SOLSC 20: How do you spell 'Hot Diggity Dog'?

I am participating in the
March 2018 Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOLSC).
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day, every day for thirty-one days.

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

for teacher-writers to share and reflect.

As soon as I arrived at school this morning, I changed around the dramatic play area in my classroom. I'm such a pro at these reorganizations that I only needed about twenty minutes to make it happen. Out with the suitcases and the travel theme, in with a restaurant! I set up the kitchen as one long galley against one wall for our many passionate chefs; I moved two small tables to the center of the area, draping them in tablecloths and setting them with dishes, to entice our hungry customers; I transformed the puppet show booth into a hostess stand, right at the entrance, so that we might welcome guests to our charming establishment. 

It may seem strange to change it just four days before spring break, but changing the area was more than overdue. All three of us teachers (my two Teaching Residents and I) felt invigorated by the change - it was like a breath of fresh air to imagine new play and conversation with the children. Also, I feel as if it gives us a chance to see what the children most like to do with the area, and we'll be more informed about the children's interests, as we plan the learning for the remainder of the year. The Teaching Residents are running a unit on Cooking, and this dramatic play area will be a fabulous complement to that unit. 

As students walked into the classroom at this morning's arrival, I met them at the hostess stand and said, "Welcome to the Big Cats' Restaurant, today is our 'soft opening.' Please come in and visit with us." Their eyes grew wide with delight and incredulity - everyone loves a happy surprise! They immediately entered into play, searching for plates, cookware, pretend foods, and taking on various roles. (I was most amused by the two children who honed in on using the broom and dustpan! Every good restaurant needs this kind of teamwork!) Their excitement was palpable...yes, it was more than time to make changes to this area! At our morning gathering, I shared that we will brainstorm ways to grow this  restaurant over the next many weeks, adding in their suggestions of what to name the restaurant, making menus, taking down people's orders, deciding what we should cook, and so much more...we will all work together to have a great time at the restaurant. One student exclaimed, "Hot diggity dog!!" and we all burst out laughing.

The restaurant had an excellent 'soft opening.'

That wasn't the only happy surprise of the day. Fast forward, I am home from school. Unbelievably, just after 7pm, D.C. Public Schools announced that schools are closed tomorrow. Snow day! Wow!! This. Day. Off. Is. So. Needed. It feels as if I have been given an extra day this week...my list of to do's has been bursting at the seam, and now I can be home and focused, with feet up, hot tea at my side, computer on my lap...oh my, oh my, oh my! I feel like a little kid, I am so excited. 

(Of course, the power must stay on, if my fantasy day is truly going to be fulfilled ;-)

(I wonder how much shoveling I'll have to do? My husband is in Atlanta...this is going to be all on me...hmmm. Fresh air and exercise is never a bad thing, right?!)

D.C. Public Schools are like the "little engine that could" of this area...all the surrounding counties will cancel school (as they have many times this school year), but D.C. chugs on, "I think I can, I think I can." This storm must be a doozy, to have them announce the closing the evening before. Oh my, it just dawned on me - I don't have to wake up early and search for the announcement! Is a "no alarm clock" morning - woohoo!

This preschool teacher is smiling! Yes, she is! All I can say is, "Hot diggity dog!"

Tuesday SOL: What can you do with a cloth?

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.

What can you do with a cloth?

Well, what do you imagine?

If you are a preschooler, there's no end to the possibilities.

Why not make a fort?

Or a gown?

How about a cape for a superhero?

Let's be robbers and bad guys.

No, how about Mommy?

The baby needs to be swaddled in a blanket.

The baby needs a crib!

I'm making a bear cave.

It's a lake!

There are dolphins in the water.

All the animals live in this part of the zoo.

We could pretend they are rocks on a mountain, and go for a hike.

You might slip and fall!

It could be ice.

It's my sled.

A bed for me.

A hospital bed, because I am sick.

We can all have ballet clothes!

Remember, at Halloween, there was a ghost?

If you sit in the barber's chair, you need one of these.

I'm going to be a firefighter.

No, a policeman!

It could be like walls of a house.

Or the floor.

It might be the window, maybe the curtains.

Or the door.

You have to come in this way.

It is a very soft place.

A few years ago, a family gifted me a large bag filled to the brim with cloths...a big bin of fabric, each piece measuring approximately 1 yard square. Honestly, there are probably three dozen pieces of fabric...I've never counted them, and I suppose I should, one day! I think these cloths might be my favorite element in my preschool classroom. They bring endless fun!

sol17-16 What about a box?

