Tuesday SOL How do I make space for writing?

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.

I imagined my summer would begin with a bounty of quiet time for writing. I imagined waking up early, as on a typical school day, and - rather than racing into school - capturing these early morning hours for rich reflection. I imagined.

There is so much I want to share, to remember, to hold onto about this year.

Certainly, I can participate regularly in the Tuesday Slice of Life again.

My summer break began yesterday and reality is different than imagination. There is too much going on around me. I am not alone with my thoughts. Take today, for example. My husband surprised me with the news that he is working at home today - which is delightful for him but makes him "underfoot" throughout precious early morning minutes when I imagined him commuting and me writing. Plus, he has the quiet back room for his work, not me. As soon as he disappeared into the back room with a conference call, my sons Wade and Bryce started their day...noisily and excitingly. Still, I sit and write. Is it my imagination or are they pacing the very room I am in? They are, most definitely, loudly bantering about Tom Petty and John Cougar Mellancamp songs - providing me with annoying, varied earworms. I have thoughts to write - please let me be! Both boys had friends stay the night, meaning that there was a late night of Catan and boisterous laughter, resulting in numerous dirty dishes and the sad realization that the Father's Day blackberry cobbler has been entirely gobbled up. (Perhaps it is a good thing that I don't get to feign breakfast with this). My thoughts wander away from my writing goal of this Tuesday slice. Bryce starts a small summer job today and is worried about the logistics and timing of his commute...Wade is finishing packing, running errands, tying up loose ends, before he and his friend Robert drive to Texas for a vacation...before both begin new careers...have I shared that Wade is entering an alternative certification program to become an early childhood teacher? Like mother, like son? So much anticipation, so many questions, so much of me demanded, so much chatter, so little writing.

Except, I force it. I am going to write a slice today, yes, I am. Push out the words. Insist. Demand. Require.

Not my best writing. Not the way I imagined. Not quite my point.

I realize I just have to channel my teaching self - that ability to accomplish the desired goal in the midst of many interruptions and unexpected twists.

Write on.

This past school year, I kept a writer's notebook in my classroom, and I turned to it to make space for struggles, questions, concerns, dreams, expressions, children's voices. I wrote in it at the outset of my day or even the evening before, to remind me of what needed doing. I took notes in it during children's activities, so that I might remember. I wrote in it when things happened that I didn't understand, so that I might puzzle about it later.

My most exciting find - I discovered the power of writing in the moment, in the midst of hard conversations. Because I was carrying this notebook everywhere, I simply turned to it in the midst of strong emotions...daring myself to write first before speaking, to capture what was being said to me and to gather my thoughts before responding. What power this habit gave me! Truly, it was writing as mindfulness technique - helping me to be present and calm. I now know that I can make writing space whenever...and that the written word soothes me, gives me voice, advocates in ways that don't come immediately to me in the moment in spoken word.

At this past Friday's closing circle for staff, we shared either a hope or something we had learned from the school year. I told my peers about my find...this school year, I learned how beautiful, cathartic, and essential writing is for me, helping me to pause and make space in the midst of the turbulence of teaching. Writing is an incredible tool for me.

This summer, I hope everyone finds their own restorative, reflective outlet (perhaps writing, perhaps not), so that we return to teaching with vigor and renewed possibility.

Happy summer!

Yes! I wrote a Tuesday Slice of Life! Goal accomplished.

Tuesday SOL: Is this how the year ends?

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.

A blur of days, celebrations, moments, to do's, as the year winds down. How does it close so quickly? Somehow, everything fits in: silent auction, plays and performances, end of year rituals (walk to the metro, water fun day, children's sharing box), reading our favorite books, washing and scrubbing the classroom toys...entering data, writing report cards, preparing for the final Learning Showcase.

As a result, I'm keeping this short.

Enjoy these portraits of my teaching staff by a charming preschooler - from left to right, these are
Ms. Keynes, Ms. B, and, me, Ms. Ingram :-)

Tuesday SOL: What do you learn at conferences?

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.

His parents and teachers sit down at the table while he surveys the empty classroom with a smile. This is different, his eyes seems to say. "Where is everybody?" he asks. Family conferences are such a treat for me - watching the children interact with their families, seeing the children one at a time, and no need to juggle conversations with several peers simultaneously.

