Pet Peeve Confession

Confession Time.

I love teaching kindergarten.

Okay, you already knew that.

But just because I spend much of my time shaking my sillies out, creating rainbow magic with finger paint and learning the latest and greatest bristle block spaceship building techniques with five and six year old engineers ~doesn't~ mean I'm all sweetness and light.

Oh no.

I've got a dark side.

A sarcastic side.

A sassy side.

I'm letting her out for just a second here... maybe some of you will be able to relate.

Ahem.  Cough.

Dear Parents,

I understand that you might be curious as to what kinds of learning tools and materials I have stockpiled for your children to use over the course of this special year. I must insist however, that you ~ASK FIRST~ before you enter my classroom (as I'm dismissing students outside) and start throwing open the doors that protect MY classroom library, MY teaching tools, MY equipment, MY learning props, and my STUDENTS' personal belongings. 

And *should* I feel inclined to allow you to peruse these personal belongings (no, they're NOT all supplied by the school district for your child's use, **I** purchased them with my own money, thank-you-very-much), you will kindly close the cabinetry doors after you've gone snooping.

Okie dokie artichokie?

Boundaries people, boundaries. Not just for kindergarten mastery, you know?

BOB Books Giveaway Winners!

My goodness, we *do* love a giveaway, don't we?

Look at all of the comments that were left!




Drawing the winners' names was so much fun!

Reagan said...

I would love to win this set! I'm starting out in Kindergarten this year, and I'm thinking that this would be perfect for the transition :) I have used BOB books in Pre-K and had great success! Thank you for all of your inspiration!

Angie  said...

These books look great, and I was not familiar with them! Thanks for sharing!

Reagan and Angie, I've already emailed you directly, so check your inbox and get back to me with your mailing addresses a.s.a.p!

Thank you to *everyone* for leaving a comment, and many thanks to Scholastic for making this giveaway possible!

Déjà Vu

... head here to read Alfie Kohn's take on turning children into data.

So my neck and head are sore from nodding vigorously throughout the article, can you blame me?

*****

You still have time to leave a comment at my "Bravo BOB" blog post for a chance to win two sets of BOB Books and a BOB Books lunchbox!  Winning entries will be drawn tomorrow!

Good luck, and happy reading!

My Opinion about Thinkers

I'd like to believe it's a valid one developed after fifteen years of teaching, and forty years of living my own life from infancy and childhood through teenage angst and young adult abandon; through parenthood, military family life, and wedded bliss; through stress, difficulties, and personal success; via my own lifelong learning:

Simple math and reading scores do not a ~whole~ child make. Children should never be reduced to mere data points by anyone. Ever. Abusing our students and allowing others to abuse our children because we've chosen to buy into the hype (the root of which is money, big surprise) of NCLB is a regret I don't intend to have on my death bed.

I not only require five and six year olds to think, I require the adults in their lives to do the same. Thinking requires seeking out information, not merely parroting back the latest sound byte from what now passes as the evening "news" or an educational mandate set down from professionals content to take a flying leap off of a bridge because their "friends" (political heavyweights and their clueless constituents) and colleagues are dictating that they do so. Thinkers weigh their own prior schema with empathy and sympathy for others, looking at the big picture, deliberating on whether new concepts or trends are appropriate for themselves and in this profession, the children for whom they care.

Thinkers will often set their own fears and inexperience aside to open their minds, share ideas, and learn about others. Thinkers can agree to disagree, they can compromise, they can create new paths, solve problems on their own, and help others when needed. Thinkers actively tune in to others, to the environment around them, and hopefully accept their responsibility within the setting of their personal and professional lives.

Thinkers like learning. Thinkers appreciate more than the image, the facade, the fad. Thinkers value the meat and potatoes, the details, the facets, the quirks. Thinkers understand and accept the entire package, even if they find some parts of it more appealing than others. Thinkers ask "what would happen if" BEFORE they blindly drive into the fog. Thinkers don't tend to cut off their nose to spite their face. They don't believe that their students' multiple abilities should be dissected and sorted into math and reading piles, with the other skills, interests, and natural inclinations abandoned by the wayside.

The burden for Thinkers is heavy: they have to calmly and simply present information to the non-thinkers in an effort to help guide them. They have to tolerate, even allow, other peoples' choice to NOT think. They must listen to loudmouths argue that it's better to be a Do-er than a Thinker, implying that Thinkers are incapable of timely action. They must take the bull by the horns at great personal risk, while everyone else is content to sit back and be entertained by "the show." They can lose so much when they're outnumbered by people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk... or by people who can't be bothered to use their own voices to advocate for their children.

So *think* about this: have you ever noticed that P.E. instructors DON'T tell classroom teachers to only bring students' arm or leg muscles to the gym each day? Have you ever wondered why music teachers don't ask that a child's brain be divided between the math center and reading table in the classroom while s/he instructs the child's voice on its own down in the music room? Is it simply inconvenience that requires a child's entire body be present for each lesson, or is it actually *necessary* that children see, smell, hear, taste, feel, watch, engage, attempt, overcome anxiety over and form an opinion about experienced concepts before they know and remember them?

Fractions aren't JUST slices of a cut-up pizza. Fractions are rhythmic beats in a measure. Fractions can be found when children evenly divide up Lego pieces at the building center. Fractions are understood by adults because we've had a lifetime of varied experience with them, not because we've remembered the answers to questions on a standardized test once a year. We're not automatons. Neither are our students, no matter what politicians, administrators, or curriculum materials peddlers are able to sell to the non-thinkers.

