Snow is a four letter word!

It's late January and we finally have snow! Since we came back from our holiday break we've been making snowmen, reading snow stories and making snow predictions but the weather just didn't want to cooperate. Until...

This weekend when we finally were blessed with 4-6" of the white fluffy stuff.

So today before it all melts away I planned some really fun snowy activities!

While my little snowflakes were at art this morning I filled a bucket with snow, collected some materials and waited for them to return.

I sat them all in a circle and we built a new little friend.

We talked about what we thought would happen to our snowman during the day. 

Some thought he'd run away like our gingerbread man, but most knew he was going to melt.

I gave them each a simple recording sheet so we could draw our observations at different intervals throughout the day.

recording our observations!

We measured our new friend to see how many cubes tall he is.

And then we made some predictions.

He melted...

and melted...

and melted!

We were sad to see our new friend reduced to snowman soup, but we sure had a lot of fun watching him!

C is for Community

 I am grateful and humbled. Today I personally witnessed a community come together to make a difference in the lives of young children.

With only 4 days left to fund my DonorsChoose project, I watched my email box fill with notifications of donations. Someone was doing some networking on my behalf. I am not completely positive who that someone was, but I'm 99% sure and I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank that person.

I have always known my school was a special place. A place where teachers and parents come together to make education better for their children. We truly are a community of caring individuals and I can't imagine teaching anywhere else.

The last email I received was from DonorsChoose telling me that my latest project has been fully funded! What a great surprise! As one of my donors said, "it takes a village!" I couldn't agree more.

Thank you all for your kindness and generosity...it is truly beyond measure.

G is for Giving

There are two reasons for this post, first and foremost to thank some very generous people for their incredible generosity. With their compassion and donations my classroom is a better place for students to learn and grow.

 

Donors Choose is an on-line charity where teachers like me can post classroom projects that are not or can not be funded through traditional school budgets. The items we ask for enrich the learning experiences of our students in ways that would normally not be possible.

During the past two years, because of this wonderful organization and the people who donate here, my students have two brand new classroom carpets, and a beautiful reading area with new book shelves, book baskets, and comfy cozy bean bag chairs.

I can not begin to tell you what a difference these items have made to the look and feel of my room. The children choose to sit in the library area to read, play a game, or just sit quietly with a friend. Books are more accessible and children are wanting to read, and therefore becoming better readers!

Many kindergarten teachers can attest to the fact that kindergarten has become very academic and because of that, it has also become less developmentally appropriate. Academics and a very full schedule have taken the place of play. There have been many studies that show the importance of play in early childhood education. Through my latest project "Let's Put the Kid Back In Kindergarten" I am attempting to do just that!

I am lucky to have a playhouse built right into my classroom. This playhouse has been there since 1946! It's adorable and has seen it's share of 5 year-olds. I've recently given it a new paint job, but it's needs a bit more. 

In my latest project I'm asking for dress up clothes, and some new pretend food and dishes. All materials to help foster imagination and pretend play. Play, that's so important to development. Where young children can learn to share, imagine, negotiate and just have fun without a lot of direct adult interaction.

With only 6 days left to fund this project I am asking for your help. Any donations are greatly appreciated but if that's not possible, just pass it on and get the word out!

If you are a teacher, I can not tell you what a valuable resource DonorsChoose can be. It's not a lengthy process to post a project and it's worth every minute spent doing it. Your students will thank you for it!

Thank you!

Lisa

Let's Put the Kids Back in Kindergarten

M is for Memory

I do some of my best thinking in the shower. It's the one truly quiet moment of my day. I'm usually the first one awake in the morning, so while the rest of my family is still snoring beneath the covers I'm starting my day with my brain working overtime trying to solve the world's problems.

Okay, maybe not the problems of the entire world, but at least the part of it that I'm in charge of...my classroom.

There is a little girl in my classroom, she is one of the sweetest little girls I have ever come across. She's exceptionally kind to her friends, always has a smile on her face, comes from a wonderful home with parents who read to her, work with her, and truly care about the success of their child. She listens during lessons and tries hard to finish her work the best that she can, but for whatever reason, she's struggling to remember the letters and sounds I have introduced.


There is just a connection that is not being made. I've tried different strategies, her parents are working with her at home, but it's just not "sticking" for lack of a better term.

So there I was in the shower thinking about her...and then I remembered something!

On Friday while in line to go out to play she asked me to tie her shoe, as I knelt to do that she said, "Mrs. Collins, you smell just like my mom." Then later that same day, after blowing her nose, she gave herself a squirt of hand sanitizer then said, "That stuff smells like my doctor's hands!"

Wow! Who doesn't have scents that bring us right back to a place or time? Smells that remind us of people we know or knew? Jergen's lotion reminds me of my grandfather, Polo by Ralph Lauren reminds me of the big man on campus at college, incidentally I'm pretty sure he took a bath in that stuff, the smell of Johnson's baby powder brings me right back to changing diapers when my boys were babies and when I smell Coppertone, I'm baking in the sun at the local beach.

