Tuesday SOL: What a Wonderful World

This is a Tuesday Slice of Life for Two Writing Teachers. 

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.


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Something I love about our school, which ranges from preschoolers (Pre K-3) to middle school, is our pairing of each of the younger classrooms with an older classroom. This school year, the Big Cats preschoolers will get together with first graders (the "Double-Headed Rattlesnakes") for partner reading each Friday. These structured pairings allow for the most beautiful and unexpected interactions, providing opportunity for role modeling by older students, with younger students basking in the singular attention of an older student. For our older students, I think there is even a "letting down of the guard" - a chance to be a little more relaxed and confident about their reading skills, as they casually and comfortably read to their younger partner. Sometimes, the pairings result in new friendships, with children happily reconnecting if we see one another in the hallway or elsewhere in the school.


Last year, after our partnering was well underway, one of my preschoolers ('Mary') began to refuse to sit with her partner, and even said to me,
"I don't want to go to the first grade class."

"Why, Mary? Tell me what is wrong. Why are you sad about reading with your partner?"

"Because she always reads to me!"

"She always reads to you?" I echoed, somewhat confused. This is my classic technique, when I fail to grasp something, I simply restate the words that were said...buying myself a little time, hoping they'll say something more that will clarify. I really did not understand.

"Yes. She never lets me read to her."

It's true, every now and again, I do have preschoolers who can read…but this little friend was not one of these. However, she loved our picture books, devoured them daily, imagined stories to go with the pictures, and saw herself as a reader. Imagine how easy it would have been to retort to this three year old - "But, Mary, you do not know how to read." I did not. I was thrilled by her confidence! My preschoolers see themselves as readers! I simply said,

"Oh! You want to read to her, too!?"

I turned to her first grader partner - "Would it be okay if Mary read to you, today?"
and she said, "Oh, sure! That would be fun!"
and off they went happily, to read together.


This past Friday, the Double-Headed Rattlesnakes came down to meet us for the first time this new school year. We introduced the pairings of students. Several first graders have younger siblings in my class, and we purposefully pair these siblings to read together - an extra special connection, in the middle of the school week, to have a little sibling time.

We will read together for thirty minutes each week, but this first Friday was simply to meet one another, to share your name, to talk with one another about your favorite stories. Several three year olds got up to grab books from our bookshelves, sharing some of their favorite books with their new first grade friends. After a little conversation time, getting to know one another, both classes settled in together on our meeting carpet to hear a read-aloud together.



Another special part about this past Friday was its date - September 11th. How to recognize the significance of this day with preschoolers? For me, since 2001, it has been the tradition of reading a special book - What a Wonderful World (illustrated by Ashley Bryan, written by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele) followed by playing the song by Louis Armstrong. This book is a beautiful story song, celebrating children, diversity, love. This year, since my September 11th book reading dovetailed with meeting our first grade reading partners, I read the book to the entire combined group.

This was an incredibly special read-aloud for me. Just three short years ago, many of these first graders were my preschoolers. There I was, reading the words aloud and looking over my audience, seeing these now much bigger first graders with the same faces they had in preschool, sitting snugly and amiably with their new three year old reading partner, happily engaged in the familiar book. Many of the first graders read along with me, recognizing and remembering the words. Everyone was so quiet and focused when we played Louis Armstrong, and I enjoyed their enraptured faces listening to his throaty words. One student noted, "My daddy sings this song to me."

Then, it was time to go. "First graders, it is time to line up. Say goodbye to your Big Cat friend, ask them if they'd like a high five or a hug from you before you leave."

For the siblings, this was hard. Some tears were shed, saying goodbye to the older loved one. One first grader plied his sister with many kisses on her cheeks. But for most of the pairings, they were saying goodbye to someone entirely unfamiliar, not known. I noticed a couple of my preschoolers shook their heads at this offer of a high five or a hug - not yet willing to be friendly with this new big student. This was worthy of a follow up discussion...

When the first graders left, we talked about how hard it can be to meet new people. "Did anyone have a funny feeling in their tummy?" I shared how some say it feels as if you have 'butterflies' in your tummy. A couple of children nodded. I coached, "There is a fluttering, a pulling. It helps me to take deep cleansing breaths. We'll get to know these first graders over time. We will see them each Friday. We will become friends, in time."

