Around the World in 5 Days

Find your seat, buckle in, and prepare for take-off... we're about to travel to different countries of the world! I wasn't sure what this week would bring as far as curiosity goes with the kids. My expectations were quickly shattered on Day 1 as the kids began asking questions and making statements during our Monday brainstorm session! With all of the kids' recent spring break vacations with family, the discussion skewed a bit to the topic of Florida. However, the kids still understood that Florida was far away and quite different from Minnesota, and that's a great starting discussion to our topic.

My miniature, kid-friendly globe was my best friend this week. It was essential for the kids to have a visual showing how Minnesota was this small part of our bigger land space called "United States". Many questions were brought up about Minnesota, Florida, and the United States, as well as cities, states, and countries. It's a lot for a 4- or 5-year-old brain to wrap itself around, but it was so cool to hear all their inquisitions because that meant curiosity was abundant! Whenever a child voluntarily asks questions about a topic, I feel fulfilment because I know I'm doing my job of sparking a flame of curiosity inside these kids.

On Monday, we explained to the kids that United States is a big country and for the rest of the week, we were going to fly to other countries all around the world. Our first stop was a combination of England and Ireland. England had to be on our schedule because Ms. Kate is FROM England... lots to show and talk about! And we travelled to Ireland on this day too, because we had to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at least a little bit on March 17th. Some of these kids haven't stopped talking about the sneaky leprechaun tricks since he came last year. Seriously!

I decided to take advantage of this intense draw to Lucky the Leprechaun by creating a small bit of clues to entice the kids' excitement about learning sight words! The Friday before St. Patrick's Day, Lucky left clues around the school telling the kids to be on the look-out for "shamrock sight words".

As you could imagine, the kids were trying to read every single shamrock around the whole building! By lunch time, the kids had found 22 shamrock sight words and were thrilled with themselves!

We displayed all our sight words for Lucky to see, and we practiced them all. The rest of the day, we were all waiting to see when Lucky would show up with a "neat treat in a cap". But snack-time came and went that day, and no sign of Lucky. That afternoon, the kids were ready to go outside with afternoon staff and they said goodbye to Ms. Anne, who was going home for the night... but little did they know "Lucky" was going to get some shamrock cookies from Ms. Anne's car and then hide the treat inside Ms. Kate cap in the windowsill. While the kids were outside playing, it was Lucky's chance to be sneaky and leave the treat. Glitter was tossed all over the room, toys were dishevelled to make it look like Lucky was making a ruckus, and the cookies were neatly placed hiding inside Ms. Kate's winter cap in the windowsill. Lucky could now breathe a sigh of relief... except as soon as she was done placing the cookies, a parent and child entered the room ready to grab their things from their cubby! After a quick conversation and a "Have a good night!", Ms. Anne scooted out of the room before the child noticed anything was out of place and connected the dots! Whew! Lucky's sneakiness was almost ruined!

 

The following day, we were thinking that one of the kids would notice right away where the cookies were hidden. But no, they just figured Lucky had been in there because of the crazy mess and glitter. By lunch, the kids STILL had not discovered where the leprechaun treat was hidden, so we had to reread the clue Lucky left saying:

"If PK2 can find 10+6 shamrocks before nap, your class may also find a neat treat in a CAP" ...

 

After a discussion about hats and caps being the same thing, we went on a big classroom search to look inside every hat! FINALLY, one child checked the windowsill where Kate's big winter cap was laying with glitter everywhere... We were so surprised at how long it took to find this! Thank goodness it was found! Now I could finally indulge in a shamrock sugar cookie!

 

That Monday, the kids also loved learning a little bit more about England from Ms. Kate! It's very impressive that a few of the parents would comment days later about how their child was talking was talking to them about the coins with the Queen Elizabeth on them and how Ms. Kate was from a town called Preston! Kate also talked to the kids about the red telephone boxes found in London, and the kids got to make their own!

 

Tuesday, we flew to France! But, as I learned that day, flying was not the only way to get there. Kate informed me and the rest of the kids that you can take an underwater train from England to France! AN UNDERWATER TRAIN! That's insane! How did I not know this existed?! Through the Channel Tunnel, the Eurostar travels at 180 mph to get you from London to Paris in about 2 hours. My mind was blown.

