Tag Archives: kindergarten

perspective

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i followed two 4-year olds at the back of the line, as my class made their way down the school hallway. one was crying. the other reached over, took his hand, and walked with him silently for a minute. the crying continued. the hand-holder decided to take a different approach and share his own tale of woe to make his friend feel better. “hey, when i was a baby, my mom never even played with me. she just wanted to stay in her room with the door closed and watch t.v.,” he told him. (how does he know this? how sad, and it really explains a lot, i thought to myself.) the other little guy stopped crying and they continued on in silence once again, hands swinging. 

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If you think you have it tough, read history books.   – Bill Maher

 

scary halloween tale of the scary halloween tail

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my team and i decided to be birds for school today, as we’ve been teaching our kinders about birds and trees and all things natural. j1’s flamingo was darling, j2’s robin was so cute, and my cardinal – well, very colorful, but good thing they told me just before the parade that i was wearing it backwards and was proudly strutting around showing off quite a bit of human tail.  

I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch. – Gilda Radner

 

 

a boy, a leaf, and a vision

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loved our leaf man project. read the book to the kindergarten, they then created their own leaf art. we found out 2nd grade also read the book and created their own version of leaf art. the kinders created all kinds of cute pieces: cows, butterflies, and leaf men. after, we took a trip across the school to see what the 2nd grade had done. all kinds of cute pieces once again: leaf babies, leaf fairies, and then there was one – done by a little boy who had his own idea of what art is.

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cute kinder projects

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cute 2nd grade projects

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and then of course, you have the scarlet johanson leaf project

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If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.

John F. Kennedy

 

no bird in this bush.

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in full-day kindergarten, every day is truly a treasure trove of wonder.  in the morning, we talk about the sound that the letter F makes.  children offer their own examples, things they are familiar with in their own lives: flower, frog, fruit. then, out of the crowd, a lone voice says above the rest, ‘funk.’ what was that?  ‘i said, ‘funk. funk starts with f!’ it does indeed, thank you so much for bringing a smile to your teachers’ faces and for bringing the funk back into our lives with so much enthusiasm. you never know where you’ll find the letter F, it could be just the beginning of such an exciting word, funk.

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after a day filled with activity and learning and music, and most importantly, our afternoon nap, we set out on a hike through the woods and trails on campus. we took the binoculars we’d made out of empty toilet paper rolls and string, for a chance to see one of many birds we’d been talking about in the last couple of weeks.  along the way, we saw geese, swans, wrens, and jays.  

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suddenly, once again, a voice rang above the crowd. ‘ i saw jesus!!’. what? where? who is jesus?  the class had all sorts of questions, as they are a patchwork of cultures, religions, and backgrounds.  ‘in the bushes! i saw jesus!’  wow, hmmmmm…… maybe that’s why i never could be a part of organized religion. was i not seeing things clearly? i think not. but i guess some toilet paper roll binoculars are higher power than others. it was a day of funk and jesus. 

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collateral damage

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 To: Beth

Good Morning!

Unfortunately _____ does not have his bag with him today. His sister vomited in the car on the way to school. His bag was one of the lucky ones that got hit. I’m sure he told you. My mom will be picking him up today at the bus stop.  Thanks so much!

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Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.   – Nido Qubein

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now i’ve seen it all!

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2 kinders cross paths at the doorway of our little classroom bathroom – one coming in, one exiting.  the one exiting has pants down and is walking out like nothing is unusual and is on a sunday stroll in the park. one coming in yells out, ‘cover that up! no one needs to see your _____ (anatomically correct body part)!!’ – like a very bad day at the park. well said, little one.

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I have as much privacy as a goldfish in a bowl.

Princess Margaret

global warning.

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first parent note of the year – love it.  school is in, bring it kindergarten!

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Raising kids is part joy and part guerilla warfare.
Ed Asner

 

 

kinder-ku

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stop crying, you are hurting my ‘ear-plums!’ – m

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first week back feelings

joy and tears rule kinder’s day

look to year ahead

 

 

the hills are alive….with the sound of squealing.

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     happy to welcome my kindergarten back yesterday, and not only the children, but the parents as well. i gain so much wisdom from them everyday.  one mother, returning with her 3rd young child, reminded me of how she’s able to get everyone dressed and off to school on time. i have always seen this process as a minor miracle, having had to deliver 3 young ones to school at one point in my own life.

     she told me she does the laundry and then simply dumps all of it into one giant pile. the kids then climb and all forage around it, until they are able to put an outfit together.  and that’s it, they are ready for the day. no stress, and always an adventure for all. i think this is brilliant.

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‘it’s better to have loved and lost than to do 40 pounds of laundry a week.’

– salvatore dali

a kiss is just a kiss. unless it’s a miss.

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when he was just 6, one of my kindergarteners handed me this story that he had written using his invented spelling. . as he read it aloud to me, i transcribed it into more traditional adult spelling. i found it to be heartfelt and very funny and i’ve saved it among my treasured writings . recently, i gave him a copy of his story, as he heads off to college, a little older and perhaps little more worldly and wiser. 

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original invented spelling version

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transcribed version

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Women still remember the first kiss after men have forgotten the last.

Remy de Gourmont