It is early in the year. We have just met.

I see friends shaking hands
saying "how do you do?"
they're really saying 
"I love you."

SOLSC #3 High School Mood Change

Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC)

Just a moment in time...

I’m outside with the preschool Big Cats, in our alley, which abuts a high school.  This alley is the closest thing we have to a playground.  (I wrote about this in an earlier post.)

The children are having a lot of fun, laughing, running, chasing, jumping, shouting.

Some are see-sawing on the Imagination Playground foam blocks. 
Others are running with hoola-hoops and jump ropes.

Still others trying to kick a ball, in an wild, improvised game of soccer in the alley. 

I am standing adjacent to the high school entrance, when a high schooler steps out.  I see immediately that he is furious. Truly, he stomps out, almost tearing himself out of the school, angrily clutching his backpack, fists clenched in fury. I am close enough to hear him curse, as he hurries down the sidewalk.

Ahhh, but, the tiny Big Cats are sprawled over the sidewalk, in his way...playing a child's game, bodies in motion, flopping onto one another, laughing uproariously, jump ropes tied onto hula hoops, wiggly, wobbly, with jumps onto the sidewalk, impeding his path.

They look up at him, grinning with joy.

I see the high schooler’s shoulders relax, and his gait slow. Did I see a smile cross his face? No, that would be an exaggeration. However, much of his tension has escaped. He is no longer furious.

How can you stay angry in the midst of such silliness?

Imagine a world where squealy young children descend upon households with teenagers at the snap of the fingers.

What a release!

May I read them a book?

Declan had finished his second grade math test quicker than his classmates.
His teacher suggested he spend a little time with the Big Cats, while his classmates finished up the test.

This is one of the silver linings of a preschool embedded within an elementary school, having older students come and visit us.

We were just getting ready for Storytime.
He asked if he could read the preschoolers a book,
"I could read this one," he said,
finding one of our recent favorites, Jeremy Draws a Monster (by Peter McCarty).

I was delighted with his offer. I knew it would be wonderful for the children to have an older student read to them. "Oh, the children love that book!  Yes, that would be great! You read to them first, and then we'll follow you with our special book of the day."

He sat down in the reading chair and all the children quickly arranged themselves at his feet.
He began to read, holding the book to face the children and reading the words upside down.

He was, truly, a teacher.

I was amazed at how transfixed the children were by his reading.  There were none of the usual side conversations; instead, all eyes on Declan.

The children were fabulous listeners.  As this familiar story continued, one preschooler couldn't contain himself any longer and blurted out "He's going to make the monster go away!" and, the floodgates opened and everyone started sharing at once, wanting to tell Declan what they remembered from this favorite tale.

Declan stopped reading.  He stared at the preschoolers.  Then, he slowly, without a word, closed the book, with his fingers stuck inside as a placeholder.

This caught me so off guard - this perfect imitation of a teacher.  I had to turn my head, to hide my smile and stifle my laughter at this delight.

Yes, he was, truly, a teacher.

"He closed the book!" one preschooler said, in alarm.
"Stop talking!" another exclaimed.
"Read more! There's more!" one couldn't resist.
Declan stared back, saying nothing.
The children went quiet.

Assured that they were listening, he opened the book and proceeded to finish the tale.

Oh, how I struggled not to guffaw!

Later, he came up to me and said, "Ms. Ingram, let me share a technique I learned in my class - when Ms. Coleman thinks we are talking too much, she closes the book until we are quiet.  Did you see how it worked with these kids, too?"

I nodded and smiled (once more, resisting the urge to laugh aloud with sheer delight),
"That is a very good technique. Thank you for sharing it with me. It is very hard to read aloud when others are talking, isn't it?

Thank you for reading to the children, today. You, Declan, are truly a teacher. "

Tuesday SOL - One real positive this year

This post is for the Tuesday Slice of Life writing challenge on Two Writing Teachers.



The children were last seen in the school on Friday, June 15th, but, their voices echoed.

