Sometimes it's just one of those days...

We've all had them - one of those days, one of those weeks, where it seems like nothing is going our way.  Just when we think we will catch a break, something else happens.  It's just like the book Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day By Judith Voigt.  Alexander thinks nothing is going his way and nothing could be worse, but worse keeps happening.  I have found myself in one of those long weeks this past week.  In the moment I am just trying to "survive".  I was overwhelmed and burdoned and just needed a break.

Luckily the days pass and there is something that does change our perspective.  Something happens that makes us realize, "ahh, it's not that bad" or "Ahh, I can do this."  For me, it was a note that a student wrote to me on Friday in their beautiful kindergarten handwriting full of hearts, butterflies, and rainbows.  The note she had so ever carefully tucked behind my leg as she ran to her seat to patiently wait for me to see it.  Thankfully their "stealth mode" is rather obvious and I was able to play into it, or so I thought.  I opened the note to see "Ms Brown i stil luv u" written across it. As she saw me open it, she ran over and said, "It's okay if you're having a bad idea" and gave me a big hug.  With a tear in my eye I thanked her.  I thanked her because it was that card, that simple gesture that changed my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day around.  Her simple heartfelt words made me realize that as stressful as things get, it's okay to have a bad day.

Have you ever had one of those days?  How did a student change it around for you?

It Takes Five Minutes

From edutopia

"Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much." - Blaise Pascal

I have found that parents are conditioned from early on to dread the phone call home from their child's teacher.  Maybe they often had phone calls home to their parents when they were in school, maybe an older child often requires phone calls home, or maybe it's just society's perception on when a teacher calls home it must be because something is wrong.  That mindset really bothers me.  Sure students are going to do things that require that phone call home to explain it to parents and ask for reinforcement at home, but I don't want parents to dread seeing the school number on their caller id.  

From the start of school, I have made it part of my weekly routine to call home to at least two families and celebrate something with them for the week.  Maybe it's their child's excitement in an activity or really thoughtful act towards a friend, maybe it is an academic success, or better yet, a social/behavioral improvement.  For some of the parents that knew me previously, they were not caught off guard by the phone call, but for others who have already learned to dread the call home, I think they were weary of my intentions,  wondering when I was going to drop the bomb of "what their child did today".  When I called one parent in particular, she began with a very defensive tone in her voice. Once I explained I was calling home to celebrate what her child had done, her tone began to change.  She began asking, "so why are you calling if he is doing good?" and saying, "I've never gotten calls like this."  After explaining what I wanted to celebrate, the parent responded, "Ms. Brown, you've made my entire day.  Thank you for loving my son.  I know he's not easy, but I'm so grateful you see his good side."  She began to quietly cry and it broke and warmed my heart at the same time.  I was saddened to know that at such an early age parents can feel that the system is against them, but I was relieved to know that the parent could see my good intentions.  I knew I would have to often call home to really forge a relationship with this parent, but that was a commitment that I knew I needed to make. 

One of my favorite responses came just a few weeks ago when I called home to celebrate some "rockstar reading" of one my students.  I could hear the beaming look of pride on the father's face when I was sharing his daughters' success with him.  When I finished sharing, he said, "I know it's 5 pm on Friday night and you have a million things you should be doing, but can you please call my wife and share this with her?  I know I cannot do any justice for the sincere excitement and pride in your voice.  She's been at work for the past 18 hours due to an emergency and I know this will make her day."  How could I say no?  The whole point of my phone calls is to share positive moments with families.  Five more minutes in the grand scheme of things was nothing. It was so worth it. On that Sunday, I received a picture via email of that same student playing school at her house.  But in the picture, she was on a phone.  The father explained he told his daughter that I called and how proud he was of her for her hard work at school,later that day when she was playing school, he walked in to hear her on the phone, calling home to her pretend students' parents saying "I just love _____.  She is so super smart. She works so hard."  His message - "Thank you for showing my daughter how to make someone's day, one phone call at a time."  

Throughout the year, I have called families over and over again to celebrate (and discuss incidences and concerns).  I have found that because I have invested in the time in developing relationships and celebrating, that parents are much more receptive to when I call home with a concern asking for their support and follow through at home.  They know that I value their child and recognize when things are going well.  I'm not "out to get their child" or blame them for everything.  There will be "bumps in the road" as students go through school, but I don't want parents to only know about the bumps in the road.  So many more positive things happen everyday that I know parents will never know about, unless it is shared with them.  

It takes a village to raise a child, and I know that by winning parents over and having them view me as someone on their child's side that I can accomplish much more.  It takes five minutes to call home.  The kind words about their child do not cost you anything, but to a parent (and a child) they could mean the world.  Celebrate the little things in life, for life is about the journey, not the destination.  

Preparing to Celebrate for Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss Day is quickly approaching!  I love this day for two reasons: 1. It's Dr. Seuss' birthday which means we have the opportunity to read all the fabulous works by this favorite author and 2. On March 2, 2007 I began dating the man I am marrying in a few short months, after spending the day dressed as Cat in the Hat for my school district.