 

Adding to the fun of our France day was my special treat I had planned, courtesy of my errand to World Market the previous day. I went to World Market looking for some salty seaweed for our Korea day, and I also came out with ginger treats (India), Aussie licorice, and some French crepe mix. Needless to say, Tony and I had crepes for dinner that night. Then I made 20 more crepes for our France day on Tuesday!

After reading an adorable children's book about France called "Crepes By Suzette", we talked about some of the sights Suzette had in Paris and also what delicious French treats she made! I know the kids didn't really need a demo on how to roll a crepe in whipped cream and nutella, but I couldn't wait any longer...

 

Strengthening fine motor skills? Check.

Exposure to new things? Check :)

 

Then we painted our own Eiffel Towers!

 

 

On Wednesday, we travelled to India! It was important for us to learn a little about India because we have a girl from India in our class! She moved here 2 months ago barely knowing any English and has been learning so much with us! We had a good, open discussion about how things in India are done differently: their schools are different, they speak a different language and also have different weather, animals, food, and other things. The kids were very curious!

 

"Becka and the Big Bubble: Becka Goes to India":

 A childrens' youtube video helped illustrate some of the places to go in India and things you might see! The kids really enjoyed it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LPiSIeN34k

 

 Among the different animals we learned was an Indian elephant! They are a symbol in Indian culture and can be decorated and used in festivals and celebrations!

 

It's Thursday, and we are now in Australia, mates! One of the highlights of this day was learning about all the unique animal species found in Australia... and to find out that they've all seen an Australian movie: Finding Nemo!

 

Word of the day? MARSUPIAL! Kangaroos were welcome to roam our room after making our signs:

 

Fun Friday was finally here! Time to travel to Korea! We have a little boy in our room who comes from Korean decent and has also travelled to Korea recently. Since the country's name has come up in our class a lot, it was nice to have a time devoted to talking about where this place is on the globe!

 

For me, one of the highlights of the whole week was reading a special book to the kids on Friday. I knew this story would have a powerful impact on the kids in my room, but I could never have imagined how perfectly they connected to the story.

"My Name Is Yoon" is all about this 6-year-old girl, who has to move from Korea to America with her family. She is excited to travel but quickly realizes that this home in America is permanent, and she's not going back to her familiar place anytime soon. She has to go to a new school, where she doesn't talk or write the same as anybody else. She has no friends. She's feels lost and sad. She wants to write her name in the symbols that she already knows and is defiant toward using the English letters to make her name. As this story was being read to them, every one of my kids' eyes were wide open and glued to the pages of the book. Every single child could speak to the fact that this was exactly how our Indian friend in our class felt! (She is gone on Fridays, so she was not part of this story and discussion.) This book sparked a beautiful, unveiling discovery to my class about how this little girl feels in our class. She was lonely, didn't know how to always communicate, and wanted to feel loved and included. We brainstormed little ways to help her learn our English easier and faster. We also spoke of how we can always make her feel good about being in our class and let her know she has friends here. I will admit that I had tears welling in my eyes during this story and the discussion following. One of the best storytimes EVER :)

 

Enough of me getting all emotional... time for some

KID QUOTABLES!

 

(reading a "Fancy Nancy" book about Paris to 3 girls)

Anne: How do you say 'friend' in French? You say 'ami'!

Group of Girls: (repeated all together) 'Ami'!

Girl 1: You say like it 'a-mee'...not 'zom-bee'.

 

(boy looks a little sad)

Anne: Are you okay? You look sad.

Boy: I just punched a Lego.

 

(random lunch table talk)

Girl: Ms. Anne! When I play with my brother, I pretend he's my boyfriend!

 

(lunch table)

Boy: In Despicable Me 2, what does it mean when they ask 'Are you single?'?

Girl: It means you HAVE a boyfriend.

Ms. Kate: Actually, single means when you don't have a boyfriend.

Girl: Ooh! (pointing to herself and classmates) So I'm single. He's single. He's single. She's single...

 

(little girl talking to Ms. Kate at lunch)

Girl: Why do you have leaves in your lunch?

 

(little boy talking to Ms. Anne)

Boy: Ms. Anne, did you know that I can count to 900? But only on a stay-at-home day because it takes waaay too long.

 

(lunch discussion)

Boy 1: Do you like your peaches?

Boy 2: Yeah! What if your head was the biggest peach ever?

Boy 1: Woah! Haha! What if my head was bigger than the Earth?!

Both boys: (laughing uncontrollably) Hahahahaha!

