M is for Middle

There are a lot of theories out there about birth order and the stereotypical characteristics of children born first, last or somewhere in the middle. I’m not sure if birth order has anything to do with how successful a child will be or how confident they are, but I do know as a mom of three I see certain characteristics that are hard to ignore.

 Daniel is the one stuck in the middle. He was born just a little over two years after his older brother Mikey and 6 years before his youngest brother Patrick. He had a good chunk of time getting to be the youngest so when Patrick was born I think it threw him for a loop. I’m not sure he ever really got over it!

I remember Daniel’s reaction the day his baby brother was born. He walked into my hospital room and said, “hi mom.” His voice was shaky and he had tears in his eyes. I’m pretty sure it was because he was worried about me and relieved to see I was okay, and not because he was so happy to have a new baby brother. He was also not happy to know that he wasn’t as welcome to come trotting into our bed in the middle of the night now that there was a nursing baby in the bed too.

Daniel’s never been the child who got to do things first. His older brother was our guinea pig, so when Daniel was a baby, we were already pretty good at being parents. We were definitely more confident anyway. He had the benefit of getting parents with experience, and with experience comes a more relaxed attitude about a lot of things. He got to eat chocolate way before I ever considered giving it to his older brother!

Because Mikey is the oldest we are still experiencing things for the first time with him. Most recently learning to drive, graduating from high school, and now attending college. In many ways Daniel benefits from this experience not only because we are more relaxed about it, but because we now know what to do.

But I can’t help but wonder if he sometimes feels like he’s not as important because we don’t make as big a deal out of these things.

If that’s the case, he couldn’t be more wrong. He’s always been the kind of kid who quietly goes about his business without making a lot of noise. He is an excellent student, but you wouldn’t know it, because he doesn’t talk about it. He just does it because he knows it’s important.

On the soccer field or on the track he works hard and his hard work pays off, but he works hard quietly. Taking it all in, doing what he’s supposed to do because he knows it’s the right thing to do, he doesn’t do it for the recognition, he just does it.

I rarely get to hang out with just Daniel because most times I have Patrick with me too, but yesterday I took him on his first college visit. It was nice to hang out with him just the two of us. He still has another year of high school, which I am very thankful for, but the search for just the right fit has definitely begun.

As we walked around the University of Connecticut yesterday I watched his reaction as we went from building to building. We saw the library, some classrooms, dorms, dining hall, and student union. What I didn’t expect was the smile on his face when we walked into the stadium where the Huskies play. The UCONN Huskies, 2011 NCAA champions. Daniel is a sports guy, one who truly appreciated the fact that he was standing in a stadium of champions. The names were plastered around the walls, names most people would recognize even if they aren’t college hoop fans.

I’m not sure if UCONN is the place for him, but because he’s the kind of kid he is, he’ll find the place that fits.

I suspect Daniel has always felt a bit overshadowed by his older brother and he really has no reason to be. He’s smart, he’s funny and well rounded. He’s a good person with a good heart even though his little brother would argue that point.

I am insanely proud of the young man Daniel has become and I expect big things from him.

It’s your turn to shine Daniel, show the world what you’ve got.

R is for Run

Tomorrow is a holiday here in Massachusetts. It's Patriot's Day. A day that celebrates the anniversary of the Battles of Concord and Lexington. The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising on Lexington Green and so began the American Revolutionary War.
So, I sit here and drink my tea, tea I can drink tax free mind you thanks to those patriots of long ago that decided dumping box after box of the stuff into Boston Harbor was a good idea.
Patriot's Day is also special around here because runners come from all over the world to run the Boston Marathon.

I live in a family of runners.

My husband has run eight Boston Marathons, and a whole host of others from Florida to Washington, D.C. He is a real runner and he loves it.

My two oldest kids are runners. Both have had successful high school running careers winning race after race. My oldest is now training to compete in tri-athalons.

My little one is not a runner in the runner sense of the word, but he will be. He's got those long skinny runner legs. He pretty much already runs where ever he goes. Upstairs to brush his teeth....he runs. To get an oreo...he runs. He runs to get to school, to go to bed, to get up in the morning. He has one speed and that's fast. It's the little boy in him.

I watch the kids at school, running across the room, down the hall, outside at recess. Always running.

Makes me wonder...
When did running for me become "exericise" and no longer fun. Running for the sheer joy of it. The joy of getting somewhere as fast as you can even if it's just to brush your teeth!

I know why...because running hurts!

