Book Blog 1--Pathways (Chapter 1-5)

The first thing I'd like to say about this book is--IT IS ROCKING MY WORLD! I'm totally engaged and for the most part, agreeing with what I am reading.  I love how the first thing the authors do to enlighten us is cause the reader to think about the mindset they bring to the Common Core, "We can regard the Common Core State Standards as the worst thing in the world" (Calkins, Ehrenworth, & Lehman, 2012, p. 3). However, we have the unique opportunity to think of these standards as a positive movement in the education world.  I definitely resonated with this idea.  I know that if I have a bad attitude about something, it will not only bring me down, but produce ineffectiveness.  The CCSS are a gift to students, and if we view them in a positive manner, the effect they can have on children will be huge! 

Calkins et al give the CCSS new meaning when they say, "Pathways to the Common Core expects that you will take the standards at their word and see it as your responsibility--individually and as a member of a school community--to study the expectations for end-of-grade results outlined by the CCSS and to use the Common Core as a lens for reflecting on your practice and for planning ways to support deeper and further learning" (2012, p. 2). Although, as a Pre-K teacher, I'm not too concerned with end-of-grade expectations as defined by CCSS, I consider myself a learner and I think that reflection and growth after reflection are paramount to becoming a better teacher.  

Lucy (yes, we're on a first name basis), makes some great points on literacy instruction according to CCSS.  The authors of Pathways interpret the CCSS as valuing reading and writing equally, which I LOVE, "students need to become strong writers, and to do that, they need expert instruction, time to write, and meaningful opportunities for writing a wide range of informational, argument, and narrative text".  I think writing is so important (and reading too!).  I wonder what it looks like in a pre-k classroom to give "expert instruction" to my students according to CCSS? 

One of the things I struggled with as I read through Chapter 2 was the lack of emphasis on the personal act of reading.  I was surprised to find out that the CCSS were written from the collegiate level down.  In this case, the emphasis on analytical reading makes sense.  But the book lover in me wonders if this could desensitize certain kids to pleasure reading? Personally, I was never into reading until high school when one of my teachers introduced me to contemporary literature--I was compelled by it! I wonder if he had approached my reading apprehension by making me interpret and analyze text more, instead of just connecting to the literature personally, if I would enjoy reading as much as I do today? 

One of my favorite quotes from Pathways is in Chapter four, "even young readers are ready to read for meaning.  Reading literature involves learning from the characters in stories, and looking to books for lessons in courage, determination, and integrity.  As students investigate language. . .they'll develop insight into the text, which is the goal of the Common Core, and insight into themselves and the lives of others, which is one of the purposes for reading at all" (2012, p. 52).  I just love that CCSS comes back to the core of reading, which is to create meaning in regards to ourselves! 

"May we be known by the problems we solve"

We take our silliness very seriously

Greetings!

HOW IS IT THE END OF SEPTEMBER?! These first 8 weeks of school have been amazing and very visceral for me.  In so many ways, I know I'm a better teacher than last year.  And in so many ways I can see my growth points really showing through.  I think often the really cool things you do as a teacher serve to highlight the not-so-good things (for lack of a better word!), and sometimes that's a heavy burden to bear.

Just being worm scientists, NBD. 

I'd like to start this blog off with the low points of this month.  I'll be honest--this has been a really tough month for me, professionally.  I'm struggling with new ideas educationally and balancing a totally new class with a very different vibe than my past year.

• Data/Assessment collection is the bane of my existence.  I've faced the fact that I'm just totally unmotivated to collect data daily from my 23 students. I feel like I don't have the time, or the will to do it.  
• Time management is a real struggle.  There are times when I see my students working on something and I think--let's just keep doing this and we'll skip whatever was supposed to come next in our schedule.  The more we do this, the more we miss out on things that we really should be working on.  Or as Dr. Lynch would say, "things students should have the opportunity to do"

There's always time to complain, I guess.  So, LET'S CELEBRATE! 

These kids are AMAZING. They are so zen.  So relaxing.  They looooooooove breathing techniques from Dr. Becky Bailey and Conscious Discipline.  The pretzel is our favorite! We do some interesting yoga everyday as a warm up to our morning meeting.  My biggest celebrations as a teacher and as a community are:

• Compassion Kit: Our compassion kit is something we came up with in the first few weeks of school.  It's a good companion to the solution kit.  We did a large group on "what can we do to help a hurting friend" and this piece of brilliance is what THEY came up with. 
• 
  

Of course, I can't make them do anything, but when they see a hurt friend (or if they hurt a friend), I always ask them if they thought they made a mistake, and if they say yes, I ask them how they can learn from this mistake.  And then I ask them if they can ask their hurting friend how they can help them feel better? These language frames have EXPLODED in the classroom.  I've seen a lot of kids in the beginning of the year go from saying sorry 30 times to a kid while the other kid tells on them to  them asking what they can do to help them feel better before even running to me.  More than anything, I like to watch these kinds of interactions unfold.  It just does the heart good to see little people learning compassion.  

