspected, the folder reduced the temptation to talk, and also seemed to calm the students. Perhaps it was just serendipitous, but my students performed better than prior classes had performed on a writing assessment at this time of year. And most importantly, no one was stressed out!
Thursday continued on with its positivity and I am reflecting with gratitude as I write. I can't wait for my book to arrive, and I hope that I one day have the chance to meet the author, Barbara Fredrickson, in person and tell her how grateful I am for her research on positive emotions.

If We Nourish, Kids Will Flourish

So the big question in my mind these days is: What are the necessary ingredients for kids to flourish? I came up with a rhyme ( hey! I teach Kindergarten, I can't help it) and I think that it's relevant and appropriate. If we nourish, kids will flourish. Sounds pretty basic, and definitely attainable until we realize the immense complexities and domains in which we must nourish kids.

The job description seems daunting at times. If you look at any elementary classroom, you will find a group of kids whose basic needs, such as adequate food, medical and dental care, weather-appropriate clothing, and shelter needs are met. In contrast, you will find kids who come to school each day, hurting because they have never been to the dentist, cold, hot or otherwise uncomfortable because of inappropriate clothing. They may be tired, because they aren't falling asleep at night, or irritable, because they ran out of hot water that morning and had a cold shower as they woke from their night's rest. On any given day you might have a child having a meltdown outside the classroom door because, for some reason, that morning has not gone well due to a bad dream, argument with a parent or sibling, or some other emotional interaction. Many people think that a teacher's responsibility is to teach right? A teacher should be able to walk in , lessons ready and teach. But the real job description, perhaps part of the reason for high teacher turnover, is immense. We are to care for a child across all domains: intellectual, emotional, social, physical and psychological. This sounds like the job of a superhero. And perhaps at times, teachers are.

I have begun many of my days at school trying to help a child regulate emotions. Although the moment that child hits my door I am required to be teaching them the standards, I first must recognize the child's emotional state and its impact on their learning( and everyone around them for that matter). Countless mornings I have been mother, caretaker, counselor, and nurse as kids come to school disoriented, upset and not especially ready to learn.

A recent episode comes to mind.

Susie, ( not her real name of course) is outside the classroom with her older sister. Susie does not want to come into the classroom and is clinging to her sister, making her sister late for class. Although my job is to make sure all 20 students are beginning their morning work after completing the routines of putting their things away, I must stop and take care of Susie. I spend at least 10 minutes coaxing Susie into the classroom talking to her about her "bad morning" as she describes it. I hear about how she had a bad dream last night as she clings to me saying, " I just want to stay with you." She tells me about the dream where mosquitoes were eating her. I help walk her through the process of understanding that dreams are not real and that we can tell ourselves to change our thoughts when we get stuck thinking of something unpleasant. I tell her to think of something she "wants" to think of, something that calms her and makes her feel happy. I see a calm come over her as she realizes she can say "stop" to her upsetting thoughts. After 5 more minutes of trailing me around the classroom, clinging to my side, Susie is ready to get to work and I can leave her at her table. Meanwhile 19 other children need me.

Ironically, Susie is from an upper middle class family who seems to have the means to care for their children, at least materially. Susie falls asleep each night to her television and is often banished to her room for misbehavior. She has older siblings she describes as "mean to her" and a parent who thinks that as a teacher I need to "focus less on her." Although I have attempted to enlist the support of her parents, I am on my own in helping this child. Her parent cannot handle the beacon of truth that I shed on the situation. So I must keep on, doing what I can, without the support that could make all the difference. I am doing my best to help Susie flourish by nourishing her the best I can.

I am not a superhero, but a teacher whose mission is to instill a love for learning and a belief that a child can achieve anything he or she sets out to accomplish. I love the wonderful year of Kindergarten. Sometimes the task seems overwhelming, but the rewards are immense. Now only if I had superpowers.

All This Talk About Hope: What does it Mean to You?

Surgeon and writer Sherwin Nuland meditates on the idea of hope -- the desire to become our better selves and make a better world. In a thoughtful 12 minutes, he explores the connection between "hope" and "change" (TedTalks2003)
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/441

What does hope mean to me? Although this TedTalk by Sherwin Nuland was recorded several years ago, (2003), I listened to it today and found it to be a great inspiration and validation of my advocacy and work for the kids I teach and coach.

So what does hope mean to me?

• Hope means that people will work together to solve the current problems and crises in our world: economic, environmental, social, global.
  
• Hope means that the children in my Kindergarten classroom will leave my class in June with a belief that they can achieve anything they set out to do.
• Hope means that we can imagine and act intentionally to create a better future by taking action, collaborating with others of like minds and working peacefully to resolve conflicts with those of different minds.
  
• Hope means that we speak out, in belief that others can "handle it" when we stand up for what we know deep in our hearts and souls to be true.
• Hope means that we endeavor to act authentically, with a strength and conviction that the human spirit can take us where we need to go.
  
• Hope means that I can inspire a student who struggles with any number of learning challenges, to keep working hard, seek out their strengths and find a way to contribute his/her gift of excellence to the world.
• Hope means building efficacy in kids; building the belief that they can achieve a goal, work hard to be excellent at the pursuit they choose.
• And finally, hope means that I somehow always seem to know in my heart that any hardship I experience in my life as I strive to make a difference, will make sense later. Life is not always easy; in fact, it rarely is.
  