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.

What would preschool be like without a box?

Yes, we have a gift of a box...a huge box...someone replaced their water heater and we got the most important part, the box. I didn't have an immediate need or plan, but I had no doubt that the preschoolers would put it to good use. So, we painted it all sorts of colors (mostly blue)...and then I dared to cut holes in the sides and on top, to make it look a little bit like a vehicle...still observing the children and wondering which way to take it. I wasn't entirely sure they wanted a vehicle...but, I wanted some way to allow them inside, to let their imaginations go wild.

Well, we are going, going, going somewhere! Here are a few pictures from the box's recent travels.

In its original position, the preschoolers saw it as a bus and a train and a police car and a firetruck. They tried to see how many children could squeeze in, which ended not so happily because it led to lots of squishing, shoving, and pushing. They quickly resolved this by putting in chairs and declaring that you must sit on a chair to be in the box (they can fit, at most, three). I like this second way best, oh yes! I like that they figured out their own solution to the mosh pit and I like that they were now taking turns, alternating who got to be in the vehicle and who has other duties outside the vehicle. There are so many things to do! Someone is always baking pretend cookies (dominoes) in the kitchen and then you have to pack these and take them somewhere - a favorite destination is the fire station.

It didn't take the children too long to discover that the box was also a whole lot of fun when in a vertical position. Now, it can be a rocket ship! Not as many children can play when the box is in this position, but every now and again, why not blast off?

Another group of adventurers discovered that one part of the cardboard can lift up. This looked much more like a dashboard. A couple children can fit under this part (and they are there in the picture, though you might never know this if I hadn't told you). When the cardboard piece is up, there is a lot more action in dramatic play - often the vehicle is a police car and we have "bad guys to get." Sometimes it is a race car. Sometimes it is Batman's car. One time it was "a boat with wild waves, going out to space" and bringing meals of dominoes to the astronauts. Regardless, it is moving fast!

Then a more genteel crowd happened upon the cardboard box and the play became much quieter. Every spare cloth was used to decorate the exterior and interior - and now the box was a house, with mothers, daddies, sisters, brothers, and babies. A few cloths were spread out on the floor nearby, as beds for the babies. The preschoolers brought tea cups and plates and the dominoes. (I'm not sure what it is about dominoes, but I have a huge container of these and they are a welcome addition to the children's play. They are no longer dominoes, of course, but cookies, food, tickets, money, treasures....)

Once, the play transformed into simply dominoes. Let's get them all in the box! This was wild, reckless abandon, with children running around collecting all the dominoes that had strayed throughout centers (some in the toy oven, others in the toy sink, still more in purses, plastic containers, bags, don't forget those on the table, those over there for the picnic, those with the toy animals...) and dropping them into the box. Children got on all sides of the box and just shook the box and all the dominoes, laughing with delight at the clatter. I have to admit, I pretty much stopped the play because it was too loud and too wild even for me. I suggested that it was near time for clean up - and they were fascinated when I showed them how we could use the box as a funnel, tipping the box and sliding all the dominoes into one larger container. "Cool!" 

So much fun, this box.

Tuesday SOL: What if we built a firetruck?

This is a Tuesday
Slice of Life.
All participants are writing about one moment, one part of their day. 

Check out the Two Writing Teachers website for many more reflections on teaching.

Each of the early childhood classrooms is doing an author's study on Donald Crews. He has written and illustrated many great books about vehicles - Trucks, School Bus, Freight Train...just to name a few. The teachers decided that it would also be fun if each classroom tried to create a vehicle of some sort - knowing how much preschoolers love cars, trucks, and things that go.

What vehicle should we build? Well, in the Big Cats, this question had an obvious answer. Pretty much every day, for several weeks now, the children line up the chairs on the carpet to create a firetruck. Our long cardboard ramps have been turned into firefighter hoses. Typically, the big concern is a possible fire in the dramatic play restaurant. Firefighters are right there at the ready!

At the writing center, the children love to draw firetrucks.

Yes, let's build a firetruck. 

A week ago, we began to build. 

I turned our old cardboard castle (originally, a dishwasher box) on its side and attached two tri-fold boards for length. The children agreed - this looked like a firetruck! It was just the right size for children to get into and have some fun. The children added all sorts of extra components - pretty much any cardboard scrap that we had in our recyclables bin was turned into something novel for the truck. This is what delight and focus looks like!

Of course, a beautiful day called for painting the firetruck outside. Bright red, of course.