 I ran today, 2.5 miles, or something like that. I would have run longer, but when I stepped off the curb, my knee went one way, my body the other. Ouch! I sat on the sidewalk and cried. I called the runner in the family, reported my location and told him to come pick me up because not only could I not run home, I wasn't walking very well either.
So I won't be lined up in Hopkinton tomorrow waiting for the shot that signals the start of the 2011 Boston Marathon, but I will be cheering from the comfort of my couch, ice bag on my knee.

Ready! Set! Go!

A is for Author

This year I have the distinct pleasure of being the teacher of an amazing bunch of budding authors. I am surprised each and every day by their ability as readers and writers. I love to write myself so whenever I see a child showing real interest in writing I do my best to encourage him or her.

During choice time, my kids have been wanting me to put together "books" for them. I just fold and staple a few pieces of paper together for them to use to play author. Since it's been occurring at choice time, I've tried to stay out of it and just let them create for creativity sake.
Most of our serious writing happens in their "serious writing" journal during writer's workshop. This is where we pay close attention to our writing. Topic, punctuation, editing, spacing is all part of our serious writing time.
One little cherub came to me last week with a book she had created titled"Mrs Colins Fafrit Gob" biy Tinkerbell (obviously  not her real name, although these days you never know!)

Now unless you're really good at reading kindergarten writing you might not know the real title of this book is Mrs. Collins' Favorite Job.

Kindergarteners, because they are just learning about letters, sounds and how words work, spell phonetically. Reading kindergarten writing is not always an easy task and I often have to have the kids read their writing back to me, but in Tinkerbell's case, I've seen enough of her writing to know what she's trying to spell.



She worked on this little masterpiece for the better part of a week. This book was so good, and so carefully illustrated, I had to encourage more. It didn't hurt that it was all about ME!

So Tinkerbell and I sat down together as she read each page. I was teary listening to her. She was so excited about her accomplishment. We talked about "book spelling" and how real authors edit their work to make sure things are spelled correctly and that they've use punctuation in all the right places.
After carefully checking the spelling of each word, we made our way to the computer lab where together we typed and printed the words.

I cut out the sentences and carefully glued them to the pages of a new book. Over the next week she re-illustrated her story. I let her choose her medium, paint, crayons, markers or colored pencils. She chose the pencils, took her time and came up with some amazing illustrations.
She is so proud of her book she asked me to make multiple copies for her Granny in England and her grandparents in "Vreemont".

I couldn't be more flattered that I was the subject of her book and more proud of the effort she put in to writing and illustrating it.
Enjoy!

The end.

P is for Present

Going to school each day is a gift. I've said it before, I love what I get to do everyday...hang out with kids.  Yes, kindergarteners can be exhausting, but most of the time I don't realize that until I'm home and falling asleep on the couch!

The best part of my job?

Kindergarten kids really are very funny and most of the time they don't even know it.


Today I was doing a lesson on instruments to tell time. So on chart paper I wrote,
"What tools can we use to tell time?"
The brainstorming began. I got "watch", "clock", "timer", "stop watch", "microwave"...all excellent answers.
Then I got a few funnies...
"a llama clock" (alarm clock!!!)

and my favorite...

"The television."
"Yep, great answer! Some televisions have clocks on them, I know my cable box has a clock on it."
"No Mrs. Collins, that's not what I meant."
"Oh, so how does the television help tell time?"
"Well, there's this show called 60 minutes. It has a clock on it, that ticks!"
"Yes it sure does!"

Today during choice time a group of my girls decided I needed presents. They asked to borrow the tape and went at it. They were coloring, and cutting, wrapping and taping. When choice time was just about over, they walked over to me to present me with my gifts, all carefully and lovingly wrapped and very securely taped.

We have been discussing weather the past few weeks and today was water cycle day. I read a story, and talked about what happens to puddles. My little Tinkerbell was obviously listening very intently because she had it down! I was presented with this...

See the blue blob? That's the puddle, and if you look very closely to the left of that puddle you can see water vapor rising up into the air. How great is that?

Then I unwrapped this...

This would be the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza.
"Because you have Egyptian hair Mrs. Collins"
I'm not really sure what Egyptian hair is, I'm thinking dark and straight like Cleopatra Queen of the Nile?

Very well could be, because my next present was this crown!

Perfect attire for a leisurely trip down The Nile!

So it was a good day, my 60-minute watching, llama clocking, water cycling, pyramid drawing, crown- makers helped make it that way!
I can't imagine better presents than that.

W is for Weather

This week is all about weather in kindergarten. First up...wind!
I started the lesson checking on their prior knowledge by asking them for some weather facts.