"This is your family conference," I explain, "we're going to meet with you, to talk about your successes this year in preschool, to share with your parents what you have learned."

"Okay!" he says, excitedly, and then he pulls a chair up and sits down between the teachers, with a big smile.

That one movement - pulling a chair not to the side of the table where his parents were sitting, but to a new position between his teachers - fills me with smiles every time I think of it. This is a child who is at peace at school. He loves school, he loves his teachers, he loves learning, he loves sharing with his family all his joys.

He shared "I am getting really good at writing. I am going to get better."
(Yes, he has learned to write his name this school year.)
"I am super fast at counting! I beat my Daddy at clean up."
His father shared that they have timed games at home for finding things, for cleaning up, etc.
We talked about what a good friend he is, how he will speak up to his classmates when he doesn't like something - "I don't want to play that" or "I don't like it when you yell at me."

So beautiful. So precious. So mature.

Just four years old.

Tuesday SOL Summer musings

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

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.

Just this week, in the midst of summer, I was sorting through my photos on my phone, collecting my favorites from recent travels. (We traveled to Oregon for the wedding of the daughter of my best friend from college; we had a great time sightseeing and hiking.) I was delighted to see not just these vacation photos, but many fun photos from the last days of the school year...and I find myself smiling in memory. 

Let me share a few with you....

The Bucket Truck

Rain didn't stop us from heading outside to play on this day. But the showstopper was this repair truck - the children were riveted, studying every move. Children call us to be present, so curious about the world, finding joy in their surroundings.

Water Play Day

Our traditional "splash day" was also an overcast, rainy day...and our location was the crumbled surrounds of a community center behind our school (scheduled to be renovated and revamped this next year!). But that didn't stop the children from having such a great time outside, enjoying the hoses, buckets, spray bottles, sidewalk chalk, and more.

The Tablecloth

We created a process art tablecloth/dropcloth for our Teaching Resident (Ms. Kim) as an end-of-year gift. The children used found objects and nature items to stamp prints all over the canvas, choosing their favorite colors. They also used fabric markers to sign their name on the cloth. We're hoping that Ms. Kim will use this cloth for 'messy' activities in her new classroom, and remember this sweet class of preschoolers every time she does.

Marble Art

The first art activity the children experienced in the Big Cats was doing marble art on a nametag. At the beginning of the year, this was a teacher-led and supervised project. Here, at the end of the year, the children ran the project themselves - selecting paper, paint colors, dropping marbles into the paint, and rolling these onto paper. Everyone had a grand time and even enjoyed cleaning the table and supplies at the end. I got to marvel at how much everyone had grown during this year. 

Balls, Cars, Blocks, and Ramps

There was incessant creativity in the block corner these last few weeks of school, as if the children were well aware that they would no longer have access to these open-ended building materials. I was amazed by the teamwork, how well the preschoolers worked together, sharing the materials and ideas.

The Family Book

This was our favorite book to read - with individual pages about each child and family, created by the families themselves. Here, the children are helping me to stuff these pages into their portfolios, so that the pages are returned home at the end of the year. But, these boys are transfixed - not wanting to take the pages out of the book but seeking to re-read the pages about each other, noticing who's who. It is amazing how much we learn about one another during a school year.

Engineering with Recylables

We had a "free for all" with the recyclables, with me issuing an open invitation for children to create and invent with abandon. 

Helping Clean the Classroom

We had created a train track out of tape on part of our classroom floor and the children worked diligently and tirelessly to remove it, to help Mr. Thomas (our Building Manager). Again, I am awed by the focus and tenacity of young children when they desire to accomplish something.

Field Day Fun

I think we had the hottest and sunniest day of the school year for our traditional field day - but that didn't stop these preschoolers from running non-stop.

Signing the Goodbye Board

They had helped us clean the room and put away all the toys, supplies, materials. Now it was time to practice their writing skills one more time, using the whiteboard markers.

I really enjoyed this past year of teaching...I worked with a delightful group of preschoolers and their families, I had a strong teaching team, I love the physical space of my classroom in our new and permanent school building. It is fun to go down memory lane in the midst of summer!