Every day, the children add more details. We brainstormed what was needed and did our best to create these together: 

steering wheel (cardboard pizza tray), 

hoses (scrolled easel paper), 

"grill" on the front end (xerox boxes and a metal shelf - taped to the front of the box)

seats (more boxes), 

a siren light on top (more boxes), 

headlights (fun flower-shaped cardboard pieces), 

wheels (black plastic takeout containers), 

a computer (egg cartons), and 

lots and lots of tape. 

The children put a lot of taped stripes on the firetruck, simply because making the stripes was so much fun. Cutting tape is the purest of pleasures for the preschool crowd. 

Looking good!

Oh, and we should probably draw a firefighter for the firetruck.

SOLSC #7 What about two large boxes?

During the month of March, I am participating in
the Slice of Life Story Challenge.
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 many more reflections on teaching.

A family donated two appliance boxes and we turned them into  a castle and a house. The children delighted in painting these, using rollers and brushes. Now, they  adorn our dramatic play corner and the preschoolers play here all morning long. I am fascinated by all the stuff the children drag into the boxes to add to their play - found objects, acorns, magnifying glasses, goggles, blocks, Magna Tiles, doll babies, markers. There's also something that simply must be removed when they play here: their socks and shoes. Why do they drag so many things in? Why do they remove their socks and shoes? Why do they have so much fun inside these two boxes? All I know is, it is so.

Here's some fun conversation I overheard, as children played together:

Here comes a dragon!
There's a bad dragon.
Some are taking shoes off. 
I am taking shoes off.
A cave!
The dragon is coming!
Come, I am in here!
It is dark.
Meow.
The dragon is here.
No, I'm not the dragon!
Hey, I'm in here, too.
Ooh hoo!
Put a cloth here.
You must be quiet from the dragon.
I need to get a blanket and tie it.
Put a cloth here.
A bear is coming!

What about play?

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

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.


______________________________

In many ways, it was a release, a letting up of the brakes. 

A new gift from a family,

a bin of cloths,

large fabric pieces,

varied colors, textures, sizes.

Four boys wanted to dress up. Make me a hat! Can I have a cape? I need this part on my body! Can you tie this here? I am ninja! I am fast! I am superhero!

Let's forget that I am

one small part of  an elementary and middle school,
primed and ready for surprise observations from district officials and other supervisors, looking for rigor and visible learning,

providing family conferences about student progress, with families craving insight about pre-literacy, early mathematics, academic skills, their child's future success,

readying for the Learning Showcase evening event, documenting all the children's work for families and community, with children owning their work and detailing it for families, all work labelled with clear objectives, 

supporting a resident teacher, immersed in graduate school details of early reading, collecting data, leveled readers, guided reading, reading progress,

adhering to specific and separate times for art, music, Spanish, physical education, recess,
keeping unit plans updated, lesson plans current and detailed,
making sure I am following the posted schedule with impunity,
consumed by data tracking, writing trimester summaries and report cards

Let's forget the tension of

specify, specify, specify,

faster, faster, faster,

more, more, more

Four boys wanted to dress up.

And I began to play, too.

And then they began to run, 

in the classroom,

their excitement impossible to contain,

to which I led them outdoors,
to the field,

where we ran and ran and ran

on a rainy day.

I wonder

are we making time for make-believe?

are we preserving possibility for the unexpected?

are we remembering what it is to be a child?

are we along for their ride?

are we losing sight of the three year old?

the preschooler?

the child?

are we losing our minds or their minds?

what is really needed?

Children need play and its infinite possibilities,

surrounded by adults who nourish the fun.

And so,

we played.

Tuesday SOL One month of no blogging - time to ramble!

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

*******

Almost one whole month has gone by since I last posted and I don't like this at all!
There have been so, so, so many things I have wanted to share…
and now I hardly know where to begin.

Should I share my excuse - 
my son Keith got married just before Thanksgiving! ?
How do I describe how busy this made me, how it filled my head, hands, and heart?
How much fun we all had? 
How incredible it was to see my oh so serious son smiling all day long?
How beautiful Mara and he looked together?
How cold and perfect their outdoor ceremony, in the woods?
Should I share how fabulous it was? 

No, the wedding is no topic for a blog about early childhood!

Should I share how several preschoolers told their families that I missed school because I was getting married?

Well, that's not much of a share!

What if I shared some photos of our fun during these last four weeks?

We love playing doctor in the dramatic play area.

We love to work with recyclables and tape.

We made a fun new alphabet line - covering letters with glue and dipping them in sand.