Once again I was so impressed with all they already knew. I wrote their windy facts on chart paper and we review them each day.

Once we collected our windy facts, I read a story by Pat Hutchins titled The Wind Blew.

Then we tried a windy experiment. We wanted to find out how far wind can move things.

I gathered my materials: A feather, some plastic straws, some masking tape and a permanent marker.

I placed a piece of tape on the floor to mark our starting spot, then gave each child a turn blowing their feather as far as they could. Once the feather landed, I marked that spot with a piece of masking tape.

The following day, we measured our distances with unifix cubes and recorded them on chart paper.

The kids had a great time and learned a little something about air movement and wind.

The measurement piece added some math concepts, estimation, measurement, and addition and subtraction.



Next up...Rain!

C is for Chat

Some of my most favorite moments with the kids are those times when I can chat with them one-on-one.
I had that opportunity today at dismissal.
All the kids had been matched with a mom or a dad except for one, so he and I sat just inside the door and watched for his mom together. He's a great little kid. So full of energy. You can just see the excitement well up inside him when he's happy about something, he just can't contain it.
He has one of those smiles that can light up a room. He can be a little challenging at times, needing reminders about personal space, or to sit quietly, but he's a good guy and doesn't have a mean bone is his little 5- year-old body.

"Mrs. Collins, when I leave you'll be the only one left. Will you be lonely?"
"No, I have some work to do in my room, I'll be so busy I won't have time to be lonely."
"Work? Like what? When we leave you're done right?"
"Well after awhile I go home, but first I have to clean up a little then get things ready for tomorrow."
"That sounds like a lot of work."
"It is a lot of hard work, but it's the best job in the world."
"I don't want to be a teacher when I grow up."
"You don't? You should think about it, why wouldn't you want to be a teacher?"
"It's too much work I think."
"Well what DO you want to be when you grow up?"

"A JUGGLER!!!"

"That's an excellent choice! I can juggle."
"You can?"
"Ah huh."
"Can you juggle oranges?"
"Nope, I can juggle kindergarteners!"
"You're funny Mrs. Collins! Kindergarteners are too heavy to juggle!"

"Oh, If you only knew!"









 

B is for Bucket

It's inevitable, I've seen it happen before. Right around the beginning of spring a transformation occurs. The cherubs in my class begin to behave more like siblings than classmates. The little arguments begin, the name calling and the tattling that we had a handle on, reappear and it becomes time to pull a new trick out of my kindergarten hat to help resolve these little issues before they turn into big issues!

I admit it, some of my best ideas come from the other blogs I read. There are some very talented and creative kindergarten teachers out there and I'd be crazy not to tap into some of that talent.

As I was searching I came across Rachelle's blog, What the Teacher Wants.
This is where I discovered Bucket Filling. I was so inspired I knew I needed to buy this book!  I couldn't wait to read it to my class. The premise of the book is that everybody carries around an invisible bucket to hold all their good feelings.
You are a bucket filler when you do or say something nice to someone, but you can also be a bucket dipper. A Bucket Dipper is not something you want to be. Bucket dippers try to fill their own buckets by saying or doing things that hurt feelings,but it doesn't work like that. Buckets can never hold bad feelings, only good ones.

So I read the book to my kids, and they immediately embraced the idea. We talked about it a lot, but I knew I wanted to do something more.  So I took Rachelle's idea which she posted on her blog and made it work in my room.

I found these really cute little metal buckets in the dollar aisle at Target and added clear labels with the kid's names on them.

I have 18 kids in my class and at a dollar each it is bordering on pricey, but I really felt like it was a worthwhile expense.

Then I added a little basket with little bucket filling papers (which can be downloaded from Rachelle's blog) and a pencil, then explained what I wanted them to do.
I told them that when they wanted to make a friend feel happy, they should write down something nice and put it in their friend's bucket. It can be as simple as a smiley face, or a compliment, or a little note to tell them how much you like being their friend.
I wasn't really sure how they were going to handle it, I was pretty sure the first day would be over the top bucket filling, but I was wrong. It seemed they really were careful about what they were writing and who they were writing to.

I also got in on it, mainly because I wanted each and everyone of them know they are special to me too, each in their own way, and I was rewarded with my own little filler.

 At the end of the day I gather all the bucket fillers and send them home with the recipients so their parents can see what wonderful friends their kids have.


Since starting the bucket filling project, I have noticed a difference in how they interact with each other, after all, nobody wants to be a Bucket Dipper!