the kinder came
they masked
they played
they conquered.
—
“this is the short and long of it.”
– william shakespeare
—
first day of school – september 2020
Sep18
Tag Archives: school
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
Jul9
no one knows.
oh, audrey, class of 2020 –
this harkens back to my days
in the 70s
painting on my best friend’s parents’ new car
(my parents said absolutely not)
proudly plastering on
the glory of our days in school
the coming glory of our leaving
driving around all day
in the hot sun
noticing with surprise
when we scrubbed it all off
even though the paint was gone
the sun had baked our message on
the marks from the paint remained
never able to be truly washed off
memorializing our message into eternity
my friend’s parents with an equally surprised reaction
at least audrey painted on the windows, not the body
she will go far, that one.
—
“no one knows what’s a good idea or a bad idea until you try it.”
-marc randolph
Jun13
bear.
while visiting my niece’s school
in the beautiful woods of northern michigan
i realized that it wouldn’t be
a real end of their school year goodbye
without a bear to see them off.
—
“but of course, it isn’t really good-bye, because the forest will always be there…
and anybody who is friendly with bears can find it.”
-a.a. milne
—
pathfinder school, traverse city, michigan, usa
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
May28
keep the heart touchable.
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
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
Mar31
public image.
that moment when you realize
that your first imminent all schools faculty webinar is in a zoom format
the next moment
when you pull off an instant makeover
and do the best you can to get your look together
the final moment
when your i.t. person clarifies that it will strictly be
a presentation given by our head of schools
no one else will be seen on screen
and you feel a certain sense of relief.
—
You know, there’s nothing you can do about your public image. It is what it is. I just try to do things honestly. I guess honesty is what you would call subjective: if you feel good about what you’re doing, yourself, if you figure you’re doing the right thing. -Christoper Walken
—
image credits: no corgis were harmed/emotionally scarred in the making of this post,
all google images
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.
Jan6
back to the future.
back to school today
back to the kinder
who are not limited by conventions
and are open to the future.