As a senior in high school who wanted nothing more than to be a teacher, I was beyond thrilled by the opportunity to visit all the elementary schools in district and participate in all their Read Across America activities.  (Here's a picture from The Record Journal)

Since dressing up as Cat in the Hat, I have found myself in a variety of costumes throughout the years that help bring books and characters to life. There's something about the amazement on the students' faces when they see their favorite character in "real life".  And for my fiance, he's accepted the fact that I will never grow up and that being a kid at heart is just who I am. As for my students, I can't wait to see their faces when Cat in the Hat is their teacher on March 3rd.  But until then, I tried creating an Animoto that includes images from some Dr. Seuss books that we will be reading this week (I needed way more than 30 seconds, but unfortunately I was not paying for an upgrade to include them all).


Celebrating Dr. Seuss

What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book?  

Reading Aloud to a Child

In Kindergarten, I get the pleasure of teaching children to read and watching them grow into their new identities as a reader.  For some it is a seamless and easy process, for others it is laborious and difficult, but for all it is a meaningful journey that I am fortunate to be part of.  

When the school year started, I stressed with parents the importance of reading every single day to their child.

From: Facebook: The Literacy Site

But as more students are reading in their just right books, I have been hearing from my students that they are always doing the reading at home, not their parents.  I have some of my reluctant readers constantly "forgetting" their just right books at school and often asking if we can have an extra read aloud instead of independent reading time during workshop.  I know my parents are trying to help their child and they want them to be the best readers they can be, but I began to worry that they were getting caught up in the fact that their child is an emerging or beginning reader.  Sure students are excited that they can read the words on the page and can retell the simple story, but they still need to foster a love of books and stories.  The books that most are reading are simple pattern books with little to no story line (i.e. I see scissors.  I see books.  I see crayons.).  Students need exposure to literacy-rich environments.  They need exposure to great role models who read everyday and foster the love of reading and learning.  They need to hear the language of books to learn it and apply it when they read.  They need to see that reading is fun and exciting.  They need to see that books can take them places that a video game or tv show can't.  They need to see that people don't just read because they have to, but rather because they love to. To help make my case to parents, I sent them the link to this article: 10 Awesome Reasons for Reading Aloud to Your Kids Whatever Their Age.  I wasn't sure how well it would be received by some, but I received nothing but positive emails and responses from parents and families.

So here is my plea to you all - read today and everyday for 20 minutes to a child in your life.  Never miss a chance to share a favorite story, a new character, or a hysterical sequel with someone who might just need that extra motivation to find their love of reading.

20 MINUTES A DAY

Read to your children
Twenty minutes a day;
You have the time,
And so do they.
Read while the laundry is in the machine;
Read while dinner cooks;
Tuck a child in the crook of your arm
And reach for the library books.
Hide the remote,
Let the computer games cool,
For one day your child will be off to school;
Remedial? Gifted? You have the choice.
Let them hear their first tales,
In the sound of your voice.
Read in the morning,
Read over noon,
Read by the light of
Goodnight Moon.
Turn the pages together,
Sitting close as you'll fit,
'Till a small voice beside you says,
“Hey, don't quit.”

Author Unknown

From: 20 Minutes a Day

100 day

So I have procrastinated writing a post all week because I didn't know where I wanted to take it, but I have decided that even though I cannot have a blog or outside website for use IN my classroom, I still want to reflect on what I am doing.  So here it goes!

Today was the 100th day of Kindergarten.  For any of you who work with young children, you understand the significance and magnitude of holidays.  I'm not sure about others, but for me, 100th day is the holiday celebration in my room that I cannot wait for.  Rather than just spending an hour on a party, we celebrate it all day, incorporating all the academic areas.  I love that my students are so engaged and learning more than they'll ever know that day.  We started the day with an ambitious list.  Some of our activities included: 

• making 100 day crowns
• building a tower of 100 cups
• doing 100 exercises
• creating portraits of what we would look like when we turn 100
• collecting 100 cans for our community food pantry

As our day progressed, I stepped back and watch a community of learners doing activities.  I was able to just facilitate these activities.  I watched students doing age appropriate things without feeling pressured.  I lost count of how many times my students told me that it was the best day ever.  They had no clue that we were addressing so many standards through our activities.  They counted and wrote their numbers without any hesitation or resistance.  They willingly worked together and problem solved.  They saw the tasks as challenges that they HAD to work together to accomplish.  They did not see it as "this is mine, this is yours".  As they decorated their crowns and made their fruit loop necklaces, I watched them collaborate and help one another.  Groups counted the fruit loops together, while another all sorted the colors first.  I agreed with them - it was the best day ever. Why can't we have more days like this?

It was even more gratifying when students begged me to take pictures and send them home.  They couldn't wait for their parents to see what they were doing.  As we made 100 snowballs at recess, one student came running over, "Quick get the iPad - we need pictures so we can write about it!"  

I stood back as a proud teacher and realized, yes I have to teach curriculum and standards and assessment does drive instruction, but so does creativity and play.  5 and 6 year olds need time to be just that.  And guess what, they are so inquisitive by nature that they are going to question and learn throughout.  The card I received at the end of the day asking, "When can we have another 100 day?" left me thinking, when can we?