We teachers spent busy, long days last week packing up our classrooms for our move this summer to a wonderful new location.

In the midst of the packing, we had several focused discussions about specific issues, both to wrap up this founding year of our school and looking ahead to year two.

In the midst of the packing, we took time to meet and share about our children.

I love being part of a staff that is truly all about the children.

I love how
we know about each other's students,
we embrace the time to share about specific issues,
we make these our whole school's issues.

Certain children need more.  It's as simple as that.

We shared about successes, we shared about continued challenges...their struggles, their "stuckness," their beings.

In the midst of the packing, we had "kid talk," all of us embracing the time, respecting the need for this time.  Time to hone in on what worked, what went wrong with specific children...considering their struggles, changes that are needed, ways we might support the child and family better, how to make changes in our teaching and across classrooms, in the school as a whole, to better support the child.  Were there common unmet needs?  Were there successful strategies? How might we work together to guide this student?

As I reflect this summer, I am happily aware that I love spending time with my colleagues.

I love how
we listen to one another's challenges in the classroom,
we draw a difficult child in rather than push them away,
we welcome older students to "catch a breath" in younger students' classrooms,
we have high expectations for their learning,
we seek to know the child.

Yes, we spent time on children, and the packing got short shrift.

I started off so controlled and organized - specific boxes marked "math manipulatives," "dramatic play - hospital," "engineering."  As time and spirit failed, it became a mad rush to just get everything into boxes, a frenzied, chaotic, get it done, I am fried, I need to go home conclusion to the year.

I'll find time in August to sort through those materials.

I'm glad we spent time on children.

What's happening in the garden?

One of our Teacher Residents (Anna) has organized a vegetable garden for the preschool and Pre-K classrooms - what a fantastic idea!  

It never ceases to amaze me how much fun and learning we can do outdoors.

Every day of the week, during centers, a small group of children heads outside to work in the garden.  

This past week, our first week, has been all about digging up and working the soil.  We are using real tools - and the children are being so careful and responsible.  

Other excitement from week one:

• discovering roots
• distinguishing between clumps of dirt and rocks
• learning how to shovel
• banging on a tree stump
• finding bugs
• using a shovel to find bugs
• making bug homes

We have found lots of grubs, pill bugs, spiders...and not enough worms.  I love how no one flinches at any of these finds.  Young children are all about discovery - holding the grubs in their hands, exploring its legs and antennae.  They had many questions about the grubs - 

What is this shiny gold thing with a tail? 

Why is this in the garden?  

Is it good or bad?  

What is it doing?  

Why is it curling up? 

Here, I don't know the answers...but I'm excited to help them in finding answers, to discover more.

What to do with all the non-living things we find in the soil?  Well, start a windowsill display, of course!  We love exhibits.  Here, we have been treasuring rocks, parts of bricks, small plastic toys, all of our finds.  

Each day, the time has just flown by...no one has asked to leave the garden, no one has been "bored."  I hear the children creating respectful rules for working alongside one another:


You are getting dirt on me.  You are moving the shovel too fast.
Look, dirt on the sidewalk!  Dirt stays in the garden.
Can you throw dirt?  No! 


Another unplanned, unexpected, but treasured tangent of this gardening has been the mixed-age group experience.  Not only are three, four, and five year olds working together, but several elementary students have joined us.  During their playground time, our elementary students have seen the preschoolers working and have asked to help.  We have welcomed their assistance (they are so proficient at loosening and turning over the soil!).  It is so great for our youngest students to have this fervent interest by the older ones.


As the children work, the conversation just flows...


We are growing flowers at my house. 
First we looked at bugs, and then we grew flowers.
My daddy is doing that.  He jumps on the shovel, too, making big clumps of dirt.
My mommy gave me gardening gloves.  I got big gloves.
We have a new shovel.
We are growing carrots and peas.
In my garden, we saw a big insect. It was this big, as big as a grasshopper.

This week, we are planting the vegetables.  


However, because this open-ended exploration has been so fantastic, we have decided to reserve one small area, deep in the shade, just for digging.


Here's to gardening!

How to learn something new?

How to stretch a kid? 

How to get them out of their "stuck" position and move them into learning?