 

(show-n-tell: little boy brought in his mom's Running of the Bulls bandana from Spain)

Boy: (to whole class) My mom and dad went to Spain to see the Running of the Bulls... it's where the people run away from the bulls, and if you don't die, you win.

*whole class erupts with questions of how bulls kill people*

 

 

 

 

Do You Speak Bird?

I've been in a slight blog drought lately, but I still have so much to share! Three weeks have gone by... three whirlwind weeks! In my mind, I've been bothered because I want to make time to spew out all my preschool thoughts... but by the time I get home on any given work-day, the brain is wanting a break and is exhausted! Hence, no blog. So now, Saturday morning, is my spewing time! I hope you're ready!

Three weeks is just too much to shove into one big blog, so I'm dividing the weeks into three. Helps organize my brain, and it's probably easier for you all to understand all my craziness then, too! Here we go!

Bird, bird, bird... bird is the word! March 10th through 14th was all about different birds! While I could've gone the route of planning topics about birds in general (feathers, flying, laying eggs, and such), and what makes them different from other animal species, I decided to take it in another direction. Each day, we learned about a different larger-than-life bird! Eagles, flamingos, penguins, ostrichs, and parrots were our focus! And because Kate and I were really into learning about all the birds, the kids were interested in discovering things about them, too!

Here is our Bird Brainstorm we did first thing on Monday!

Artwork from this week has been some our favorite to date!

 

Kate did such a great job organizing the execution for these adorable "hand- and footprint" parrots of all the kids! Super-elaborate but super-adorable!

 

 Whenever any teacher needed a good little laugh during the day, they knew to come check out the precious little penguins in the hall and instant happiness ensued! The penguins, in particular, were such a perfect project because the topic was such a familiar focus for the kids, yet it provided such an open end for how they could each create something so unique.

Following step-by-step directions is an important skill to have entering Kindergarten, and a fun way to practice that with my kiddos is step-by-step drawing! We oftentimes make it into a guessing game too, which they always love! With one or two shapes at a times, I draw on my individual markerboard. They have to copy what I've drawn on their own board, all along giving guesses for what they are actually going to have as an end-product. I think I have just as much fun as the kids do! They always make sure to compliment my drawings too, even if they may think it doesn't look anything like it's suppose to in the end! This week, we obviously drew a lot of birds... this picture shows our cute ostriches!

What they all said:

"Cute ostrich, Ms. Anne!"

 

What they were actually thinking, and were polite enough NOT to say:

"Anne, why are you making us draw these birds that really just look like weird slinkies?"

After bird week, the kids were absolutely thrilled to have an in-house field trip with the National Eagle Center! This special place, on the Mississippi River in Wabasha, MN, is home to 5 injured and rescued eagles (4 bald and 1 golden). We were lucky enough to have Angel, one of the rescued bald eagles, come to visit us! She has been nursed back to health through close care and operations, after falling out of a nest and breaking both wings.

The kiddos loved learning her story and were able to recall information they had learned about eagles during our Bird Week! One of the highlights for us teachers was watching how fast the kids could move behind us when Katie, the eagle expert, warned the kids about Angel's pooping habits. Before Angel came out of her travel cage, Katie stuck out a yardstick and extended it as far as she could. Then she explained that when Angel has to poop, it might fall straight down or it might go further than the yardstick across the room! Ahh!!! The kids quickly moved behind where we teachers were sitting! When I heard this, I sat there calm for the kids but was hoping and praying that Angel's eagle bottom would be facing opposite me and the kids when nature was calling! Made for an exciting field trip!

 

http://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/

Kid Quotables

 

Anne: Hey sweetie! How was your weekend?

Little Boy: Not good... I had to do chores and go to bed early every night.

A: Why?

LB: Because I was bad.

A: Oh, that doesn't sound good. Why did you choose to be bad?

LB: My sister was bossing me around, and I said that I wish she wasn't born.

A: That probably made her feel really sad...

LB: Well, Ms. Anne, she needs to know that she's not an adult! She's only 8!

 

(class discussion about placing toys gently in buckets vs. throwing toys)

Ms. Kate: Why is it a better choice to place toys in buckets rather than throw?

Boy: Because when you throw a toy at somebody's face, they could die!

Girl 1: Yeah, and that's not very nice to make people die.

Girl 2: You know how else people die?

Anne: (interrupting) Alright, let's move on...

 

(question/answer session with National Eagle Center expert)

Eagle expert: Does anybody have any other questions? ...Yes, you, what's your question?