No wonder so many good teachers retire or quit. Stupidity can be overwhelming. Watching politicians use children and their parents' fear to continue to grow the market for the NCLB product is frustrating. Thinkers know that students won't grow into successful adults by merely reading about their world or sitting all day at desks figuring mathematical equations. They know they won't grow into successful adults by enduring drill and kill test "practice" for reading and math scores that are primarily used to determine a school's operating budget. Thinkers would appreciate it if this system was packaged and sold honestly:

We're not here for your children. Your children are here for our economy. NCLB is our latest product. Buy, buy, buy!

Fear mongering is faster. Fear mongering is profitable, and ~deep sigh~, people don't think about how fear is used.

They just follow.

Bravo BOB!

Shortly after I began my teaching career, I discovered BOB Books Sets via Scholastic Book Clubs and purchased them to help round out my personal classroom library.

Students, their parents and I enjoyed the books' detailed illustrations and simple sentences that reinforced sight words and developed phonological awareness.  The stories were interesting, but short enough to not overwhelm students.  The look of surprise when a student read his or her first book with me was quickly followed by lots of "Wow!  I read a book!  I really did it!" or "Did you hear me read those words?  And I pointed to the words too!  I can read!"


I've maintained my collection of BOB Books ever since, adding to my collection each time a new set appears in a book order form.


*****


Nothing encourages a child to continue to read more than the feeling of pride and self satisfaction she or he feels after making sense of words and sentences.  When the text "fits" the illustrations, children *know* they've GOT IT!



Mastery of sight words helps students comprehend text and read with fluency.  I'm a fan of the Kindergarten Sight Words pack and the First Grade Sight Words pack since they introduce children to thirty sight words as they read their way through the ten books contained in each set.




I intended to photograph the kindergarten and first grade BOB Books "in action" in my classroom this week, arranging them on my reading table as my students finished their snacks.  Before I could get the books (and sight word cards, SCORE!) artfully arranged, one of my readers ran over to the table, plopped himself down, and started reading.  Finding the kindergarten set a bit too easy, he dug through the first grade box and read through "Little Bug."

We then used several of the flash cards as a review of the words he'd read (ate, he, little), though it was a card from another story that made us laugh:

*****

How would *you* like to win both the Kindergarten AND First Grade Sight Word Sets of BOB Books AND a lunchbox for YOUR little readers?  Each box contains ten books, thirty sight word flash cards and a parent guide.  Helpful tips can also be found on the inside cover of each book!

Leave a comment ON THIS POST ONLY by Friday, August 27th.  Dear Daughter and I will draw TWO winners' names and notify you via email/winning blog post.  Please make sure I have a valid e-mail address for you.

Participation in this giveaway is for U.S. residents only.

Many thanks to Scholastic.com for making this giveaway possible!

*****


A BOB Books sight word search activity can be found here!

Stay Tuned for Back-to-School BOB!

This week I'll be teaming up with BOB Books to offer a fun giveaway, just in time for back-to-school!

Stay tuned!

The Truth

My Super Stars and I had a wonderful first week of school!  Here's hoping that all of you enjoy the same (after you dodge manic parents driving shopping carts full of school supplies this weekend)!

Diversity of Talent

Regular visitors to my blog know that Sir Ken is one of my favorite thinkers...

Here's why:



"Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability."

He's wonderful.  He's brilliant.

He's right.

Blankie 'tude

... and then another commercial makes me laugh!

Not Certain It's a Theme...

... but I combined dots and gingham with an owl thrown in for good measure.


There's a very good chance that it's thrown in because my brain is still taking a thinking time out for the next few days.


Sometimes, "autopilot" is ~good~.


How would YOU label/categorize my boards?




Brown butcher paper, extra black and white gingham bulletin board trimmer, and some polka-dotted punch out letters hung out with the owl for a few minutes...

While I folded a large piece of construction paper to make a mount for the back of the owl- I wanted our feathered friend to stick out from the board:

... wadding/crinkling/smooshing butcher paper can be so therapeutic!


I positioned Mr. Owl and added "Who-who are you" (question mark to be fashioned later this week):





... hung "Welcome to Kindergarten" on the opposite board...

... and put my favorite hook and loop "Velcro" dots onto laminated colored circles (students' names are printed out and laminated as well, and used interchangeably throughout the year on the dots and other decor):

The colored circles are hung down low so students can find their names easily when they visit the school with their parents...

... and the circles (with names) will continue to be used after all of my new Super Stars have finished their self-portraits later this month.

Warm Fuzzies

Couldn't Make This Up

... two weeks after the flood, another day with the temperature at 104 degrees (106 if you were five streets away), and I ended my first official day back to work with notification that the pre-schooler's day care was on fire.

I can run with flip flops.  Fast.  I can drive semi-sanely even when my heart is racing.  I can keep a smile on my face while reassuring a disappointed boy that we'd have ice cream at home even though I was ruining his day by *not letting him go for a ride on the evacuation bus*.

It's time for ~normalcy~ to return, thank you very much, so I'll be taking the camera back into the classroom with me tomorrow so I can show you how things are looking.

Desks.  Objectives.  Bulletin boards.

After I spend extra cuddle time on the couch with the family tonight.