     On my mind, actively, this spring break, is my son who is a junior in high school.  A year from now, we hope he is opening up college acceptances....  We know he is interested in college, but in a very passive, third child, calm way.  He is an easy-going, happy kid.  Not particularly charged about any one topic – likes building and creating (engineering?), enjoys his high school law and forensic science classes (criminology?)  He is young, a late June birth, meaning he has always been one of the youngest in his class...truly I wonder if he just needs a year off, a “gap”  year...he is uncertain. He watched and listened to the "buzz" around the his older brothers going to college, going to law school; my new job; Dad’s new job; and he just slips away, to play games, use the computer, hang with friends.  He is happy being in the background, perfectly content to let his family dig deep into their pursuits.

How to introduce some forward thinking?  

How to take him further is his pursuits, in his interests?

     On my mind, passively, this spring break, are my preschool "race car drivers."  I have several students who race cars every day, every day, every day.  They are easy-going, happy kids.  Sure, with their classmates, they read great books, create exciting engineering projects, explore puppets, nature, math, on and on.  But, every day, as soon as they can, they slip away and return to cars - talking about them, building garages and roads for them, and racing them.  They are happy being in the background, perfectly content to let their classmates get deep into other topics. For them, it's all about cars.

How to introduce some literacy, some math, some critical thinking into their play? 

How to take them further in their pursuits, in their interests?

     Here we are, on a spring break college tour with our junior ... we are “putting out a carrot,” trying to whet his appetite, increase his desire, draw him in.   He hasn’t sought to know more about college; as of yet, he’s not owning this pursuit.  We challenged him to name four colleges about 2- 3 hours away, perhaps places we didn’t visit with his older brothers, "let's make it a mini-vacation."   We turned the spotlight on him.  In the end, we chose the four colleges, colleges that we have heard positive things about, and we planned a get-away for spring break, scooping him up, immersing him in the topic of going to college - seeing, doing, hearing.  He visited Admissions Offices, walked campuses, sat in quads, soaked up the college atmosphere.  Saturation, immersion, cultivation.

     And here I am planning a new dramatic play center for my "peripheral" learners – the ones who engage briefly in our projects and then take off to race cars.  Let’s turn the spotlight on them. I’m thinking “Auto Repair,” a center where I might have lots and lots of old, broken toy cars for painting and detailing (every car will need a race number!).  Maybe we could have a car washing area, with rags for scrubbing or waxing? Perhaps we could build a “race course” – a place to test out our repaired cars?  (Maybe one of the older elementary students could help us.)  We could have small writing pads for writing up repair bills.  We could have mechanics tools.  It would be fun to decorate the area with old license plates, maybe a hub cap or two? Could we create one large cardboard box car, for children to go in and out of? Perhaps we could create a ramp for cars (not balls) and do timed runs?  Measure distances?  

     Our family keeps talking about college. We built a trip to cultivate interest in college.

      I think the college trip has made our junior feel very special.  More importantly, it has made college more "real" for him.  He sees that his parents are interested.  He is excited about possibilities.  He is making comments, asking questions: 

I’m not sure I want to be at some place so small.

This place is cool – the downtown is fun, the campus – I like it.

Mom, did you hear that they have a major that combines Engineering with Liberal Arts – you can get two B.A.s in the 5 year plan?

Where is the main part of this campus?  It is so big.

I wonder how diverse this campus is?

     His process of discernment begins.  If, over time, it is becomes apparent that he isn’t interested in - or ready for - college right now, we’ll regroup, refine, re-plan.

     The preschoolers keep talking about cars.  Let's build a dramatic play corner to cultivate this topic.

     I think this dramatic play corner will make these preschoolers feel very special.  Using their own interests as a starting point, they will be working on literacy and math.  If it turns out that the children aren’t really interested in the new "auto repair" area, we’ll know it soon – when we see them spend time elsewhere.  And we’ll refine, regroup, re-plan.

     This is "emergent" learning...the topic is "of" them; our role as teachers (parents) is to nurture and encourage the topic; the children must participate for the subject to grow...and it may all fizzle out and we'll move on to something else.