Boy: (very serious) Do you speak Bird?

 

 

 

Castles Have Turrets!

Here ye, here ye! The princes and princesses of PK#2 have arrived!

 

This was, yet again, another exciting week of learning through creative play and adventures...

And "adventures" is a STRONG word! I think we teachers had more of an adventure than the kiddos this week!

 

We started off on Monday with our 'Castle Brainstorm'... We've really been focusing lately on having the kids put into words what they are thinking without having them feel like they are giving a wrong answer. In a class "brainstorm", we explain that our brains have tons of ideas that we think up and that we want to share them with our friends! So when we all can share our ideas, it's like a big BRAIN-STORM thundering together... and that's a good thing! It means that we all have thoughts about what we are learning, and we're making each other smarter by sharing our ideas. But the key for these 4- and 5-year-olds to know is that a "brainstorm" means that there are no wrong answers! Every child can feel comfortable sharing what they know and should not feel silly or sad about having to share with the class: a VERY important skill upon entering Kindergarten! This Monday "brainstorm" activity not only serves as a confidence-booster for Kindergarten social skills, but it also allows us teachers to know a little bit about what the kids know about the subject we're diving into! Prior knowledge is so very important! Fun activities that integrate multiple purposes rock this teacher's world!

 

Here's our Castle "Brainstorm" that we posted on the back of our door for our parents to check out!

 

Yes, you did just read that one of the kiddos said, "Castle have turrets." Simply amazing how smart these kids are! I've heard of turrets before, but I had to look that one up to be exactly sure what the little smarty what talking about!

tur·ret

noun \ˈtər-ət, ˈtə-rət, ˈtu̇r-ət\

: a small tower on a building

: the part on a military tank, airplane, or ship from which guns are fired

 

CloseStyle: MLA APA Chicago

While planning for this week, I felt like there were so many different directions to take the subject! Dramatic play and building castles were two things that obviously needed to be integrated into a few of the days, but then what else to delve into? I decided that since a few of the "brainstorm" statements said things including dragons living in castles and Disney World having castles, that we would have a strong focus on "real" versus "pretend". And we all threw in the Kindergarten vocabulary with stories of "fiction" versus "non-fiction".

 

Overall the real/pretend discussions went wonderfully! We had the most fun during circle-time discussion on our "Dragon" day. During the dragon discussion, we talked about dragons that we've seen or heard about in books, movies and real-life. The dragons from Shrek and Sleeping Beauty were popular choices! And the class seemed to come to a concensus that dragons were all pretend. Dragons are a fun part of movies and stories, but they are not real... but then the kids' minds were blown! We showed them a picture of a REAL dragon, whose name is komodo dragon! They don't blow fireballs, and they don't live in castles. While the pictures of the komodo dragon were getting passed around, more brainstorming was naturally happening! Little comments like "It looks like a lizard!", "The dragon looks like a crocodile!", and "He's really scaley!" allowed us to talk about a special family that the komodo dragon is part of: the REPTILE family! I LOVE LOVE LOVE those kind of teachable moments where their little moldable minds are in the palm of your hand! I could see and hear the wheels of their brains turning! And that's why I'm a teacher!

 

 

With all this excitement, we had no idea what was about to come our way on Tuesday. After a fun morning filled with castles and dragons, lunch-time came and then it began. The craziness. One of our kiddos had to use the bathroom. After they went, a concerned little voice goes, "Anne, the toilet isn't working!" In teacher language, that translates to: "Anne, I'm warning you that I almost overflowed the toilet, and you should probably go get the plunger quick!" I went to go investigate the situation, and sure enough: the toilet wasn't working. Nothing blocking the plumbing, though. The flusher just wasn't flushing. So I thanked the kiddo for letting me know and asked them to wash their hands. Oh, but the faucet wasn't letting any water through! Ahh! ...This was when I realized that something was really wrong.

 

Speaking with management about 10 minutes later made everything clear: we were experiencing a water main break outside of our building! We weren't the only business suffering in this situation, and there were repairmen already booked and busy that day at other places. It was now our job to quickly call every single family on our roster and inform them of the situation and explain that it was not safe to have the kids there for the rest of the day! Whew! Quite the change of plans in the middle of the day! Since it was nap-time for the kids, they got comfy and camped out in our large muscle room while Kate and I called all the parents. Not knowing when and how quickly the repairs to the water main would happen was a little frustrating for all involved... But unfortunate, crazy circumstances happen! And lucky enough for us, being a school and care center put us at the top of the list for repairs! We had the whole day off on Wednesday and were open again for business as usual on Thursday! With all the insane days off for weather conditions, we are extremely thankful that only one day was needed for repairs and not any more than that! Some businesses had to wait 7-10 days for proper repairs! That would've been horrible!

