Use Your Words

For about a month now, we've had our packing up procedure pretty down to a T. When I call your name, you 1. come get your homework folder, 2. walk to the closet, 3. put it in your backpack, 4. get your green bag (my library system which let's the kids bring home a new book each night), and 5. come back to the carpet to switch books.

So let me set the scene: R is absolutely exhausted. He clearly didn't sleep last night, and during our 40 minute nap time he went to the bathroom 4 times (and I mean actually went- like I listened outside the door).

I call R's name, and like a good boy he comes to get to get his homework folder and walks into the closet. When he comes out of the closet, still holding his homework folder, I'm confused. He says, "I don't got my homework folder". I encourage him, "R, try again. Think about your words". He responds, with his eyes half closed and mumbling due to an obvious lack of sleep, "Miss Glass Ion't got mah homework folder". So then I gave up. "R, look down at your hand. Now go back into the closet and be a problem solver".

R comes back to the carpet empty handed and once more says, "Miss Glass, sorry but I don't got my homework folder". Clearly he's trying to tell me that he forgot his green bag, but I'm trying to get my kids to solve their own problems, so I just sit and wait for a minute. This is the best part.

L stands up, says "R, come here". She puts her arm around him. "Let's go back to the closet and try again". She walks him to his cubby as I listen to her say, "R, what should you bring to the carpet?" He says, "My green bag, but I don't got it." She looks at him and says in her most motherly voice (as motherly as a 4-year-old gets) "Well that's okay, you have to go tell Miss Glass". As they're walking out of the closet she says, "Come on, R. Use your words. What do you need to tell Miss Glass?" R stands up and says "Miss Glass I forgot my green bag".

"Oh that's okay R, you can switch books tomorrow. Come have a seat on the carpet". Just proves that kids learn better from their peers.


2 friends passed their lowercase letters today and 1 passed her uppercase letters so the count is this:

13 - Learning their uppercase letters
2 - Passed uppercase letters, learning lowercase
5 - Passed uppercase and lowercase letters, learning first 10 sight words

M wet herself today. Rough, and wet. The nurse was out and the only change of clothes that I had was a pair of shorts and a sweater. How silly.

I ended my day running to the fridge and pounding some drinks. I'm a preschool teacher so they were apple juice, but let me tell you the sugar rush I got was totally worth it.

7 Minutes in Heaven

There was a period of 7 minutes today when I stood in the center of my classroom and looked around silently. The following describes what I saw.

The Art Center: 

     M is drawing a picture of a jack-o-lantern on a grass field with a sun in the sky and a heart in the air. L says to M, "Hey that's beautiful. Can you write my name on it and give it to me?" M says "Well I do not know how to write your name, but you can help me. Can you tell me what letters to write?" L spells her name correctly for M. M writes the letters perfectly.  The picture is now hanging in our science center.

Dramatic Play Center:

     No one is in dramatic play.  For those non-preschool teachers, this is the center with the play kitchen, phone, costumes, and 'toys'.  Generally this is a 'free play' center in which kids are encouraged to explore life around them and play like children too.  Considering 3 weeks ago this center was full and my friends were fighting to get into it, I am thrilled that my students are choosing learning over play.

Math Center:

     E is pointing out our number of the day to H on the new whiteboard addition of our morning meeting. "H, this is the number 9.  Look there are 9 dots, see '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.  H, see that word? It has 4 letters. See n, i, n, e. There are 4 letters but it says nine because that's the number 9."

Writing Center:

     A is looking for all of the uppercase letter magnets in the writing center.  She says, "I need a letter R".  Oh no, I'm thinking. We only have one magnet uppercase R and it's on R's magnet board. Here we go, drama is about to ensue.  But, before I can run and hide behind my desk because R is not sharing, he speaks up and says, "I gotta R right here! You can use it!"

Library:

     M is teaching B his uppercase letters. D is flipping through the pages in a Halloween book.

Science Center:

     Y and A are counting the apples that we have on our tree. We earn an apple on our tree for whole-class good behavior. When we get to 10 we get a reward.  I put 10 push-pins on the tree even if we don't have 10 so the kids can count how many we have left until we get to 10.  Y counts to 7 and says "We have 7". A says "We only need 3 more until we go outside!"

After this I got the usual whine city of "blah-blah-blah won't share with me". "Miss Glass I want to go to writing but it's full". Nevertheless, for a solid 7 minutes, my preschoolers were angels.  Tomorrow, I bet we can make it 8.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,

Miss Glass

Dreams Really Do Come True

In Connecticut there is a proposed law to make Halloween the Saturday before the 31st each year.  Apparently, having Halloween on a school night throws the kids off.  Yet despite the lack of sleep, exorbitant amount of sugar, forgotten coats (gloves, scarves, and hats), and all around partying that my big kids were exposed to Monday night, they still came to school.  No doubt- they were exhausted, insane, and defiant- but at least they were there.  I won't lie- yesterday was rough. I had one of those days where I was convinced my kids were too incapable, too unmotivated, too young.  One of those days where I was convinced that I was too incapable, too inexperienced, too young.  I left school early- around 5:30. I called my mom- she had school off from Monday through Friday due to the storms in CT.  I went home and made chicken stir fry- only to hear how my roomates' school was lit on fire by a student that day.  Then I went to bed.

I had a dream where I introduced a number of the day in our morning meeting.  On a whiteboard, a student would come up and write the numeral, draw that many dots, write the word for that number, and draw that many tally marks.  In my dream, my kids were engaged.  I woke up before my alarm went off, got ready early, and although I was convinced that I was still asleep, I went to school to make this magic whiteboard.

It worked. My kids loved it so much they asked me if we could change the number during our afternoon meeting so we could learn more.

That wasn't even the best part of my day.  Today we compared what seeds need to grow and what people need to grow.  We made two graphic organizers.  When I asked my friends what seeds need to grow they shouted "sun", "air", and "water" - we've been reading stories about seeds all week.  When I asked my friends what people need to grow they all shouted "to learn" "to go to college" "to work hard" and "to get smart".  Maybe it was wrong that my students couldn't get to the responses I wanted them to say - "food", "water", and "air", but at the time I could just smile and add it to my list.

In library center I heard my kids yelling- but I couldn't make out what they were yelling about.  I went over to tell them to keep their voices down, and when I got there, M (who just passed her uppercase letters on Monday!), was quizzing 3 other friends on their letters.  The yelling I heard was them guessing which letter it was.

I love my kids.  My kids love me.  Most importantly, my kids really love learning.  Today was a good day.

Goodbye Teachers and Friends,
Miss Glass