How are we all going to continue to fuel hope?

Reference

Nuland, Sherwin (2003,February). A Meditation on Hope. Retrieved January 25, 2009, from Ted Talks Web site: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/sherwin_nuland_on_hope.html

Savor the Treasures

Today I searched through some of my prior unfinished drafts and serendipitously happened upon this picture and blog entry title: "Savor the Treasures." I decided to reflect for a moment on how often I savor the positives in my classroom. It's all too easy to get caught up in the challenges of classroom/ behavior management each day and forget the sweet treasures my students create and share. This picture from one of my students last year, says her name, my name and then the words "My Friendship". ( Note that we are drawn on a ship surrounded by love!) It is still posted in my classroom as it reminds me not only of her, a very special little girl, but also of the huge importance of relationship with students. We are "in it together" for 180-185 days a year, through tough hours, beautifully inspiring moments and everything in between. It can be incredibly difficult to remember that each word we utter matters and that our actions influence those of our students. As I reflect upon ways to improve individual responsibility as well as classroom cooperation, I will keep in mind this drawing which represents the mutual care that must be present in the classroom. If students don't feel care and respect, they will most certainly be distracted, disruptive or disengaged. My mission this week is to connect with each child in my class in a new way, discussing a new daily reflection mini-page where they will rate themselves on how respectfully, responsibly and safely they behaved each day. Most of all, I will savor the smiles.

I love Wordle! It's a Great Creative Expression for Kids of all Ages!

• In my wandering tonight, mining the internet for gems of inspiration, I came across Wordle, http://www.wordle.net/ which is a great way to make word clouds and designs. ( Thank you to fellow blogger, Ed Shepherd !) http://learningtocollaborate.blogspot.com/
  

• You can have kids brainstorm all words related to a particular theme or academic subject. You can get started making your clouds from your blog page or any list of words your creative child's mind can imagine.

• You can let kids write or dictate to you all of the things and people they appreciate too. It's a great gratitude collage!
  

• You decide things like font, color, size, shape and you hit the button and Magic!! It's great fun to explore how you can enhance meaning through color and other artistic elements.

• Your design is created and you can play around and change it, create an image of it to use as a poster or even a mug or t-shirt!

• I love to play with words and images, so you can imagine what I will be showing my students and all my friends!

Taking Care of Ourselves: A look at Positive Emotion Research

The writing below is one of my favorite inspirational passages, posted on the University of Carolina Chapel Hill Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab website. I am a huge fan of Barbara Fredrickson and her Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions.

http://www.unc.edu/peplab/purpose.html

You have -- within you -- the fuel to thrive and to flourish,
and to leave this world in better shape than you found it.
Sometimes you tap into this fuel – other times you don’t.
But the sad fact is that most people have no idea
how to tap into this fuel or even recognize it when they do.
Where is this fuel within you?

You tap into it whenever you feel energized and excited by new ideas.
You tap into it whenever you feel at one with your surroundings, at peace.
You tap into it whenever you feel playful, creative, or silly.
You tap into it whenever you feel your soul stirred by the sheer beauty of existence.
You tap into it whenever you feel connected to others and loved.
In short, you tap into it whenever positive emotions resonate within you

The Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill exists to answer a single question: 'What good is it to feel good?' Our purpose is to understand and to share the full significance of positive emotions.

We have three core ideals:
• To do high-quality science
• To answer questions that matter to humanity, and
• To have fun and feel good about doing it.

Our goal is to uncover the universal recipe for human flourishing and to give this recipe as a gift to the world. Our science to date tells us that genuine positive emotions may in fact be the single most important active ingredient in this recipe for flourishing. When this ingredient is lacking, or in poor supply – people get stuck. They lose their freedom of choice. They become stagnant and painfully predictable. But when this ingredient is in ample supply – people take off. They become generative, creative, resilient, ripe with possibility and beautifully unpredictable.
Our research team is working to show how it is that being moved by positive emotions can move you forward, and not only lift you to your higher ground, but also create a world that is worth giving to our children.

I think that the ideas expressed above are key to providing an opportunity for children to flourish. We must take action to create opportunities for ourselves to grow and thrive so that we have something to give to our children.

Here are some ways I have incorporated these ideas:

• I have experienced the power of playfulness with my Kindergarten class as I sing the good morning song with my monkey puppet, Mr. Monkey.
  
• I have witnessed the way children feel loved and connected when I use the puppet to give them a good morning hug as we sing together.
• I try to pursue my creative outlets anytime I can! I spent countless hours making cards for the holidays, making big messes and letting my creative soul wander.
• I play games with my own college kids when they come to visit: we play Scattergories and laugh about how hard it is to come up with different answers when you are of "like minds".
• I teach sight words in my classroom with "Silly Songs for Sight Words." I encourage my students to come up with their own silly lyrics!
• I stop my car along the ocean each morning as I begin my journey to work. I listen to the beautiful roar and watch the waves, savoring the magnificence of nature.
  
• I share my passions, soapboxes and ideas with anyone who will listen!
• I feel incredibly blessed and at peace as I write this, knowing that despite the fact that the rain woke me during the night, I have fueled myself in a positive direction by writing and releasing my creative energy.