Flying Ice Cubes and Other Kindergarten Disappointments

Each year I get a kick our of informing my students that I can, "make an ice cube fly" as a means of getting them excited about our States of Matter unit. They spend the week explaining their various hypotheses on how I will accomplish such a task. A slingshot seems to be the favorite method.

At the conclusion of our unit we crowd into the kitchen (or sit in front of a borrowed hot plate at my former school) and they wait for the magic to begin.

As I toss the ice cubes into the pot and let it boil, I really sell it. "There it is! Its flying!" You can imagine the audible groans, looks of disbelief, and expressions of outright frustration in that moment! "Really? THAT'S it? You tricked us!" Alas, the conversation starts flowing and one or two students usually come to my defense. "It IS flying! It's water vapor!" They then explain to each other how I turned a solid to a liquid to a gas and they giggle. My feeble attempt at bringing them back to "my side" usually involves an explanation that now THEY can trick their parents. They have the upper hand!

Despite the disappointment, at the end of the year as we reminisce about what we've learned and our favorite days, someone ALWAYS mentions the flying ice cube. My favorite part: the explanation months later about how I successfully gave one ice cube a journey through three earthly states of matter.

As teachers, we are always looking for that, "wow" (there are too many buzz words to describe the wow to even begin to list them). In this case, and as I so often find, disappointment, mild frustration, and failure are such great teachers. Disappointment that the magical ice cube doesn't exist, frustration at the failure of a new science experiment, and the realization that they are actively creating their learning is incredibly powerful. They take charge. THEY do the critical thinking. THEY ask great  questions. Better yet, THEY learn to seek out answers on their own. Perceived failure becomes a motivator.

What role do these strong emotions play in your classroom and how do you use them top facilitate learning and a love of knowledge?




Final note: To be fair, today I also did something I NEVER do and we enjoyed root beer floats with the other kindergarten class to celebrate those three glorious states of matter.

Billy Goats Gruff Engineering

This week we are learning about folktales! After doing the "usual" storytelling, sequencing, and writing about folktales, we did a little engineering! We built bridges for our Billy Goats Gruff to cross.

 The highlight of my day was hearing a kinder proudly announce to her mother, "I am an engineer and I used perseverance today when it was hard!" It's incredibly rewarding to hear them use the vocabulary we use in class!

There was some struggle involved and they had to problem-solve around the amount of clay, number of toothpicks, angle of their supports, etc. One student didn't think.his was sturdy enough and asked if he could continue to work on it tomorrow. This was the same child who told me he was sure he was going to need to go home sick today. We celebrated his perseverance, problem-solving, and desire to, "do his best" which is a class mantra.

Somedays are like that...

Yesterday was tough! It was one of "those" days.  Lots of tired eyes, lots of long hugs goodbye, and quite a few, "But I can't draw ANYTHING!" responses during journaling. Despite my best efforts, I heard my fair share of  "You can't come to my birthday party", "You aren't on our team", and a few more, "He bumped me!" proclamations than I'd like to count.

Some days are like that.

Somedays, you can do everything "right" and still, things don't work.  Fortunately, as teachers, we get the opportunity to try again the next day!

Today, we started our day by drawing kind things that kindergarteners do at school. It was a hit! We shared them as a class and decided that today would be better. No name calling. No finger pointing. They worked incredibly hard to do the things that they had drawn and talked about. We met together several times as a class to see how things were going. We agreed, we like kindergarten much better when we do our best and work as a team. We left giving hugs and high fives. I felt successful as a teacher.

Some days are like that.

Tell me what you do when you have one of "those" days...

Beehive Dramatic Play

Last week we took a walking field trip to learn about some local beehives. They were incredibly interested so I created a simple dramatic play center with hats, gloves, aprons  and beehives created from file folders, bubblewrap, and yellow paint. They had the most amazing conversations about the queen, workers, and drones. It fit right along with our shape study as the noticed my beehives had circular holes and commented that real hives are hexagonal!

Building Community in the Classroom

Each semester, I guest lecture to education students at The University of Utah. I speak at them for entirely too long about the importance of building community in their future classrooms. I do my best to show them a few concrete ways to create kind, caring classrooms that are ripe for learning.

Often, I find that people think this is only possible/necessary because I teach kindergarten. They picture a group of little ones holding hands and listening to me read stories in a sing-songy voice. However, building a positive learning environment is crucial in every stage in education. High-school students who are wrought with insecurities will certainly attend class more often and be willing to accept a challenge if the school/classroom is a place that supports critical thinking and has high expectations coupled with adequate support.