 

Wednesdsay was definitely not a wasted day off! I arose at my normal teacher wake-up time around 5:30 to have some much-needed coffee and breakfast while curling up on the couch and lazily watching the Today show. What a treat to have such a relaxing midweek morning! After living in Chaska for over 4 months now, I have wanted to check out the nice Snap Fitness near our house. This random Wednesday morning turned the perfect opportunity! The Snap off of Highway 41 turned out to be super-clean and beautiful, not too big and not too small. Goldilocks style. And I got to run my little heart out... making me even more anxious for this snow to go away and give me space on the roads to run outside! Sometime soon hopefully...

 

As it turns out, it was a very wise choice to go for a long run on Wednesday morning! I was about to fill my belly up full for lunch! Kate and I have been talking about this restaurant called "George and the Dragon" for a while now, and today we decided to try it out! One of the kiddos in our class always talked about it, saying that it was her very favorite restaurant with "mac and roni". I was confused about it at first, because "George and the Dragon" sounds like some hole-in-the-wall Chinese take-out place. Kate did her research, though, and discovered that it is actually an English pub named after King George! Who woulda thought?! So, we were definitely embracing our "Medieval Kingdom" theme even on our day off! Arriving at the pub, Kate and I were in for a hilarious surprise... Right as we walked in the door, the mother of the little "mac and roni" girl in our class was sitting there at a table with a client for lunch! Quite the coincidence, if I say so myself! She gave us her recommendations and said she would never steer us wrong in the light of "George and the Dragon" food! Kate and I got the famous "mac and roni", fish and chips, an English brew and the amazing beer-battered green beans! Best weekday lunch ever!

 

 

There was plenty of fun in store for the rest of our "Medieval Kingdom" week: take a look!

 

Our "Where & Who" Castles...

 

 We, of course, got to build our own castles! It's amazing what their little minds think up!

 

 Then, it was MY turn to build a castle for the kids! At first, it definitely could've been mistaken for a Home Depot cardboard warehouse. But after a little help from our moving boxes, some strong scissors and packing tape, we managed to make it into something that the kids could recognize as a castle! They adored dressing up, playing, reading, and writing inside of it!

 

 

Overall, a very successful week of creative learning and discovery! We're going to be flying away with some fine-feathered friends next week: it's all about birds! Anything to do with animals will rock any preschooler's world, so I'm thrilled for our Bird Week! Hopefully this means that we're calling out to all birds to come back to Minnesota and bring some spring weather with them!

 

And now...

 

KID QUOTABLES!

 

(random comment at lunch table)

Girl: "One time, a LONG TIME AGO, my daddy puked. And that's history!"

 

(lunch table discussion)

Boy: "What is this slime stuff under my tequitos?"

Girl: "It's not slime! It's chicken!"

 

(royal dress-up time, Girl 1 puts on her princess dress and Girl 2 looks amazed)

Girl 2: (to Girl 1) "Aww! You're adorable!"

 

(day after Girl's mom left for a trip to Florida)

Girl: "My mommy got to Florida already... And now she's at my uncle's girlfriend's mom's house."

 

*This one melts Miss Anne's teacher heart*

(right after Boy arrives at school at 8:20am)

Boy: "Miss Anne, what's for dinner?"

Anne: "Sweetie, I don't know what's for dinner at your house. You'll have to ask mommy and daddy when they pick you up later."

Boy: (Boy's big eyes looking up at mine) "Miss Anne, you can come to my house for dinner."

*Anne's heart melts*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Annie Warthog (Andy Warhol) and Other Masterpiece Artists

You know that feeling you get when you know you're moving in the right direction? Like you've made leaps and bounds toward where you want to go?

That was my week this week. One of the best in a long time! Such a positive force and confidence-builder!

It's been a whole month of reworking our system of classroom management, repetitive redirecting, and sticking to our word. All out of love and care, and for the sake of the kids' growth and our own sanity. Moments of lots of fun and moments of not so much fun. But it's all been worth it. My assistant, Kate, and I can both see and feel the growth. And it's so wonderful to hear that other staff can also see the development of our class. Some say we've done a complete 180, which makes all of our hard work so rewarding.