With children of all ages, 

we simply:

need to provoke,

need to stimulate,

catch them thinking,
get ‘em thinking!

It can seem light, cursory, even extravagant.

Why put a child’s interests above your own?

Why?
To see where it leads,

see if there is a spark.

How do you learn more about something?

How do you learn something new?

What about older students?

For years, I've worked at a preschool that was simply that, a preschool - a sweet campus full of two, three, four, and "just turned five" year old children.

This year, my preschool class of three year olds is embedded in an elementary school, a brand new school that has children through third grade (and in subsequent years, we will grow one older classroom a year until we are a campus of preschool through eighth grade).


I am really enjoying having older students in the same building.
I am noticing many very special relationships forming.
I am noticing that there are so many positives for both the younger and the older children.
And their teachers.

Each of the younger classes has been paired with an older class. My preschoolers are paired with Ms. Kopsidas' first grade class. Every Friday, we visit one another for 20-30 minutes (just long enough, from a 3 year old's perspective!)...we read books and do art projects together. We have even done some engineering together!

Visiting the first grade classroom is a highlight of the week.

I love how my students look up to the bigger kids. My threes look at these older students with pure admiration. (My most rambunctious children go positively quiet - in awe, perhaps?) Our time together is consistently sweet.


In addition to these planned, whole class get-togethers, we have nurtured relationships between individual elementary students and the preschoolers, as part of our school-wide discipline approach.

We teachers are committed to having a school environment that pays attention to the social-emotional needs of all our students.

Since this is our very first year - a brand new school - the older students (first, second, and third graders) have educational stories that we don't fully know - mysteries really, that we are trying to discern.
Some of these students - although no more than seven or eight years old - already have powerful internal voices that shout
"I'm not capable!! I can't!!"
Perhaps they feel unsuccessful at reading, or math, or making a friend.

Their teachers see the frustration and anger played out in all different ways, ranging from
shutting down, going quiet, and refusing to participate
to
flailing, yelling, and even hitting.

For these children, having little ones on campus is an extraordinary gift.

As a staff, we asked ourselves,
What do these challenging older students need?
We decided to do a pretty radical thing. We agreed to welcome older students as visitors to our younger classrooms...when a scene change is needed.
We welcome the older student to visit the younger classroom and start anew.
We don't chastise the visitor.
[You won't hear us speak sharply, "Sit over there and be quiet!".
Where did we get the idea that children won't do the right thing without consistent rebuke and recrimination?]
Instead, we invite them to join us in whatever we are doing.

I have had students arrive during our centers time and begin to play alongside. They have joined us at nap time and helped us pat the children on the back, to get them to sleep. Sometimes they come into the classroom and read books to my students.

Let me share an example:

Recently a third grader visited us during centers, a big scowl on her face. I knew something must have been going wrong in her homeroom, but I smiled at her and welcomed her to join us. I invited her to help the children at the clay table and she immediately put on a smock and rolled up her sleeves. She showed the children how to make a clay mold of their own hands. I was amused and delighted by her observation about the children, while using the clay – “They sure use a lot of materials!” [Yes, preschoolers do – and this is how our learning works best with this age group, a materials rich environment, open-ended, exploratory, allowing children to make decisions for themselves, to feel less threatened – to provide the sense that there are ample resources.] This young girl stayed with us only for about 15 minutes, during which time she witnessed a tantrum by one of my students and she helped to soothe the child. She returned to her classroom with her head held high.

Whenever my students are at the clay center, they still try to create a clay mold of their hands - just like they learned from their older friend that day.

Preschoolers are thrilled to have an older student visit. To have an older child walk into the room is to have a rock star stop by! The children gleefully call out his name and they race to his side.
I love how the older student swells with pride,
whatever was wrong is forgotten.
They are the cool person now.
Competent. Able. Needed. Important.
I believe this empowers these children, helps them feel needed, that they belong, that they have purpose.

I have no doubt that our school-wide approach to focus on the social-emotional first and foremost is pivotal to these elementary school students becoming great learners. Unless we help them in social-emotional terms, academic achievement is not in their grasp.


It is so very special to have older children in the same building!
I love this community of ours.



The most unlovable child is the most in need of love.