• Classroom Mantra: Over the summer, I wrote a poem that I wanted to be what our classroom culture was going to be about.  But more than that, it became this poem that has deeply affected me as a teacher, a friend, a daughter, and even as a stranger.  We say this poem everyday.  Its the first thing we do each and everyday.  We also use it in different social interactions and as reminders throughout the day.  

I am in charge, and I can become the person I want to be,                                My power comes from inside,                                I am responsible for my feelings and my actions                               My choices affect other people,                                I must teach others how to treat me                                Conflict is a part of life; I can and will learn from my mistakes                                Love IS power This poem has affected our classroom--although I can't show you the evidence on a piece of paper.  I've had parents tell me their kids have calmed them down by saying parts of this poem to them.  I've had parents say they're rethinking how they discipline their children based on hearing their kids repeat this poem.  I'm blown away.  Sometimes you feel like a terrible teacher, because you didn't do small groups or a phonological awareness lesson didn't go according to plan, but then--you have kids that amaze you just because they can and it really puts things in perspective.

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment."

It’s May! What!?! This past month has been amazing.  I’m not sure where April went, but there was so much packed into this crazy month that I’m not sure I’ll be able to document it all!

 I would like to really start by celebrating my kiddos.  First of all, they’re amazing!  They have really taught me so much and I’ve learned so much through them.  This month specifically, they have given me a lot of freedom to teach them they way they need to be taught. I realize that maybe doesn’t make much sense, but, I guess I’ve just realized that I can give them more freedom and they will blow my expectations out of the water.  This was actualized a few weeks ago during small groups when I decided to incorporate a short instrumental video on the life cycle of monarch butterflies.  I had my kiddos watch the video once and then draw while we re-watched it again.  It was awesome because while we were watching it they were coming up with questions and dialoging with one another.  I was there, but I was a participant in this interaction.  It was like ACTUAL real learning was unfolding right before my eyes and they only thing I really did was find a wonderful YouTube video and allow my students the space to explore video learning.  The only thing that could have been better would be if we watched the life cycle of butterflies in real life—AND THEN WE DID!

Other highs to celebrate include two of my favorite BFFs having so much conflict throughout the day/week/month and culminating in one huge blowup over a silly headband.  But then we sat together and they hashed it out for 10 minutes with me facilitating and worked it out.  At the end Clover said, “good work, Meagan!” and it literally brought tears to my eyes! They are real people with real feelings and their upset and passion and triumphs are so very real.  The realization of this fact about my students was huge for me this month.  I think one of the greatest things about being a teacher is getting to be a witness to so many beautiful parts of humanity.  I’m amazed at the human heart every day. 

One of my favorite discussions we had this month came from a simple LGL (List, Group, Label) exercise we did about plants.  After listing a lot of words, we were ready to group them.  After a few groupings, one student came up and put “butterfly”, “beautiful”, “roses”, and “dirt” together.  When I asked her to justify why she put all those words together she said, “Because they’re all beautiful”.  One of my more interactive students jumped in to say, “dirt isn’t beautiful!” and it created this wonderful discussion on beauty being in the eye of the beholder.  You know, these are the kinds of conversations I still have with my friends/family on a regular basis.  Again, I’m simply amazed and in awe.  Reflecting on these truly beautiful moments makes me realize why I love this job. 

Of course, it’s not all roses and dirt.  There are still some flaws in my teaching style and our classroom culture that I wish I could change in the blink of an eye.  I wish I could not get so frustrated when my whole class starts talking during a read aloud, I wish I could keep better records of assessment, I wish I could get my students to stop saying put downs to one another.  Although we’re still a work in progress, and there are only 20 school days left—I’m confident that as a Pre-K family, we will diligently work and endure with one another until that final day. 

Which brings me to my final point.  I’m sad about these students moving on.  They own a piece of my heart and I’m so proud of them.  As the end of the school year winds down, I’m ready for them to move on, but I desperately want them to stay just a while longer.  I wouldn’t have learned anything this year if it wasn’t for them, and for that I owe them so much gratitude, grace, and kindness.  I can’t help it, but I love them.

***This final blog post is dedicated to the smart, kind, helpful, risk-taking, brilliant, fun, loving, GENIUS Pre-K class of 2013-2014 at Suburban Nursery School and Pre-K***

This is one of my favorite songs from Wicked and it attempts to sum up my feelings for my wonderful kiddos:

"For Good" --Kristin Chenoweth

Like a comet pulled from orbit, 
As it passes a sun. 
Like a stream that meets a boulder, 
Halfway through the wood. 
Who can say if I've been changed for the better? 
But because I knew you, 
I have been changed for good 

It well may be, 
That we will never meet again, 
In this lifetime. 
So let me say before we part, 
So much of me, 
Is made of what I learned from you. 
You'll be with me, 
Like a handprint on my heart. 
And now whatever way our stories end, 
I know you have re-written mine, 
By being my friend... 