New habits take 21 days to form. On February 5th, Kate and I began our "classroom boot-camp overhaul". Only 18 school days later, and we know that our class is a completely different place of learning and thriving than it was at the beginning of February. Our classroom is a living testimony that you can rework your whole managerial system, and see major results if you stick to your plan of action!

Case in point: Kate and I both knew that precious minutes of learning and discovery were lost everyday because of our lengthy transitions. One simple change we made was to come up with a way to get them to clean their areas of work and play IMMEDIATELY when we asked and try to see who could go the quickest. All it took was a simple cleaning jingle and a set of jingle bells. When we introduced the jingle, we began singing and bell-ringing:

(tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Ring, ring, ring your bell,
So everyone can hear!
Time to gather all around,
Circle-time is here!

And the first person we saw sitting on their carpet letter, with their area clean, would get to ring the jingle bells! The first time this happened, we made the hugest deal out of the fact that someone got such an honor to ring the bell for us! You bet that the rest of those kids were fumbling frantically to get their area cleaned up ASAP! We explained that we only give the jingle bells to the first few kids sitting quietly on their letters with their spot clean. Now after 18 days of this routine, they only need to hear the sound of jingle bells and immediately they begin cleaning! Like clockwork. Teaching success.

On to the SUPER FUN week that we just had: Masterpiece Artists!
I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't sure how this week was going to go over with the kids. The plan was to explore the art of Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet, and Michelangelo. Even as I was printing out pictures and artwork of the artists in the teacher lounge, some of the other teachers were even asking "What kind of theme are you having this week?!", as they saw pictures of the old, hairy men coming out of the printer.

Each day we focused on the artist, a little bit about him, and his style of artistry. On Friday, to my surprise, the kids remembered the artists and even examples of their work that we had explored all week!

Monday was Van Gogh Day. We spoke of "Sunflowers" and "Starry Night", and we created our own versions with crepe paper sunflowers and oil pastel swirly night skies. "Unique" was a word that we used when looking at each one of our "Sunflowers" creations because we all used the same materials but each created something so different and beautiful in their own way. Pictures of their amazing Van Gogh artwork to come!

Tuesday was all Picasso! Words of the day were "unique" and "portrait". They learned that Picasso loved to paint pictures of people, but he made them look a little strange using colors that aren't real on people. In our class discussion, I demonstrated how we would each make a "Picasso Portrait", starting first with only a black oil pastel. We drew the outline of our head, hair and facial features. It was important to tell them we wouldn't  color in anything on our face because Picasso wanted us to paint each section a different color. The kids did such an excellent job of listening to directions, but still created something that was so unique and special! They were very proud of the masterpieces they created and couldn't wait show their parents!

Warhol Wednesday came next! Kate took this day upon herself, and the art project she had them create turned out to be one of the coolest projects! She explained that we would be making "pop art" like Andy Warhol, but we would be using our own handprints as the "pop art" instead of things like Coke bottles and Campbell's soup cans! Photos of our Andy Warhol bulletin will be posted after I take pictures on Monday! On Andy Warhol day, I learned that his name is one of the toughest artist names for a 4- or 5-year-old to say! Seriously wouldn't have guessed it!

Thursday was our beautiful, "impressionist" Monet day. We explained that Monet especially enjoyed painting ponds, lily pads, and bridges, and he painted in a style called "impressionism". He painted real things, but he didn't use crazy colors like Picasso, and he didn't paint one block of color at a time like Andy Warhol. Monet mixed the color in his paintings and made it kind of like a fuzzy photograph from a camera. That's what made Monet's art style "unique". We could tell that the kids were really grasping how each artist's style was different in their own way! They enjoyed fingerpainting their own "Bridge" Monet art!

Friday Fun Day was taken to a whole new level of fun! We learned about our last artist, Michelangelo, and explained that he was famous for painting the inside of a huge church. Not the walls. Not the floor. The ceiling. As soon as I said, "ceiling", I could see the little wheels in their heads turning and thinking "Are WE gonna paint our CEILING?!" We talked about that and decided that was crazy talk. But we were going to do our version of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I taped large white pieces of mural-sized paper to the underside of our two work tables. When I explained that we would be pretending to be Michelangelo today and taking turns laying on our backs to paint, their little faces completely lit up! I think this was one of my favorite moments of the whole week! Who knew that painting underneath a table could be such an awe-inspiring experience?

