Tuesday SOL: What's the plan today?

I am participating in the
Tuesday Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day.

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity

for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

Last Wednesday was my first day back at school after our winter break. My sleep, the night before, was broken - as expected. I always have 'jitters' before returning to school after long breaks, feeling excited, unsettled, unknowing. Although it no longer surprises me, I continue to wonder why it happens. I mean, I know these children, my teaching team, the building, the day...why so unsettled? Ah, well.

We had a great first day back, everyone excited to be back together...and woke up to a snow day on our supposed second day back! What?! This was a gift of a day, not unlike being presented with delicious chocolates after having just devoured a homemade brownie. It's wonderful, delightful, amazing - and yet, seriously, did we really need it? (Of course, snow days aren't given to those who need a day off, but to areas that are having winter weather.)

So then we had school on Friday, which ended up feeling like a second "first day back." Somehow, Friday felt even more festive and exciting than Wednesday...everyone was in great moods and the day flew by. Then it was the weekend! Wouldn't this be a fun pattern for teaching - one day on, next day off? 

This week has started off in a similarly wonky pattern, with school being dismissed promptly at end of day yesterday, with no after school activities or even our regular Monday staff meeting, due to wintry weather. I furtively searched for a two hour delay this morning...but not to be. I slogged into work, after working on my car for fifteen minutes as I scraped ice off the windshield. Everyone on the road was driving so very slowly, wary of black ice, (in retrospect, this was a good thing) and I arrived just in time to make my breakfast duty. The rest of the day was fast-paced and full, taking me in so many different directions...perhaps I'll share more another day.

Up, down, back, forth, yes, no, on, off, hurry, wait, stop, go, do, don't, this is the start of 2018.

sol17-28 Who's the very best?

I am participating in the
Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day of March 2017. 

A big thank you to Two Writing Teachers for providing this unique opportunity
for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

I have learned through the years that the more precisely I have planned out my day, the more likely something unexpected will wreak havoc with these plans. I should have known that something new would be thrown my way today, when I was almost on autopilot from the get-go.

The alarm goes off early, there is a very full day ahead. Everything is precisely planned. Make tea, do my morning workout, eat breakfast, shower and get dressed, head out the door. I'm not taking metro today because there is an evening meeting at school and metro service is much less regular in the evenings. I won't be home until 8pm; I'll drive to school. Throughout the drive, my mind races, as I review all my to do's of the day ahead. I park the car and start to walk away.

"Ma'am! Hello, Ma'am!," someone driving by tries to get my attention,

"Yes?" I answer.

"Your front left tire - it's really low - not quite flat. But you want to fix that."

Oops.

"Thank you!" I answer.

And I freeze. I just stare at the tire.

Yes, it is really, really low.

Can I make the 30 minute drive home with the tire like that?

Ugh.

What to do?

This is not a day when I have a moment to breathe.

I'll be driving home in the dark.

Ugh.

I know who will help me think this through.

I call my husband as I walk towards school and I tell him the situation, to find out if he thinks I can get home on the tire. 

Without any hesitation, he replies,

"Oh, I noticed that yesterday and I meant to take care of it. I'll slip over to your school and fix the tire while you are teaching."

I think I have the very best husband in the world.

Our first day back

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

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.



______________________________

Happy New Year!
Let me share the things that made me smile on our first day back after winter break (which was yesterday) - how about 16 for 2016?

1. How much I fidgeted all night long, in anticipation, excited and nervous. Oh, how many times I looked at that clock! Why does this still happen to me after all these years of teaching?
2. Seeing the bright sun after two weeks of rain and clouds.
3. Finding uneaten chocolates in my teacher's cabinet at school.
4. My Teaching Resident sharing new pictures books she had found for the children - she was thinking like a teacher over break!
5. Big hugs and smiles from the children, happy to be back at school. 
6. Seeing families so, so, so happy to drop their children off after two weeks of togetherness - everyone with big smiles. Routine is great for all of us, no matter what our ages.
7. Watching individual kids find their friends and start playing. How excited the children were to be back together in their classroom!
8. The children laughing at my improvised "Happy New Year" song to the Happy Birthday tune, squealing "That's not how it goes!"
9. Hearing everyone's favorite memory from winter break (perhaps my favorite - one little boy said 'Mac and Cheese'. Loved it!)
10. Making a big batch of purple gak with delighted children
11. Both the Art teacher and I forgetting who was in each Art group - and me having no recall of where I kept the list. Mush for brains after two weeks away!
12. Building many block homes for toy animals
13. Children creating dress-ups from our cloth collection, making capes, dresses, head coverings, more
14. Reading Peter and the Wolf to a captive audience of preschoolers 
15. The children jumping and running in the leaves alongside the playground. 
16. Children wrestling in the leaves despite the cold!