Like a ship blown from its mooring, 
By a wind off the sea. 
Like a seed dropped by a skybird, 
In a distant wood. 
Who can say if I've been changed for the better? 
But because I knew you, 
Because I knew you, 
I have been changed for good.”

Sources Conference 4/19/14

While at the SOURCES conference, I was so honored to get to hear the presentations by the year twos.  I enjoyed hearing about how they are using their students and their community to get kids to think about how they can help their world.  I think it’s a powerful thing when students can feel empowered and come up with their own ideas on how to solve big world problems.  

One of my favorite projects shared was Joy’s.  I love how she started the year by getting the Mayor of Roswell to come and talk with her students.  I was surprised by how she said her students questioned and interacted with the mayor. Sometimes, I know I don’t give kids enough credit.  I’m amazed at how she took this project and gave it to her kids and allowed them the freedom to come up with how they could address it and gave them the power to change their community.  Although I know the reality is that these problems probably still exist and will continue to exist, I think it matters that the kids did something about it.  It reminds me of Black Ants and Buddhists when Mary Cowhey talks about all the things you try to do and how sometimes—it doesn’t make much of a difference for the situation. But it DOES make a difference in your heart.  

I also loved hearing about Laura’s endeavors to improve the library. One thing I want to improve upon next year is helping the kids LOVE books.  I’ve been so devastated this year when my books get ruined and messed up.  It’s SO sad.  I want to find a way to instill honor and respect for books and literature and the art of reading next year.  I think by involving her kids in this project on improving the library, she made them care about reading.  She gave them something to love about books and reading.  

Finally, I don’t know what to even say about Coach Powell’s talk.  It was interesting.  Some of the things he talked about, such as knowing your history and embracing who you are as a person were wonderful.  On the other hand, I’m not so sure I agree with his linear message about sex and women and how they treat their bodies.  I agree that women should honor and respect their bodies, but I think that means something different to everyone.   I honestly would have loved to hear more about his thoughts on hip hop’s subculture and the nature of pop culture in general.  

Black Ants Reading Chapters 5, 6, 12

“If we are to teach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children” (Ghandi).

While reading through Mary Cowhey’s chapter 5 of Black Ants and Buddhists, I’m loving her devotion to peace and how she gets her students to dialogue about how to go about creating and living in peace.  I’m struck by how her simple methods of opening up discussions and conversations led her students to actually participate in a peace march in their community.  I connected with her when she said, “they didn’t do it because it was in a lesson plan.  They did it because they are used to learning through and engaging in dialog” (Cowhey, 2006, p. 93).  This is so powerful to me because she made dialogue and critical thinking a part of her classroom culture and community.  I think one of the biggest reasons this works in her classroom is because she (along with her students) created an environment where inquiry and questions could happen safely.  When she says, “But how can we assess their critical-thinking ability? How do we know if they are making sense of the stories we tell and the things we do? I wonder if the social justice element of my teaching carries over beyond my time with my students, whether first and second graders do “get it” in the long run” (Cowhey, 2006, p. 87), I immediately thought of my students and if what I am doing with them is actually working.  Is it sinking in? Does it even matter if I teach to them this way? I think she makes her point in the end of the chapter when she says even if their actions don’t immediately have a tangible effect on their world—it just matters that they did it.  I think as teachers, sometimes we have to come to terms with the fact that not all of our kids are going to “get it” the way we teach it.  But even if some of them are affected by our teaching—that matters.

I loved reading through chapter 6 of Black Ants and Buddhists on teaching through activism.  If Mary Cowhey thinks her 1^st and 2^nd graders have a hard time dealing with the hard issues and discussing things like landmines and slavery with her kids—then I definitely am going to have a hard time! However, like Cowhey—I’m up for the challenge.  I don’t believe in avoiding the difficult questions in life just because I don’t have the answer.  I find that most of the time, the things my kids are asking questions about are the things I am asking questions about.  One of my male students asked me why I have boobs.  First of all, I don’t really want to have a conversation with a 5 year old about my private body parts, but I also didn’t want to shut down his question because he was genuine in his wonder.  I told him it’s because I’m an adult female and most adult females have them.  He said, “well what are they?” Which of course made me laugh.  I told him they were mostly fat but there was some muscle too and that males have muscle on their pectorals too.  Another girl was listening in on our conversation and said she hoped she never had boobs because she didn’t want to be fat.  Hearing her say this made my heart so sad.  I wondered if a 5 year old was capable of hating their body (or their future body) and where she got this notion.  We continued our conversation on having fat on our bodies and why having some is good.  I say all this because this was a really hard conversation for me to have.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to far or saying something out of turn or inappropriate, however, I didn’t want to avoid it.  A lot of times, we’re afraid of speaking out or talking about issues that seem taboo—this chapter of Black Ants and Buddhists reminds me that I never want to be afraid of myself of my teaching style.  Of course I always want to be respectful and honoring to my students and their families, I just don’t want to operate out of fear. 

