the little ones came to school
most for the first time ever
filling our room with emotion and energy
a few minutes into our day
one had me write
an urgent note to her mom
that read:
“bring the car!”
we’re all tired and mostly all happy
tomorrow we begin again.
—
“be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”
-meister eckhart
oh, we all have those days
you start out by not having your water bottle
so you get a special halloween cup of water
it gets tipped over when you are cutting
you go to get a paper towel to dry it up
but you come back with what you can find
toilet paper
that gets wet and mushy
the extra part rolls out on the floor
your coat falls off of the back of your chair
the paper you were cutting gets soaked and chopped into little pieces
because you are really good at cutting
you can’t find the cap to your marker
because it rolled off your table
now it might dry up
all you have left are the dark color crayons
you don’t get time to finish your cheez-its
because you are trying to clean up
the ones that are left get wet and are mushy
you go out to recess and run and run and go on a pirate adventure
your teachers love you anyway and tell you it happens to them too
and it’s all okay.
—
“there’s no limit to how complicated things can get,
on account of one thing always leading to another.”
-E. B. White
doing virtual early childhood parent-teacher conferences online
did not feel natural
but i give parents so much credit
some went to elaborate lengths
to find a space and time
where their child wouldn’t find them
so we could openly talk
and share stories
about how their child
touched our hearts this year
we talked to parents
in a closet, in a basement, up in an attic room,
and those who sent their child off on an errand
some waited until their child was asleep at night
but one thing was the same
this was a wonderful group of supportive, think-on-their-feet parents
who kept our connection with their children going
even from a distance
as we all navigated our way through this uncharted territory
and we were so lucky to have them as our teaching and learning partners this year.
—
“in a world where the great technologies enable us to record, replay, cut and paste, zoom in, and delete –
listening is the crucial commitment to keep the heart touchable.”
-mark nepo
—
photo credit: bored panda
what an honor and a pleasure
it was
to have spent two days
with intelligent caring educators from many places
coming together
to
share, discuss, question, wonder, listen,
learn from each other
about leading
respectful, compassionate, joyful, creative, curious, playful, democratic classrooms
for young children
where they begin
to discover and grow a love of learning
about the world near and far
every experience
preparing them for what is beyond
this comforting place
they call school.
—
“the limit of your present understanding
is not the limit of your possibilities.”
-guy finley
today on the first day
we welcomed our
new multi-age kinders class
(3s, 4s, and early 5s)
each in their own age and stage
to our school
many for the first time.
—
“everybody has to learn for the first time.”
-joshua lederberg
(1925 – 2008) american molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the united states space program. 1958 nobel prize winner.
—
image credit: rural images
happy halloween from paper and her team.
—
‘knife, fork, spoon. rock, paper, scissors.
it’s the rule of three.”
-stephanie meyer
“the quiet house” on the 3-6 year old children’s playground
—
on a trip to visit schools in north carolina
i loved meeting the young children
and
i loved meeting the educators who
understood the importance
of using
play, compassion, kindness, projects, community
and
hands-on learning
when teaching young children.
i met many people who were so passionate
about
education and children and life in general.
what a lot i learned from them.
—
the whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.
– sydney j. harris
I didn't have my glasses on.... 