There are a few integral pillars of building a classroom community:
1. Get to know your students.  Whether your students spend 8 hours a day in your classroom, or one teaching period each week, this must be your top priority. Students who feel that they have a personal connection to the teacher are more willing to take a risk and work hard when the material becomes difficult. They have someone on their side; they have an instant advocate. Begin this on the first day, or even before school starts by handing out age-appropriate questionnaires or simply spending a part of each day at the beginning of the year telling the class about yourself and learning something about each student. When the going gets tough, retrieve this information and use it to connect to the student to figure out how he/she can get past an obstacle.

In my own teaching experience, I found this to be most profound with a student who kept falling asleep in class and seemed completely uninterested in school. As I sat with him one day, I learned that he wasn't sleeping at night. He was having nightmares about his father. There was lots of work to be done on that front. I would not have been able to help him had I not taking the time to sit with him and ask how he was doing.

My high school history teacher was a master at getting to know his students. We felt comfortable in his classroom, he joked with us, we got to know him a bit, and we learned so much! He was able to motivate high school students and get them to regularly attend class. Now, years later, my former classmates and I still talk about what a great class he had and how much we learned.

Check out these ideas from real teachers on Getting to Know Your Students. 

2. Teach students how to connect with each other.  As I ask each time I lecture, "How many of you work with someone who is incredibly smart, but is a total jerk?" Every hand goes up. Just as our parents taught us how to answer the telephone and shake hands with adults, today's students need a great deal of help learning how to connect with each other. Rarely will our students enter a field in which they work in a solitary fashion. They must learn how to be kind,  well-rounded members of society who can effectively collaborate with others. Teach them how to introduce themselves. More importantly, teach them how to get to know their peers. Offer time, activities, and assignments that require they work with others. 

My absolute favorite way to do this is to Mingle. We use this game throughout the year to learn names, review content, and get moving when we are antsy. Just this week we used it to practice shaking hands and introducing ourselves to each other. They loved it, learned a great deal, and are becoming more thoughtful about using each other's names. 

3. Have students create the environment. As a teacher, I LOVE all of the, "cute" classroom decorations and products I find at teacher stores and on TeachersPayTeachers. I have to be thougthful about not filling my classroom with things because they are, "cute". My classroom has a purpose: to be a place of learning for my students. This does not mean that I don't consider asthetics when setting up my classroom. It simply means, I design my classroom with learning in mind. At the beginning of the year, my boards are empty. As the year progresses and we learn, write, experiment, and create art together, my boards fill up. My students are actively creating their learning environment. Likewise, when a procedure isn't working, I have my class figure out what WILL work, and I use it! Because they "own" it, they respect it more. It's their classroom!

Although I've seen this be an incredible tool many times, my favorite experience was with a student that struggled all year. He had a lot going on and although he made incredible progress throughout the year, he still needed a great deal of support to be successful socially and academically. After forming a solid relationship with him, he became MY biggest advocate. When our class had a particularly difficult day, we met on the rug to discuss what was going on. When another student asked why I wink at them sometimes, my  buddy who struggled yelled (yes, we never quite got past THAT behavior) "It's a wink. She does it to tell us she loves us and she's proud of us." He got it! He then proclaimed, "Make winking choices, not shrinking choices!" He summed up my entire kindergarten mantra in a simple, kid-friendly tagline. HE created our new class saying that we could use to remind each other to check our behavior. Happy teacher heart!

4. Let mistakes happen. Schools should be a place for making mistakes. Yes, just as we are not perfect, our students aren't either. They need to know that making mistakes is okay, and have the confidence/skills necessary to fix those mistakes. Don't rescue them. Ask open-ended questions about what went wrong and how they are going to fix it. I highly recommend every parent and teacher read Love and Logic

5. Reflect and problem-solve together. The other ideas won't work unless you review/reflect. Just as we review academic material, we need to take time to stop and reflect on problems and successes. For me, this is often a whole group discussion. I don't name names, I don't call anyone out. I figure, if one student is struggling, others are as well. We get together as a class, I present the issue, and ask them, "What are we going to do about it?". This might sound like it takes a great deal of time. True, it takes time. However, think about about much time you spend repeatedly reminding your class to stay on task, keep their hands to themselves, etc. When I forget to make the problem their responsibility I spend my days running around my classroom reminding each student what he/she is supposed to be doing. If I stop my class briefly, ask how things are going, and ask them how we are going to get back on track, they own the problem, AND the solution. Later, (usually at the end of the day) I'll reflect with them about what worked, and what didn't. They do the work. They are the thoughtful ones. I simply provide the forum. 