Don't ask how I managed to get both murals taped to our ceiling, but they're up there! The kids were so amazed and proud of their Michelangelo class creation!

Now for some of my other favorite parts of the week:

KID-QUOTABLES!

(lunch table conversation happening across table from me)
Girl: (speaking to boy next to her) Where are your ancestors from?
Boy: (thinking for a few seconds before answering) I don't have those.
Girl: Yes, you do! They are people in your family that lived a really long time ago.
Anne: (smiling) Where did you learn that?
Girl: From my Fancy Nancy book!

(everyone sitting on carpet for beginning of circle-time)
Anne: Ready to learn our last artist of the week?! He has a reeeeally long name, so we're going to break it in two pieces to learn it.... Please listen and repeat what I say! Michel!
Kids: Michel!
Anne: Angelo!
Kids: Angelo!
Anne: Michelangelo!
Kids: Michelangelo!
Boy: Hey! Did you know there's a Ninja Turtle that has that name?!

(lining up at door, doing name-to-face count)
Ms. Kate: When I say your name, say "Andy Warhol"!... Kid 1!
Kid 1: Andy War All!
Kate: Kid 2!
Kid 2: Annie War Roll!
Kate: Kid 3!
Kid 3: Annie Warthog!
Kate: Kid 4!
Kid 4: Annie Wart All!
...
Never would've guessed that Andy Warhol's name could be the worst game of telephone ever!

"Making Masterpieces" week goes down as one of my favorite weeks in preschool!
Want a little hint at the fun we have in store NEXT week.... props to Ms. Kate, for her amazingly artistic door display! I don't know if the teachers or kids are more excited our Preschool Kingdom!

 

"Don't be afraid of change. You may lose something good, but you may gain something better."

"Transition" is definitely an educational buzzword.  Educators know that you're only as good as the transitions in your classroom. Good transitions need to be taught: they don't just happen. Repetition needs to occur. Constant reminders need to take place. And in preschool, we're talkin' ALL DAY, EVERYDAY. But even amongst those transitions happening, when a preschooler knows what to expect in those transitions, they are comfortable. Routines are comfortable. Normal schedules are comfortable. And comfortable means safe. Preschoolers need that.

I feel like a preschooler sometimes. I need safe. I need comfortable.

But I'm a preschool TEACHER. Safe, comfortable, and loving is the atmosphere I need to create. It's my job.

When I reflect upon my last five months of blogging absense, these thoughts culminate in my head because I feel that life has been a tilt-o-whirl of transitions. I know it's definitely not an excuse for not hopping on my computer to blog out my thoughts, so Grampa please forgive me for not keeping you updated on my teaching adventures. Hopefully some of this makes up for the past five months :)

My last blog was at the end of September, with the "school" part of the preschool year getting into full-swing. I was gearing up for knowing each of my kids' developmental levels and preparing to share all of that information with their parents at conferences in mid October. Conferences are always one of my favorite events because it gives the necessary time to sit with each family and discuss their questions, needs and also connect with them more in general. It always is a very eye-opening and positive experience. In all of the preparation for conferences and classroom curriculum, I also was very focused on getting everything together to move into a new house with Tony in a new city. Lots of exciting things happening all at the same time!

By the start of November, I was figuring out the work commute from Chaska to Edina... sooooo much better than Plymouth! Smart move. The coming months were consumed with adjustment to being homeowners, as well as gearing up for the holidays at school, with family, and also leading and organizing our whole Sunday School program. Every year, you would think that we'd expect the holidays to come... but every year, it seems that December and the weeks preceding just don't allow for enough time to get everything done in an unstressed manner! Maybe this year...

And then POOF! 2013 disappeared! 2014 arrived quicker than any other year! I hear this all the time from much older and WISER people, but I find it to be true that the years just go faster and faster as you age.

This winter of 2013/2014 will definitely go down as one for the record books! Even though we're in Minnesota, we seemed to have gotten ourselves accustomed to the -30 and -40 degree windchills... When we've had rare, magical 10 degree days, we feel like we're ready to bust out our spring jackets.