The Morning Meeting Book (part 2)

Wow, reading through the rest of The Morning Meeting Book was great! I really enjoyed hearing the authors perspective on what a Morning Meeting with middle schoolers looks like and how I can translate that to my Pre-K kids.  One of the things that was emphasized again even with middle school children was the need to share.  I like how Kriete talks about the teacher's role in sharing, "Teacher sharings can be used as a springboard for lively conversation and debate" (2002, p. 117).  I often like to share things with my friends and family, so why should't I share with my students too! Sharing stories or interesting encounters with them is a great way to model what sharing looks like.  And I know that when I share my students are always shooting back questions or comments that relate to them.  I think this somehow gives us a common bond and it's relationship building!

The other idea about sharing Kriete brings up is focused sharing.  Although my students don't always need a topic in order to share something, this is a good way to facilitate their thinking and guide their thinking in a certain direction--possibly related to what we are studying.  I think I would think about doing focused sharing maybe once a week since my students are always itching to share their own personal stories! One thing with focused sharing that I would like to emphasize is, "the responsibility of each student is to find a way to connect in a brief way to the topic.  The responsibility of the group is to receive each student's comment openly and with respect (2002, p. 117).  This is one thing I really want to work on with my students over these last few weeks of school.  I want my students to be able to respond with respect and kindness to their peer.

I'm OBSESSED with all of the ideas in the appendices of this book! Although I got a little bit of a late start implementing some of these greetings, or sharing methods, I know that the time we have left in school will be well spent incorporating them into our morning meeting.  I'm extremely excited to try this out with my next class of kids from the very beginning!

My Little Leaders (Connections March 2014)

As I reflect over this past month, I realize that this was the first FULL month of school in 2014.  And it has been drenched in learning, growing, mistakes, risks, challenges, ups and downs.  I’ve noticed a bit of a change in the culture of my classroom.  My students are transforming from your average Pre-Kers to what I like to call, rising kindergarteners.   Because I’ve realized that they are growing so fast and so much, I’ve been giving them more freedom and independence in the classroom. As I reflect over my highs of this month, I’m deeply aware that the best parts of our days and the most rewarding for me are when I’m able to give them some agency in the classroom.  My independent small groups have been performing so well.  They are able to do all these engagements and tasks on their own with little guidance from me.  And their independence has been extremely fruitful! My students have also organized a class play during centers time that was so fun to just sit back and be an audience member in.  They are acting like leaders and learning so much by being in control of their own learning.  How strange to say that about 4 and 5 year olds!

My favorite thing I’ve been seeing with my kiddos is their leadership during morning meeting and share times.  I was so hesitant to turn over the reigns and let them lead parts of morning meeting.  It has been amazing though! G.R. sat in the teacher chair and was able to call on his friends to tell us about their weekend.  L.S. shared a part of her weekend with us and asked for questions and comments. M.C. was the kindness reporter and reported kindness on his own and then asked his classmates to share kindness too.  During all those times I was sitting on the carpet with them, raising my hand, hoping to get called on! When I put myself in that position, I was able to see how hard it is not to share.  I love talking and when I wasn’t able to talk with my classmates, I had a difficult time.  I know that’s how some of them feel, so it was really cool to get their perspective. 

 

We also did a green food taste test and tried avocado, spinach juice, edamame, and cucumbers.  We made this awesome graph to figure out what was the class favorite and most of my students couldn’t even decide which one was their favorite because they loved them all.  I really wanted to harness this love for new and healthy foods so we collectively asked our director if we could have some of these green foods for snack and she agreed! It was such a wonderful moment of the kids using their voices to get what they wanted. 

My lows have been the overwhelming feeling that some of my students are not ready for Kindergarten.  I know deep down in my heart that they will be okay—but I sometimes, I struggle with how they are developing socially and emotionally.  I really hope some of my students don’t go to kindergarten still hitting their peers or lacking the ability to take responsibility for their actions.  One of the things I struggle with the most is trying and trying and trying to find a way to work with them, to finally get them to empathize, or behave, or be responsible—and yet all these things I’m trying never seem to work. It’s exhausting.  I think in some ways, I have to trust their development and that sometimes, it just takes more time. 

So with 8 weeks left of school, I’m hopeful and a bit melancholic about the departure of my kids to kindergarten.  I’m already starting to miss them!

**Also, avocado is definitely spelled wrong in our letter...**