Classrooms with a positive classroom community have more time for learning, and students are more willing to accept a challenge. If you find yourself repeating the same thing over and over, struggling with the same behavior issues on a daily basis, or having trouble motivating your students, take a look at the status of your classroom community. 

How do you build community throughout the year? How has your positive classroom community impacted student learning? Share your thought and share this post with a teacher who needs it.

Are your children "Kindergarten Ready"?

Tanner's Teachings TpT

I keep seeing the headlines..."Sixty-Percent of Students Not Kindergarten Ready”. Then, against my better judgment, I read the comments: “Where are the parents?”; “Why are people having children that they don’t care for?”; “It’s the preschool teacher’s fault!” I don’t recall ever coming across anything remotely logical, thoughtful, or for that matter, worthwhile at all.

As a kindergarten teacher and a mother, my first thought when I see these statistics is, “What do they mean by ‘Kindergarten Ready’?”  How do we measure a child’s “readiness” to enter kindergarten? Are our expectations too high? Too low? Finally, what can we do to help children become “Kindergarten Ready”? 

There are countless “resources” out there aiming to help parents know what to do to adequately prepare their children for kindergarten. The lists range from suggestions such as, “Bounce a ball” to “Complete several addition and subtraction problems”.  I have heard parents discuss and share with others what they did to prepare their children for school. Countless lists are being tossed around on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.  Honestly…I usually have to decide whether to cringe, cry, or laugh at most of these lists. 

I get it. I really do. Teacher’s are under an incredible amount of pressure to reach benchmarks, and parents want to do all that they can to ensure smooth-sailing for their children. If the students come in already knowing letter sounds, and basic math, those benchmarks aren’t quite so daunting!

As a teacher, it is my job to “take them as they are” and project them forward. Yes, that does mean reaching benchmarks, following Common Core, teaching them to read, and showing them how to interact with others. It also means helping them find their passion, learn how to become critical thinkers, teach them how to communicate effectively, and so on. If my only goal was to hit those benchmarks, I might have more of an appreciation for those lists. Alas, I understand that children are more complicated than these lists imply and I have even higher expectations for my students. Yes, higher!

I guest lecture to classes of future teacher s each semester at The University of Utah. I speak to them about Building a Classroom Community (more on this later). I always say this to them, “How many of you work with someone, or know someone that is incredibly intelligent, but a total jerk?”   Usually, there are giggles, and then every hand goes up. How about we throw away all of these lists that make us as parents feel that we need to drill our children in order for them to be successful? 

Instead, let’s try these 10 things that are based in real life:

1.      1. Read to your children. Yes, we’ve heard it before.  But truly, I can tell in an instant which of my students are read to regularly at home. Those that are read to are able to sit patiently while others are talking, have more to contribute to discussions, are more interested in reading, have letter sound knowledge, etc. All of these items were found on other “lists” but can be taken care of with the simple (and delightful) task of reading to your children.

2.     2. Talk TO your children.  Again, I can tell which children have parents that talk to them. These children are able to ask for help when needed, answer questions, engage in meaningful conversations with peers, express frustration appropriately, and so much more. Talk about where you are driving, your plans for the day, what you loved when you were a child, and whatever else comes up in your daily lives.

3.     3. Go grocery shopping. This is my favorite bit of advice to give in parent-teacher conferences. Parents always want to know what they can do to help their child in literacy and math. Well folks, here it is. Take your child grocery shopping. Make lists, count items, show your child the budget, etc. This goes for young children to adults. These are real life, necessary skills. So much can be learned while grocery shopping. (Parents of older children: unit pricing, division, budgeting, etc.) For more ideas: Grocery Store Math

4.    4. Play outside. Outside play has so many positive implications. It helps children learn how to use their bodies, improves memory, teaches them about calculated risk taking, and improves mood and well-being. I give the assignment of, “Playing outside” as regular “homework” in my class. Check out Richard Louv's The Nature Principle. 

5.     5. Be boring.  That’s right. Be boring. Let your child get bored. Don’t rescue your children by constantly suggesting a slew of exciting activities. Boredom sparks creativity.

6.    6.  Let your child experience failure, hurt feelings, and scrapes and bruises. From these difficult times children learn empathy, how to work hard at something, and that yes, the world will keep turning.  Don’t immediately rescue your child when someone cuts in line for the slide at the park. Give your children tools to solve these problems on their own (remember #2?). Help them gain some Grit. 

