How to make the world better?

This is a 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.

At closing circle, a three year old calls out,
"Ms. Ingram, President Trump does not like people who wear scarves."

My heart aches. Where has she heard this? Has my student Farid, whose mother wears hijab, heard what she said? Why must this be something a preschooler knows? How would you ever begin to discuss this with preschoolers?

Ugh. These are ugly, ugly times.

Petula Dvorak, in today's Washington Post,  "We have become a nation that detains a 5-year-old with dual citizenship, keeping him from his Iranian-born mother for hours to ensure that he isn't a terrorist threat."

My heart aches.

Senator Kamala Harris at the Women's March in Washington, D.C. just ten days ago entreated us to answer this question about America, about our country -

Who are we?

I refuse to believe this mean-spirited executive order is us. I refuse to approach the world so fearfully. I refuse.

And, I am so lucky to spend my days in the company of young children, who exude hope, love, joy, and kindness.

In the Big Cats, we are hard at work making huge signs about love and kindness. Each child is creating their own sign, cutting out one enormous shape and then adding all sorts of process art layers. This will be the backdrop for our special messages - which we will write over the next several days.

    


At gathering, we brainstormed messages for our signs. What's important? What do we want our friends to know? How do we make our community better? What is our message of love and kindness? We repeated each message together, aloud - first, in a whisper, then in a shout, and then we clapped each syllable.




"I love you."

"Share."

"Pick up your toys."

"Build together."

"Make a rainbow."

"Don't get sick."

"Be nice."

"Make a loving card."

"Eat together."

"Go to a sleepover with each other."

"Paint a picture."

"Thank you!"

"Be kind and you need to be good to your friends."

"Make a heart sign."




Perhaps we'll march through the school and share our love and kindness with all...maybe we should march out the door and down the streets...the White House is less than two miles away.

A young child protesting at the White House this past Sunday.

The rallying cry

This is a 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.

Here's the call for our education system -

How do we cultivate students who love, care, respect? Who think, reflect, advocate? Who seek to know more?

Fresh off the extraordinary Women's March on Washington, I am so invigorated...

Consider Sophie Cruz, all of six years old, and inspiring the masses at the Women's March; she gave an inspirational speech in both English and Spanish. Imagine -  she is an immigration activist at only 6 years of age!! Her energy, charisma, eloquence, compassion, and conviction were palpable. These two lines reduced me to tears:

"I also want to tell the children not to be afraid, because we are not alone. There are still many people that have their hearts filled with love."

Imagine if our education system could tap into this sense of purpose in every child. What would our classrooms look like?

This week, my goal is to be in deep conversation with each of my students, listening for their messages of hope. They are our beautiful future!

That's me, in the middle of my loving family, at the Women's March in Washington

New year, renewed expectations

This is a 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.

I received a very special book this past Christmas: The Book of Joy, wherein the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu share their insights on how to find joy in the midst of adversity. The book is powerfully uplifting, filled with nuggets of wisdom. Here's one from Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

To choose hope is to step firmly forward into the howling wind, baring one's chest to the elements, knowing that, in time, the storm will pass.

This simple blog of mine, focusing primarily on preschoolers, has given me much joy over the past few years. And yet, somehow, over the past few months, I have had a writer's block, an inability to figure out what to say or do with it next.

But I have joyful news! Here, in the new year, after much reflection - in large part, instigated by this sweet Christmas gift -  I am feeling very hopeful about my early childhood blog again. I realize my writing matters to me. I like it, I love it. I want to 'keep on keeping on' about this one small piece of the world, to shine light on our youngest students, and share this joy.

Right now, it is what really matters to me. 

To kick off this new year of feeling inspired in my writing, let me share some sweet photos of our new year in the classroom. The preschoolers have returned from winter break delighted to be together, ravenous for new experiences, and full of joy! Just like me!

We continue to build detailed structures in the block center.

We have added balls and ramps to the block center, and the children are working like engineers to discover all sorts of unique ways to make the balls roll. They are creating tunnels, sharp inclines, flat roads, jumps, and much more.

There is always something different going on in the Art area! Our first day back, we used simple scratchboards to draw and write about our winter break. An on-going project is to create paper puppets, in order to share a story. We are fully immersed in folktales, reading a wonderful variety of books, and we are beginning to create our own stories.

Over in the dramatic play, we have created a new business: Hair by the Big Cats. It is both a beauty parlor and a barbershop. Each day brings more questions, curiosity, and pure fun!

Of course, we are writing in so many different ways. Here is our haircut schedule, prepared by a preschool receptionist. We think of ourselves as writers!

We also write our own original books in the writing center. One of the biggest joys is to share these books aloud at the end of the day, with all our classmates. 

So, there you have it! I am recommitted to writing this early childhood blog in 2017 - and to slice on Tuesdays with Two Writing Teachers! I hope you will wander by to read.