Wrestling in the leaves

Lots of running and jumping

Happy New Year!

Tuesday SOL When will we be back together?

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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Today is our first day back at school after a beautiful spring break...I had a fabulous time, hiking in the Georgia mountains with my husband. We stayed in a cabin at Vogel State Park, near Blairsville, Georgia, and did day hikes in the Appalachian mountains that surround this park. 

Yesterday - Monday - staff returned to school for a professional day, to plan our final weeks of the school year. Anyone who is a teacher knows how delightful this "cushion day" was - allowing a time of transition from spring break to classroom teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed this bonus day before returning to my teaching role.

It was really sweet to see a few of my preschoolers at the on-site daycare program, allowing me a sneak peek at the children I have - quite honestly - been missing a great deal. I was working on lesson plans in our classroom when I saw a few of the children walk by in the hallway with an instructor. They saw me, I saw them, and I saw nothing but confusion on their faces. Why was I in the classroom but they were not? What was going on? 

James, in fact, quickly put up his hand as a blinder, as if he did not want to see me or me to see him.

I called out,

"Hey there! You can't walk by without giving me a hug! Come here, buddies! Group hug time!" and I spread my arms wide to embrace them, to invite them towards me.

Immediately, Simona, Ellis, James, Naima, Wesley, and Malcolm raced into the classroom and dove in for a group hug. Evan stood back, uncertain. 

Many questions poured forth -

Why are you here?

Is this a school day?

Did you know I saw my grammy?

Did you know I was at camp?

I saw my cousins!
Did you miss me?

Did you know it was spring break?

James, with conviction, concluded - "Ms. Ingram, tomorrow is not a camp day anymore, right?"

"No, James, tomorrow we are back together - we are going to have a great time, the Big Cats together again, here in the classroom!"

With this news, he gave me another big hug, and everyone else joined in, again. Except Evan, still uncertain, but a slow grin coming over his face.

Here's to today - and our great time, together again!

But before I go, let me share a few pictures from my week of hiking...

SOLSC 2015 #7: Where could it be?

Each day during March, I am participating in the Two Writing Teachers Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC). All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days. My slices will be primarily about teaching preschoolers. Check out the Two Writing Teachers  website for lots more reflections on teaching. Thanks especially to Stacey, Tara, Anna, Beth, Dana, and Betsy for hosting this writing challenge. 

*******

When I had virtually the same experience at the outset of my school day and, again, when I entered my home that evening, I decided to write about it!

Ode to a Shared and Disorganized Life 

I know I have this book.

I own it, I bought it, I put it with all my other picture books.

I know I saw it in these stacks.

Where could it be?

I search and search and search through the spines, thinking,

Why didn't I put these in some sort of order?

What if I categorized them?

What if they were alphabetized?

Where could it be?

There's too many different hands on these stacks, 

there is no sense in trying to put them in order.

Oh, maybe I moved it over near my lesson plans, since I knew I was reading it this week,

Wait, I don't think I looked for it then...I got sidetracked...

Wait a minute, did I put it in my backpack with those others?

Did I leave it at home when I was preparing lessons?

Is it on my dining table at home?

Where could it be?

I know I have this book.

When did I last read this book?

Was it last year? Before our move?

Goodness it could be anywhere!

Oh, maybe it got moved by accident to the early childhood library?

Yikes, I can't begin to look out there! No time for that!

Or did Aftercare ask me for this same book?

I wonder if the children have been getting into my books!?!!

I know I put all my favorites up high, so that they could not reach.

How long have I wasted looking for this book now?

Wasn't it a small book? Let me look again, just focusing on the short spines...

I'm going to have to buy another copy of this, if I can't find it.

It is a classic.

Where could it be?

What if I look through the books backward?

Yes, start with the lowest shelf and move up?

Would it jump out at me then?

I know I saw that book!

Where could it be?

"Mom, have you seen my sweatshirt? I want to take it back to college with me."