We love building trains and traveling to make believe places.

We love, love, love to run around on our big field and play games.

We dragged in some branches from outside and then we painted them!

We had fun yarn bombing the tree branches!

More yarn bombing!

Still more yarn bombing!

We have begun our new exploration of found objects and are loving this, too!

That's all I'll share for now…I have written a short post, and I have rekindled this blog…I will share more in the days ahead.

It is nice to be back!


*****

Wait, one last thing…


Sure, it's not early childhood…but once upon a time, a short while ago, they were preschoolers! Here are two photos from the happy wedding day!

My three fabulous sons at the wedding - the groom, Keith, and the groomsmen, Wade and Bryce.

Mara and Keith say their vows.

SOLSC #4 May I work with a few?

I am posting every day during March as part of the annual "Slice of Life" Challenge for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

*******

Another freezing cold day,
another indoor play day,
another day of unceasing loud voices and nonstop activity,
another restless nap time.

After the requisite one hour of attempting to nap, it was time to take the wide-awake ones to our infamous "Purple Room" for some run around time (and allow the sleepers some real peace and quiet).

Much to my surprise, only seven children were awake!
Amelie, Helen, Eloise, Bernie, Zuren, Micaela, Caroline.

This had never happened before - seven children only?

What a gift this was for me! I admit to being overwhelmed at times with 23 preschoolers in my class. Working with seven children only? Ha! This is not work!

I slipped out of the classroom with my seven charges, leaving Melissa and Claire to watch over the sleepers. I didn't have my computer or notepad with me. I freed myself to simply "be" with the children.

Using all of the blue blocks, the children built one enormous house and a second smaller house next door. They created a story, with specific roles, playing with me. 

They insisted I was "the daughter," with

"Daddy Zuren," 

"Mommy Micaela," 

"baby sister Helen," 

"baby sister Amelie," 

"big sister Eloise," 

"Grammy Caroline,"

"Teacher Bernie," and 

"Mr. Charlie, the big brother who lived next door." 

Following their lead, I 

ate pancake breakfasts

went to school

had a fire drill

had a snow day and didn't have school that day

went to visit Mr. Charlie and have a snack of cookies and juice

stayed with Grammy while Mommy and Daddy went away for the weekend

played hide and seek with my sisters

played in the backyard

A pretty good life for a daughter!

In the midst of a hectic day, 

stuck indoors, 

lots of loud play, 

I was given the gift of being with just a few.

I wonder how I might make this happen more regularly?

**************

(A daily share by a preschooler, in their own words)

A Story Collage by Amelie

Once upon a time, there was a little boy in the house. And then he went to Amy’s house. And then he saw a brick house that was strong. These two brick houses were strong and this one was, too. And all the city was strong. This little character went into a house, this strong house. And then, what happened – a big monster came. The little boy is now at home. The eggs weren’t going to be taken, or the feathers. The light is on, in the house. The End

SOLSC #2 There's no such thing as "end"

I am posting every day during March as part of the annual "Slice of Life" Challenge for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

*******

As I mentioned in an earlier blogpost, we've been in the midst of a very fun Ezra Jack Keats author study. This past week, we celebrated the conclusion of this unit by re-reading and dramatizing many of his books. After lunch on Friday, as we waited for families to come and pick up their children on this half day of school, I spread out all the books we have read and ended up getting a very powerful photograph:

Truly, the children are not done with Ezra Jack Keats. 

I overheard them talking as they look through the books, about

"Peter," "Archie," "Louis," "Roberto,"

"Archie has a cat." [Pet Show]

"Amy lives next door" [Dreams],

"He likes her!" [Apt 3],

"He invited her to a party - you can't say 'boys only' " [A Letter to Amy],

"Louis moved to a new house" [The Trip],

"He is a scary man but now he is a nice man" [Louis],

"Did you see the monsters?" [Hi, Cat!],

"The cat got stuck in the box and the dog was mean," [Dreams]

"Those boys tried to hurt them, but they had a trick!" [Goggles]

I have heard similar snippets as they are playing in the classroom, these past few weeks. 

Maybe my focus is changing. Maybe I'm ready to delve into other topics. But, these little ones are still very much in love with the characters and stories of Ezra Jack Keats. 

This is a beautiful thing to observe,

this engagement,

this learning,

this wonder.

I have no doubt that they will make many more connections as the year goes on.

They will recall special moments.

They will continue to enjoy his books.

They will remind me of details.

There's no such thing as "end."