7    7.  Listen to music.  All kinds! Remember how so many of those lists want you to teach your children phonemic awareness (hearing sounds in words). Well, music is an incredible way to get your children to learn to hear rhythms, variations in patterns, etc. So, do what I do, and dance like a fool with your children in your kitchen. I guarantee it will be a whole lot more memorable than a bunch of flash cards.

8   8.  Play games (and make sure your child loses sometimes).  Each year in kindergarten, I dedicate a fair amount of time to game playing. By playing games children learn to count, color identification, pre-reading skills, one-to-one correspondence, how to be fair, how to be a good winner, how to take turns, and most of all, how to be a good loser!

J   9. Just say no.  That’s right. Sometimes, your children won’t get what they want. Sometimes, they have to wait. Sometimes, recess gets cancelled due to rain. If they’ve heard no before, they know how to deal with it when I’m trying to teach 25 children with different ideas about what we should be doing.

     10. Be present. This one is the most difficult for me. Smartphones, dishes, laundry, work, etc. make it all really easy for me to say, “I’m too busy”.  Eat dinner together, read together, talk together, play together. Each time I hear the corny, yet classic Cat Steven’s “Cats in the Cradle” it brings me back to what is important. 

So, throw all of your lists away, head outside with your kiddo, talk about what you see, and beat your child in a running race.

If you’ve got a minute left, read this poem by the wonderful Geoffery Canada, founder of Harlem Children’s Zone and Baby College:

 My Children Still Giggle

My children still giggle at such funny things

As hiccups and cartoons and tickles, it seems.

My children still break out in childish big grins,

When they see mommy or daddy coming for them.

I sleep with the thought of the glee in their eyes.

I live with the nightmare their smiles cannot hide.

There’s so much for us to do.

My children play jump rope and tag, and they say

The Pledge of Allegiance on every school day.

They line up for recess, holds hands crossing streets,

Have trouble putting galoshes on small little feet.

And some might be solemn, or sullen, afraid,

If they knew the long odds of them making the grade.

There’s so much for us to do.

My children dwell in broken homes without heat,

Sit at makeshift tables with too little to eat.

They live in buildings and walk up stairs where it’s best

To peer around corners before climbing the next.

And some of them in their sleep cry out,

“Help me! Help me!”

Who’ll answer their shout?

There’s so much for us to do.

My children still giggle when they hear a strange name.

Still jump into puddles, forget hats in the rain.

They still believe that we love them, you know?

That we’ll do all in our power to help them to grow.

We must do better, the price is so little.

To keep our world full of hope,

Where children still giggle.

-Geoffrey Canada

Maiden Voyage

Well, the school-year is fast-approaching and I find myself waking up at night and jotting down new ideas. I made sure to note in my lesson-planner when to order our Painted Lady caterpillars, when to send the note home about help with the Kindergarten Performance, and began planning our first week. My "to-do" lists are taking over every room in our house. 

 August is an interesting time for a teacher. I feel both excitement and overwhelming dread at the thought of leaving my boys. I truly love being home with them, but find teaching kindergarten so fufilling. I constantly tell my husband (and he has to remind me on the bad days) that I cannot imagine a job where I had to sit at a desk. My job is different every single day. I get to become a part of the lives of children and their amazing families. Teaching is a roller coaster. I love my students so very much and always want the best for them. I want them to succeed, yet to struggle just enough to make learning valuable. When their world is crumbling, it becomes my job to help them find ways to be resilient. As I tell parents each year, "I cannot possibly teach your child everything he/she needs to know by the end of the year. What I CAN do is teach your child to be resilient, to be a critical-thinking problem-solver so that when kindergarten is over, he/she has the confidence to approach new tasks and ask for help when necessary."

I am excited to begin sharing my thoughts on teaching, parenting, science in education, etc. I, like most teachers, feel as though I have a great deal to contribute to these topics. I know that this is not because I am an especially amazing teacher, but rather because I spend each day with young children. When you want to know what works, and what doesn't, present it to a group of five-year-old children and you'll quickly discover their infinite wisdom. 

I'll try to keep my posts brief and packed with helpful information and food for thought. 

To get us started, I'm providing links to a few of my favorite teacher websites/inspirations.

Cheers!
Beth 

For excellent prinatbles, teacher organizers, etc. :
Kindergarten Works

My go-to spot for support from fellow teachers:
Miss Bindergarten

For the latest research, ideas, and to feel hopeful about the future of education:
Edutopia

For videos on nearly every educational topic. Like YouTube, but not blocked in schools. :
Teacher Tube