Tuesday SOL This year's "Let's remember" poem

         

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

Check out their website for many more reflections on teaching.

Somehow, 

almost unbelievably,

today was our last day of school.

We have had a great year…and so much fun these last few days, including 

a fabulous shadow puppet show about Eric Carle's The Tiny Seed, created by one of our early childhood families,
a field day where we played all sorts of running games, and 

a water play day, running hoses next to our local community center. 

Last, but not least, we had a fabulous Learning Showcase to celebrate this last trimester, sharing the children's science journals, artwork and stories inspired by Eric Carle, and end of the year self-portraits. Yes, we have had so much fun!

Now, summer begins!

Here's what I slipped into each of the children's portfolios, to help them remember our year together….

  Let’s remember . . .

Hello, everybody, it’s so good to see you

Marble Art

Painting with nature

Hiding bears in the Magna Tiles

Sand and water at the sensory table

Making books at the writing table

Playing sick in dramatic play

How does your story begin?

Dancing to “Let It Go”

Ramps, blocks, balls, cars, and airplanes

Climbing on playgrounds, rolling down the hill

Building with blue blocks in the cafeteria

Engineering with recyclables

Eric Carle

Our Kindness Tree

The Airplane Song, Freeze Dance

These Are My Glasses

Collecting and exploring found objects

Cardboard castles

Walking to the Rhode Island Metro

Our Farmer’s Market

Engineering houses and boats, creating inventions

Cooking on Fridays

                                                         Sharing boxes

Caterpillars, pupas, butterflies, and science journals

Growing green beans

 “The Goodbye Song”

 “My heart to your heart, I wish you well”

Happy Summer! My hope is to do lots of writing. 

How do you say goodbye?

This summer is filled with packing and leaving.

The children, as is true every year, packed up and left the building, knowing 

(though not entirely understanding) that they would not be preschool Big Cats anymore.

We teachers, at the school year's end, spent a busy week packing up our classrooms for our move to our new school this August.

Now, here in July, I am at my parents' house in South Carolina, packing them up to move to a retirement community up north.

Packing and leaving.

A summer filled with boxes.

A summer filled with emotions.

How do you say goodbye?

I believe it is so important to 

pause

and identify

and hone in

on all the little, ordinary actions that

comprise your life

and recognize these,

celebrate these,

embrace their significance.

That last day of school, we celebrated saying goodbye to the walking rope.

Honestly, I don't know who was more excited - 

the children, 

for whom "no more walking rope" is a matter of pride, knowing that they are now advancing to pre-K (and they will simply hold hands with a partner as they walk)?

Or me?  

I know I will no longer be using a walking rope every single day at the new building, because, 

yes, yes, yes, we will have green space right on our premises!

We lined the children up 

one last time

with the walking rope.

I emphatically asked 

each pair of children  -

Do you feel ready for Pre-K?

Do you agree that you no longer need this walking rope?

With each enthusiastic "YES!,"

I symbolically cut a ring off   

of this torn, old, worn out rope. 

"Go forth!" I encouraged.

The children walked two by two

towards the dumpster and

threw their ring away.

It was important to me that we "say goodbye to the walking rope" and

the children loved it.

Now, here at my parents' house,

I'm daring to take my Dad down memory lane, too.

I'm hoping that what works with preschoolers 

will soothe him 

and me

as well.

This isn't a family home that we are saying goodbye to.

Perhaps this makes it easier for me and my brothers?

My parents retired here and had some twenty good healthy years in this location.

But now, with my Mom having dementia and 

my Dad with Parkinson's and other physical ailments (perhaps due to all his caregiving),

they are leaving here for a retirement community

close to family.

Mom is already safely ensconced in her new home, 

surrounded by 24 hour care, and

the love and attention of my oldest brother and his family.

My other three brothers and I are here in South Carolina with Dad,

packing and

remembering.

In the midst of all the boxes,

we are going down memory lane with him,

physically,

doing routine things together,

pausing,

identifying,

remembering...

coffee at Sunrise Cafe, 

looking for dolphins at the ocean,

hush puppies and a cold beverage at South Beach,

attending church at Holy Family,

listening to Frank Sinatra, Willy Nelson, Jim Croce on the porch,

eating Philly cheesesteaks from Publix,

walking the neighborhood.

