have you ever touched a rainbow?
it’s pure magic.
“and as he spoke of understanding,
i looked up and saw the rainbow leap with flames of many colors over me.”
-Black Elk
May12
Category Archives: teaching
Feb13
crumb.
i will never forget
it was a friday
show and tell time
sitting on the floor
they took turns going around our circle
each child sharing their special thing
other children kindly looking at it
showing appreciation for what the others shared
then we came to n
who clearly had forgotten to bring something
yet said “i have something too”
he proudly walked around the circle
both hands together
gently cradling a single crumb
that he had picked up off our floor
showing each child
talking about his crumb
as the others
were all so kind
smiling at his crumb
complimenting him on his crumb
accepting the crumb as his special thing
without judging his crumb
my favorite show and tell special thing of all time.
—
“the wise learn from the experience of others, and the creative know how to make a crumb of experience go a long way.”
-eric hoffer
Feb10
*happy lmtwgrblkufgdw.
so happy to be celebrating
*Love Makes the World Go Round;
But, Laughter Keeps Us From Getting Dizzy Week: 8-14
i feel lucky to have a job that keeps me laughing.
who else gets to say/respond to such great things at work?
–
“you need to have pants on.”
“try not to touch every person in the room”
“i know you washed your hands this morning, but it is afternoon now.”
“fish don’t really like to be hugged.”
“try to bend your legs to sit on the sled, that is called making them stiff and that is different, try to bend…..”
“did you call me grandpa?”
“it’s important to have both shoes.”
“before we start we all have to promise not to cry if we don’t get to the candy castle first.”
“behind you is that way.”
“why did she call you beth?”
“if you put that in your nose, it might not come out.”
“your snowpants are backwards, let’s see if i can help you fix that.”
“you want to be called something new?”
“i’m pretty sure these are your boots because your parents put them in your bag and they have your name on them.”
“your mom is having a baby but you’re not supposed to tell anyone yet?”
“i’m not sure that ranch dressing is good to drink.”
—
each day is the best day ever.
never a day goes by without a laugh or ten.
—
image credit: puffin puff pastry, google images
Jan26
the genius of each.
as i worked on report cards over the last week
putting together my notes
gathering my thoughts
sharing my stories
telling their stories
i was reminded
that each child
has
their own gifts
their own challenges
yet each shares
without fail
a curiosity
a sense of wonder about the world
a desire to learn
and does so
in their own way.
—
“Do not train children to learn by force and harshness,
but direct them to it by what amuses their minds,
so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy
the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
-Plato
—
image credit: Radhusets Julkalender 2012 – Arte del libro, Arte dell’illusrazione
Sep17
most unusual day.
today is the first day back at school
i imagine the kinder calmly gliding into nature with me
all possibilities are on the table
could be more like the picture below
most likely will fall somewhere in between.
“today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.”
-william arthur ward
—
photo credits: vintage pinterest, gamma-keystone london
Aug24
goodnight, good sir.
RIP to *Sir Ken Robinson, an eloquent and indefatigable defender of the role of the arts and creativity in education. His TED talks made him world-famous—his presentation called “Do schools kill creativity?” remains the most popular TED talk of all time, and he wrote widely, including major books on creativity in 2001 and 2015. Robinson was knighted in 2003 for his distinguished career in service to the arts. He was a staunch critic of standardized tests and compliance-based classrooms, and an unapologetic champion of every kind of creative endeavor—from theater, to music, film, painting, dance, and everything in between. He died peacefully yesterday at the age of 70, after a brief battle with cancer, surrounded by his family. His voice will be greatly missed. – Edutopia
“the answer is not to standardize education,
but to personalize and customize it to the needs of each child and community.
there is no alternative. there never was.”
-Sir Ken Robinson, (one of my heroes in the field of education)
*Sir Ken Robinson was an author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies.
—
credits: edutopia, pbs.org
May29
today is…
(not my actual class, but what they might look like
if they weren’t preschool students
if it was back in the day
and
if they were leaving an actual school building)
HAPPY LAST DAY TO ONE AND ALL, LOVE YOUR TEACHER – WE MADE IT, AND I SALUTE YOU!
—
“today is the first and last day of forever.”
-stephenie meyer
—
image credit: ann arbor district library archives
Apr10
thirty minutes.
each of our faculty members
were allowed to go into their room alone for 30 minutes
during that time we could take
whatever we imagined we might need
to teach school — for the rest of the year.
walking into my building, it was silent
i saw the ‘welcome back to the sun’ and ‘happy spring’ artwork
my class had created for the hall
expecting to be back soon after our spring break
walking into my classroom
it was sad
left as it was back in mid-march
memories, things undone, things i wish i could still do with my class
cards, and art, and notes, and pictures, and colors, and books
30 minutes to decide what to take
i filled my bags with toys and books and art and puppets
anything i thought might make my kinder feel a sense of comfort
as i teach them from afar and show them familiar things
it was hard to close the door on the year
knowing i will stay connected to each of them
but also knowing
something will be lost
in not spending my school days
sharing a room with them.
—
“time flies over us,
but leaves its shadow behind. “
-nathaniel hawthorne
Mar14
distance teaching/learning.
“learning must travel the distance from head to heart.”
-gloria steinem
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan is escalating its response to the new coronavirus (COVID-19).
On Thursday night Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the closure of all Michigan K-12 schools, including public, private and boarding, in response to the confirmed cases.
The closures start Monday and will end on April 5, according to officials. Schools are scheduled to reopen on Monday, April 6.
here’s to the educators, support staff, administrators, and families. all working so hard to continue our connection and to share in our partnership of caring for, and teaching their children. in a very short time, i have seen amazing work being done on all sides to support this initiative.
Mar6
believe.
spring conferences
a time for
sharing stories
of children and family.
“behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.”
-matthew jacobson
—
image credit: animalchannel.com