I know I saw that sweatshirt.

Have you checked the hall closet?

The upstairs closet?

Where could it be?

Here, I'll help you find it,

Let me go through the closet, one hanger at a time, 

I know it is black, right?

Let me just look for black ones.

I search and search and search through the closet, thinking,.

Why doesn't he know where his own things are?

Why don't we have some sort of system?

After all these years, you'd think there would be one single location!

Where could it be?

I know I saw that sweatshirt.

Oh, maybe it is still in the laundry?

Did you check all the laundry baskets? 

And the dirty clothes?

What about the trunk of your car?

When did you last wear it?

Wait, you haven't had it since last semester?

Goodness, it could be anywhere!

Did you have it at school last semester?

Could it still be there?

You haven't seen it?

Where could it be?

How long have I wasted looking for this sweatshirt now?

Oh, what about the guest room?

Didn't we throw things in there when you got home last semester?

Did we check that closet?

Why do you need this today?

Did you come home just for this sweatshirt?

Where could it be?

Let's look through Dad's things,

maybe I mixed things up when I was putting things away.

I know I saw that sweatshirt!

Where could it be?

Around and around and around, I go.

Tuesday SOL What does mid-year look like?

This is a Tuesday "Slice of Life" for Two Writing Teachers. Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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We are mid-year in the Big Cats. Every day, the children choose their own fun, working and exploring where they desire. There is cheerful "instigation" and coaching from teachers, guiding the children to extend what they have chosen to do, or to try something all new. Our centers are purposefully set up to reflect their interests and our "guided discovery" process from earlier in the school year allows the centers to have ample materials that are both accessible and organized. I have tried to set up a 'laboratory' or 'scientific' environment, a wondering and questioning place …we are constantly working "at" things, trying to figure things out - What can I do with this? How might I do that? What is the problem? What might we do? Why is this broken? How might I fix it? What are some ideas?

Yes, we are mid-year in the Big Cats, and I am so pleased with the kind-hearted and curious work that my preschoolers are drawn to doing. The Big Cats love to work at things, to try. They are happy with the "gray," with things not being perfect or absolute, with trying to make something work. They love exploring.

Let me share an anecdote:

Paxton was playing in the block center with the ramps and toy cars, and he found a small car with its wheel broken off. He raced over to me, in the art center, and asked to use the science tweezers to pull at the wheel, to see if he could loosen it free from the axle. Dmitry came over to investigate what Paxton was doing. Paxton worked at the car for awhile and then passed it to Dmitry, to see if Dmitry was able to remove the broken wheel.

Dmitry, using the tweezers, trying to pry the wheel loose,
Wow, I almost got it.
That's really hard.
Wow, I strong.
Shew.
Almost…almost…got you off.
Oh boy.
This is.
Off.
Strong.
Oooooh.
I almost got it.
I'm getting tired.

Paxton -
Can I try, too?
I'm going to have one more turn, okay?

Dmitry -
Ok, your turn.
You have to try it.

Dmitry passes the car to Paxton.
Paxton takes the tweezers and he, again, tries to pry the wheel loose, explaining,
I think someone should snatch it off.
I'm going to be a helper.
I'm going to do it all the time.
That was a really good hard one for me, Ms. Ingram!
My Dad has some really good tools, Ms. Ingram.
He has even bigger pliers than we do.

Micah walks up and observes -
Want me to try?
I'm really strong!
You can give me a turn.

Paxton -
And I am super strong, too, Micah!
Here, try!

Micah, takes the tweezers and struggles to remove the wheel, emitting groans -
eeeeh yah!
eeeeh yah!
She is really struggling. Luke walks up to see what is going on.

Paxton -
Luke, he can try, too. He's a really good fixer.

Micah -
He's really, really strong! 

Micah gives Luke the car and the tweezers. He begins to work on the car, and Micah cheers him supportively -
Can he? Can he?

Katherine, painting a picture at the same table and observing their hard work, adds a commentary,
Daddy has a thing in the basement that fixes bikes.
But it can't fix cars.

Paxton -
Can it fix trolleys?


I love their camaraderie and good cheer, even when working hard.
I love how these kids are working with each other.
I love how they support one another.
I love their instinctive sharing.
I love how they don't shy away or flinch from the difficult, from the challenging.
I love how hard they work, how they persist, how determined they are.
I love their conversations.


Yes, I am happy.