How do you say goodbye?

May it be as soothing for my 85 year old father 

as it was for my preschoolers.

My brothers (Sonny, David, Ralph), my father, and me, attempting a selfie as we begin packing.

Tuesday SOL Preschoolers don't need these books anymore

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

*******
One of my rituals at the end of a school year is to re-read the children's favorite books...
some of which they have chosen for me to read,
but, several are ones that I choose...books that I simply must re-read to them. I know the children used to be attached to these, and when I read them aloud again,
I see the school year flash before all of our eyes.
I see how much the children have grown, and
I see the children's recognition that they have grown.

Let me share just two of these special books.

On the last day of school, I re-read
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.
Imagine, at the outset of a school year, how medicinal this book is for a preschooler,
offering a prescription for how to get through the day without Mommy,
holding on to her precious kiss in your hand,
Mommy is with me, Mommy is always with me...Mommy comes back, Mommy always comes back...

In September, I read this one book over and over to particular children,
for whom the process of letting go,
saying goodbye
to Mommy, to Daddy, to Grammy, to whomever,
was so, so difficult.

Now, at the end of the year, how unnecessary this medicine! Look how big these preschoolers are! Ha! They don't cry when their family drops them off in the morning.

The Kissing Hand, so unnecessary now, yet, dear and familiar to these children.
They bask in its retelling, studying each page intently... their eyes saying, "I remember."




The children and I had a similar experience with my re-reading of
The Hello/Goodbye Window by Norton Juster (illustrated by Chris Raschka).

I have such a window in my classroom,
where the families can give one final wave or blow a kiss to their child at morning departure.
Every year, at some unscheduled point,
maybe late fall, perhaps mid-winter,
the ritual goes stale, unneeded, no longer relevant.
The once forlorn child now readily immerses herself in her friends and the morning activities,  paying no mind to the window.

(It is a bittersweet moment for me when I see a Dad standing outside the window, mentally begging his child to look up, as if thinking - "Look, see, it's Daddy - one more wave, Daddy's leaving!" Ahhh, but she is playing happily in the room, her goodbye is done. Dad leaves without her noticing.)





This is the growth of a preschooler - not on a specific timeline, but absolute.

Happy summer!

Tuesday SOL Rush to the end of the year

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

*******

I am beginning to wonder if I will ever catch my breath enough to blog again! Non-stop, race to the finish. Three more days of school.

Here's what the crescendo of these last few days and weeks has included:

• Creating/finalizing portfolios for each child

• Finding time for each child to draw end of year self-portraits (and delighting in the obvious growth from the beginning of the year!)

• Completing the end of the year data
• Entering GOLD data...oh, how tedious it is to finalize data!

• Dance party with the children, a gift from our families at our school's silent auction

  

  What fun we had dancing at our DJ Party!

• Our final Learning Showcase of the year, a big exciting evening event with families,

• 

  Documentation of our water investigations, for our Learning Showcase

• Writing and editing report cards (haven't yet stuffed the envelopes - may it go better than last trimester!)
• Family conferences, reflecting on each child's school year
• Supporting my Resident as she searched for a teaching position next year - YES, Melissa will be teaching kindergarten! In Spanish! Go, Melissa! Well done!
• Hard hat tour with my colleagues of our new school (opening this fall!)

• 

  Touring our new school!

• Packing instructions - boxes, boxes, boxes

 Teaching my Resident how to close out a school year

• Going down "memory lane" with the children - re-reading our favorite books, re-visiting our favorite activities, playing lots of games

• Washing toys with the children
• Splash party in the side alley - and washing those large foam blue blocks

• Field day in the side alley, hosted by our YMCA - so much fun!

  

  Field Day - we sure made good use of our side alley!

• In, between, around, and in spite of these many demands and milestones, trying to savor special moments with the children.
  
  
  
  

Tuesday SOL The paper chain

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

*******
Today, I worked with a reticent few preschoolers
to create a paper chain
where
each link denotes a different day,
each link is inscribed with the day of the week and its date,
and the total chain shows
how many more days we have left in the Big Cats.
This morning, the total was 25,
including weekends.