As for the classroom, it's where we suffer the most. And 'suffer' may be a strong word... but when you can only take your preschoolers outside if it's 0 degrees or warmer (with windchill included), it gets to feel a bit claustrophobic when their little bodies want to run around like crazy after being cooped up for so long! For the past 2 months, I can count on 2 hands the number of times we've been able to get outside with the kids. Their 4- and 5-year-old bodies need to get active and be outside! It helps them focus better inside the classroom and allows them to get extra energy out!

The weather was not the only aspect that made the transition from the year 2013 to 2014 a little difficult. In this new year, I've already had a few situations arise that have forced me outside my comfort zone. At the time of this uncomfortablity, I was at a low. I felt defeated and emotional, like nothing was really going my way. But thoughts like this show weakness. Not believing in my own expertise and knowledge was something that was never an option: it was what I depended on. That was and is my reputation, and that was what I was sticking to.

Then, over this past month of February, I've had a few "ah-ha" moments that I can now look back as huge experiences of growth for me professionally. It may sound a little dorky, but I was on Facebook and took one of those silly personality quizzes. The results of this quiz were so true and so enlightening to how I actually am... it opened my eyes to how I come across to people and the adjustments I may need to make in order to grow into a more successful professional and a more effective leader!

Here are my results:
You are a Good-natured Realist!

Good-natured Realists are warm-hearted, helpful personalities. They do their work conscientiously and have a pronounced organizing talent. They often feel they are committed to traditional values. The family in particular is extremely important to Good-natured Realists. Their greatest pleasure is making themselves useful and taking care of other people.

But they do not like pushing themselves to the fore; they prefer to fulfill their tasks out of the limelight. Good-natured Realists are real workaholics; they are very reliable and nothing is too much for them when it is a question of completing a project. Thoroughness, conscientiousness and sense of duty are their strongest points. They prefer established and familiar situations to new and unknown situations.

In dealing with others, Good-natured Realists are considerate and obliging; they are always happy to put aside their own requirements in the interest of their family and friends. Their home is mostly very well cared-for, cosy and tidy. Their perfectionism on the one hand and their aversion to delegating tasks on the other hand often lead to them taking on too much both professionally and privately. They cannot stand discord; conflicts make them very unhappy. One could almost describe them as being harmony-addicted - and this sometimes leads them to strongly neglecting themselves and their own wishes because they are unable to bring themselves to put up a fight.

Being the "good-natured realist" that I am, conflict is something I try to avoid, along with unknown situations that are not necessary. So when my long-time assistant teacher, Amy, took a sudden job opportunity at a different business, you can imagine my happiness for her but also my shock for how to deal with this immediately. Amy has such an effective presence in the classroom and the kids truly adore her, but her talents for a long-term profession led her to an opportunity that I know she will shine so brightly! In that respect, her leaving our room was extremely sad and difficult. Nobody likes change. Transition is change. And when its unexpected, it becomes an untidy and stressful situation.

As an educator, it is my job to make this stressful, unexpected transition into something beautiful and routined for the kids. Having Kate step into the assistant role in my room was the light at the end of this tunnel of transition. Even though we're still in the process of the transition to it being "Anne & Kate's room", the direction we're going with the class and our teaching team is so bright and positive. It makes me excited to come to work and see what progress we're going to make that day! We've been in a small version of "boot camp" with it basically being like a beginning-of-the-year situation with a new teacher. But with each of us having a positive, enthusiastic attitude, it makes our classroom management that much more effective and fun!

Another "ah-ha" moment came as I finally got the privilege to observe a team of veteran preschool teachers work their magic. Their management and routines were as smooth as drawn butter. But that wasn't my "ah-ha" moment. The moment actually came after I had observed this team, and I found myself emotionally vulnerable as I reflected upon what I saw that morning. I didn't find myself comparing my classroom style and theirs, but I did find myself disappointed. I felt so disappointed in myself for not being more resourceful before now. Two of the best resources were just on the other side of my wall for a year, without me fully taking the time to realize it. I hold myself to such high expectations, but my realization that day was disheartening yet so extremely motivational. I want to have a teaching team like that, and I know that our classroom can make it happen! The support and love I've received from my coworkers in this transition is so encouraging, and I will never take it for granted! Everybody needs a shoulder to lean on :)

Yes, transition is not always the most comfortable thing in the world. On the other hand, how you handle that transition and bounce back afterward is what makes the difference. That essentially defines your growth. Professionally and personally. This has been a long five months of transitions... But what kind of teacher would I be if I resisted these opportunities for learning and personal growth? :)

Grampa, I promise that my next blog won't be five months from now! Love you!