So there I was...in the shower, rinsing the shampoo out of my hair, the same shampoo that reminds my little cherub of her mom. So, I thought what if I somehow match each letter to a scent? The letter O smells like oranges...B like a banana! If certain smells help her to remember, I'm willing to try. It might get a little tricky somewhere around the letter Q, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!
Wish us luck...I'll keep you posted!



"Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived." ~ Helen Keller

V is for Versatile!

A really big thank you to Sarah at A Kinder Garden in Bloom who is my newest follower and has graciously awarded me wtih The Versatile Blogger Award!

These are the rules:

1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link back to them. 

2. Tell 7 things about yourself. 

3. Pass this award on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know that they’ve received an award!  

 

And now 7 things about me...

1. I truly love my job. I work with the best teachers on the planet hands down. Even when I've had a bad day, I can't wait to go back and try again.

2. I rock at parallel parking!

3. I am the mom of three really good boys. All brilliant and very handsome.

4. I am married to a teacher and my oldest son wants to be one.

5. I live in the Halloween capital of the world, and Halloween is my favorite holiday.

6. I am a huge Red Sox fan, even though I'm currently mad at them.

7. I love the summer and despise the winter. Considering I live in New England I get the best, or worst of both seasons!

And some really great kindergarten blogs!

1. Kindergarten Tales

2.Mrs. Wills Kindergarten

3. Lil Country Kindergarten

4. Kindergarten Garden

5.Playing with Pixie Dust

6. K:Double Stuffed

7. Thoughts from a Kindergarten Teacher

8. Peace Love and Kinder

9. Kindergarten Rocks

10. KinderKaren

11. A Little Kinder Told Me So

12. Giggle Giggle Kindergarten

13. Its a Jungle Out There

14. Mrs. Patton's Patch

15. The Teacher Diaries

And there you have it! Thanks again Sarah!

I is for Inspiration

The school where I teach is a lab school. We are located on the campus of our local university, so many of the teachers in our school are teaching not only children but future teachers as well.

I take this part of my job very seriously, remembering my teacher mentor and the wonderful way she inspired me. 
 She's retired now, but still continues to mentor student teachers inspiring them with her knowledge, her leadership skills, and her love of children.

As I think of her, I wonder If I am doing the same for those college students who walk through my door. There are many, freshman and sophomores who are there to just observe, juniors who are given lessons to teach, and finally seniors who this week are responsible for taking over the classroom. 


I think I've been able to teach them some classroom organization, how to read a good story with expression, plan a lesson or two, hopefully a little bit of classroom management (which in kindergarten can be a bit like herding chipmunks) and how to switch gears on the fly. I hope I've taught them how to roll with the punches, work really hard and tirelessly, and how to be patient even when it's really really difficult. 


It's the inspiration that I worry about. 

I think of the conversations we often have at lunch time in the teacher's room. It's the place where we vent our frustrations over administrative policies, reading and math programs we may or may not like, how exhausted we all are, how sometimes children and parents can get the best of us. We vent about how hard we work and how little we are paid for our efforts. There are days when I'm pretty sure we aren't very inspiring at all.

I know I can do better. 

What I really want those future teachers to know is how much I love my job. How being a teacher really is the best job in the world. That even though the paycheck isn't a big one, I love going to school each and everyday. That even when I've had a bad day, and yes bad days will happen, I can't wait to get there the following day and try again, how lucky I am to be working with some of the best teachers in the world, and... 

how very great it feels knowing that I am making a difference in the lives of children.

Now that's inspiration.

F is for Friendship

Children are little mysteries in many ways. In the way they learn, navigate their day, and interact with the people around them. Their relationships with their parents, with me, other adults and mostly with each other is interesting to watch.
This year I've really enjoyed watching the friendships grow.


I have children in my class who were already friends because they went to preschool together. I have the twins who are the best of friends. There are a few who have found it easy to make friends because they have something in common; maybe siblings together in another grade, or maybe because the live in the same apartment building and have seen each other in the elevator.

But friendship is a funny thing. Two kids can meet on a beach, on a playground or at the park and become the best of friends for that moment even if they most likely won't ever cross paths again. However, there are other times when one little girl or boy can have a tough time knowing how to make friends because they can't quite figure out how to find that one little connection that would bring two kids together.
I try my best to guide these kids in the right direction, maybe partner them up with different kids hoping something will click but sometimes despite my best efforts it just doesn't happen. It can be heartbreaking to watch but I guess you can't force a friendship.

Friendship is a special thing. It takes time to build and grow. Friendships need to be nurtured carefully because friendships are fragile. Children can't possibly know how fragile because at that age, friendships change daily. How many of us can say that the best friends we had in kindergarten, high school or even college are still our best friends years later?
 It's only when we grow up do we realize how important our friendships are to us. I'm not sure what I'd do without mine. We vent about work, and about kids, we laugh together, and sometimes cry together. We cheer each other's accomplishments, and comfort each other when things aren't going so well.

Unfortunately, sometimes it takes almost losing a friend to realize how very important that friend is to us. It's just one of those really difficult life lessons. The ones that really have to hurt so we can learn from them.
Friendship is not something I can teach my kids. I can teach them to be kind , take care of one another, and have fun together but I can't teach them the importance of not only being a good friend but having one too. I know I wouldn't trade mine for the world.

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one." ~C.S. Lewis