Tag Archives: kindergarten

Mar2

what makes a man?

Posted on March 2, 2014 by beth

Standard

it took a small village of kinders to make a man.

they hiked through the deep snow.

they went in the playhouse to eat some snow and get pumped up about it.

they worked hard to push heavy loads almost a big as they were.

they built. and they built.

and they moved mountains.

and they crowned him with a prized possession.

and we celebrated with a song and a dance around the man they created.

and in the seventh hour, they rested.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;

indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

—

image credits: j. kurtz

Feb15

In this bright future you can’t forget your past. – Bob Marley

Posted on February 15, 2014 by beth

Standard

in warmer days of not so long ago, kinders w and n, try to figure out how to blend the past with the present and the future.

Study the past, if you would divine the future. Confucius

Feb7

Education is all a matter of building bridges. Ralph Ellison

Posted on February 7, 2014 by beth

Standard

the kinders are so proud of what they have built together. they say it is ‘the biggest thing in the world!’

Whatever good things we build end up building us. –Jim Rohn

Feb5

* ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.’

Posted on February 5, 2014 by beth

Standard

s, age 4, has taught himself to read. here, he has a teaching moment, when he reads a challenging non-fiction book, about the amazing story of two unlikely animals who became the best of friends. the animals were drawn together, through circumstance and fate, and each found what they needed in the other, becoming somehow better, and changed forever, by being together. as s reads aloud to his classmates, they begin to understand this, and learn that all things are possible.

“Teachers have three loves: love of learning, love of learners, and the love of bringing the first two loves together.”- Scott Hayden

—–

* title quote credit: a saying, alternately attributed to Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni and the Theosophists.

Jan23

the sound of music

Posted on January 23, 2014 by beth

Standard

the kinders picked out a happy tune on our well-worn and much-loved piano.

it was a very cold day and we were kept inside. it sounded like kinder-ragtime.

“The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make beautiful children.”

Cherly Lavender

Jan18

blading, gliding – slipping, sliding

Posted on January 18, 2014 by beth

Standard

it was a morning spent with the kindergarten on an ice skating adventure. filled with tip-toeing on skates, scooting on boots, giving rides on cones, running on ice, holding hands, tumbling, crashing, laughing, noses running.

and all this, as our little hockey playing and figure skating kinders skate on by.

when it’s time to warm up with hot cocoa and donuts, they find themselves on equal ground, and they are all exhausted and so happy. and then, even our hockey players cry when it is time for moms and dads to leave, and for us to return to the cozy comfort of the circle rug in our classroom once more. and some of us feel newly discovered muscles in their legs the next day, that are apparently never used in this way, and take it real slow when going down the stairs.

I would say my sense of adventure outweighs my grace – Kathy Ireland

——–

image credits: freshcardsgifts.co.uk, partylistyles.com

Jan11

the kids who went up a slight grade and came down a mountain

Posted on January 11, 2014 by beth

Standard

finally all back together in school this week, and the kindergarten made the most out of enjoying what mother nature had left behind for us to play with. we headed out to go sledding on a ‘hill’ that could best be described as no more than a 23-degree angle, though to see their eyes upon approaching it, it appeared to be their first encounter with the swiss alps. even so, it was a challenge to get to the top, as the snow was quite deep and their legs were quite tiny. but motivated they are, and they hiked up to the summit, over and over, jumped on sleds, headed down, and marched back up.

all except for one little guy. he stayed on the sidelines, even when invited up, and instead rolled around and ran around and laid in and laughed and ate all the snow he could handle. when it was time to leave and stomp back in, he began crying and yelling out, ‘you didn’t let me go sledding!!!!!’ his outburst was met with great understanding by my class who simultaneously burst out laughing. it was at this point perhaps, that he realized he had made his own choices, and this was not a great argument. the sobbing stopped.

There’s no fear when you’re having fun – Will Thomas

when everyone made it back inside, they warmed up, had a snack, went to music class, made puzzles, read books, ate lunch and suited up for another trip outside, this time to the playground. once out there, they saw that their familiar playground had been turned into a winter wonderland. there was fresh, fluffy, deep, white, sparkling snow everywhere, totally untouched by any other kids!

they jumped in it, rolled in it, made snow balls and snowmen and snow castles, played with ice chunks, went down the slides covered with snow, filled buckets with snow, made snow angels, snapped icicles off of their playhouse, climbed things, tried to run in the snow, and loved every minute of it. after a long time spent playing on our ‘winter beach’ we headed back inside once again. after taking off all of our layers and hanging them to dry, everyone was absolutely exhausted. it was nap time. and we had earned it.