To a preschooler,
25 is huge,
and therefore this is delightful news -
25 more days!

Preschoolers don't want school to end.
This year, in particular,
because
next year - Pre-k - is the big unknown.

We are not going to be at the same school?!

Our school is moving to a new location.

This delights me and terrifies the preschoolers.

We are not going to be at the same school?!
Things are going to change?

In recent days,
I have fielded so many questions -

Will you be going to the new school, Ms. Ingram?
Will Ms. Duskin (our principal) be at the new school?
Will there be Zebras and Elephants [our Pre-k classes] at the new school?
Ms. Ingram, did you hear there is going to be a new school?
Ms. Ingram, why do there have to be new schools? 

Thus, the paper chain.
A visual.
We will watch it decrease in size.
We will breathe in, breathe out.
We will visit the current classrooms of Pre-k Zebras and Elephants.
We will trust that all will be well.

Change is a comin'!

At closing, the Gathering Helper [Alyja] broke the first link,
gone,
Tuesday, May 27th.
24 days left.

Tuesday SOL We are from - A Poem to Celebrate Our Year

Tuesday Slice of Life with Two Writing Teachers

[The children's last day was last Friday, however, I have a full week of professional development this week, as we try to capture everything we have learned during this second year of our new school...and make new plans for year three. Then, summer comes! Yes! I can taste it already!!] 

I always like to create a poem with the children to commemorate the school year, one that highlights their memories from our time together. 

When the children shared their favorite memories aloud, I grouped their responses into categories of like items and I added a few thoughts of my own. [I continue to think of more fun things that we forgot to include - for example, how did everyone forget the Phillips Art projects?] Next, I decided to borrow from a poem experience I learned about last summer in professional development and insert the phrase "We are from..." throughout the poem, as an anchor, to remind us that we did these things together. 

I love that the children's memories are - by and large - things we did over and over - truly, these were integral to our year, what it means to be "a preschool Big Cat."

I think this poem is pretty sweet! We have had a delightful year!

    We are from . . .

The Kissing Hand,

Sensory table,

Blocks and ramps,

Making gak,

How does your story begin?

   We are from . . .

Dancing to “Freeze Dance,”

“Airplane Song,”

“We are the Dinosaurs,”

“Animal Action,”

“Ram Sam Sam.”

We are from . . .

The Three Little Pigs,

Counting trucks,

Question of the day,

Gems in the kindness jar,

Making hero capes.   

                    We are from . . .                                         

Walking the block,

Running the baseball field,

Meridian Hill Park,

Singing “Little Red Wagon,”

“Acorn Song”

We are from ...

Paper airplanes,

Baby dolls and dress up,

“The Beaver Song”

Building forts,

Abiyoyo.

We are from ...

The sharing box,

Chef Goop,

Cooking omelets,

“The Moose Song,”

The food truck.

We are from ...

“The Goodbye Song”

____

About that professional development poem writing -

During last summer's professional development, my colleagues and I wrote "I am from" poems, where we listed a few simple, immediate answers to broad questions called out in rapid succession by our trainer -

What was your neighborhood like? 

What were your favorite foods?
What foods did you hate?
Who was there?
What did you wear?

Who did you love?
What scared you?
What were your favorite activities?
What did you/your family honor?
What did you desire?

What did people say to you?

We were only given a moment or two to write responses to each question. Then, we read our lists aloud to one another, inserting the phrase "I am from..." before each answer. This simple, instantaneous poem was surprisingly tender and meaningful.  Here's mine:

I am from

backyards

bicycles

grass

crabapple trees

I am from 

ice cream

spaghetti

chocolate chip cookies

I am from

liver

hot dogs

I am from 

brothers

Dad

neighbors

I am from 

shorts

boys' shirts

tennis shoes

I am from

my brother Ralph

my friend Mike

I am from 

thunderstorms

Mom being sick

I am from

bikerides

reading 

playing house

I am from

church

what Dad says goes

I am from

a room of my own

a sister

I am from

you are a pretty girl

behave yourself

blessed are the peacemakers

peacemakers are women