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March 2012 - Posts
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Another post from my first year. I still adore Quiet Time. It has become something a little more organic than all kids just sitting at their seats… shoes are tied, tears are wiped, band-aids applied, and hugs are given… lots of hugs. All this happens Read More...
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As I prepare (much too early) to attend SDE’s National I Teach K! Conference in Las Vegas, I’m trying to think about live blogging some of the events and sessions… this is new to me and so I’m going to test it out… A few minutes later… Read More...
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Lately I’ve been feeling very nostalgic. I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s the weather and some of my old (I’m talking middle school old) students coming to visit and making me feel… well ancient. For the record, I’m not, but when in my mind you were a tiny Read More...
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I’ve written about it here and here… there is something about the platypus and this story and the ensuing plaidypus that is just magical. I copied this pattern from another kindergarten teacher (who no doubt copied it from someone else…) so I can’t really Read More...
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I know I’ve written about this before, but as I watched my sprouts with their Plaidypus babies today, I couldn’t help but revisit the topic… as I complimented each of them on their sewing skills, I realized, much like their teacher (who can barely sew Read More...
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This week we are reading Plaidypus Lost (really, an amazing book) and making our stuffed platypus animals… so sweet, it’s really one of my favorite activities we do all year. I burned myself with the hot glue gun a few times, but it was totally worth Read More...
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Today as I walked my friends to P.E. we happened upon Mrs. F., our third grade Reading Buddies teacher. She’s expecting and due in just a few weeks. Will, the line leader, looked up at her and asked, “That baby is still in her belly isn’t it?” “Yup, still Read More...
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After the following video was brought to my attention, I shared it with friends and colleagues. I’ve watched it a few times and I can’t stop thinking about it… we all know that play is crucial, critical, and required for the development of our sprouts, Read More...
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Today at recess, there were no kids on the swings. A substitute teacher noticed this and commented, “It’s to bad they’re not enjoying the swings.” “Watch this,” I said as I walked over to the swings. I sat down and began swinging with gusto. Within seconds Read More...
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As I already admitted, I’m no nurse. I have my own ways of dealing with ‘sick’ kids… and by ‘sick’ I mean, faking it. I’ve grown clever at seeing through the sneaky tricks of five-year-olds wanting to get a free visit to the nurse. Here is my shortlist Read More...
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Today during Morning Meeting, something quite random happened… I know, random things happen in kindergarten all the time, but this was more random than usual. While Brian was reading the Morning Message, the door opened, and Lonny, a little boy from last Read More...
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Today, I was visiting a sprout in the nurse’s office who wasn’t feeling well. ‘Chaotic’ is not a word to throw round lately… the nurse’s office can be a place of pure chaos. We have a new nurse this year and I’ve really started to grow fond of her. Here Read More...
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Today, as the whistle blew to end recess on an amazingly warm day, Penny came up running behind me and grabbed my hand. She looked up at me with adoration only a six-year-old can have for her teacher. “Oh Penny, do you think you’ll come visit me when Read More...
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Yesterday I read the lovely St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting. After hearing it for the first time a few years ago, it became a favorite of mine. The story is about Jamie, the youngest in a family of boys, who wants to prove to his brothers Read More...
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The Golden Rule… Treat others as you would like to be treated, or something close is pretty basic. I don’t appreciate tattling just to get another child in trouble. If someone is in danger, that’s a different cup of tea, but telling on someone just to Read More...
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Today, my sprouts learned an invaluable lesson and it was all thanks to Penny. Mrs. D. was just about to read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover (to be clear, while I appreciate the creativity that goes into these books, this one was really Read More...
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Today was another (oddly) warm and beautiful day. With a meeting all morning, I was fighting a headache and just happy to be with my sprouts. As I stood on the playground, looking over the kids playing, suddenly a pile of leaves came over my head. “Surprise!” Read More...
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Thursdays are always difficult. We have no special and for some reason the full moon always seems to arrive on Thursday to boot! By lunchtime, I’m ready for a few quiet minutes eating in the teacher’s room. Well last Thursday, as I’m sitting eating my Read More...
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As we head into the Spring, our assessments are showing a few sprouts really struggling with number identification (especially teen numbers) and certain sight words. After vacation, Mrs. D. came in with a new game – one I’d never seen used in kindergarten, Read More...
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Spring has sprung. Well at least for the day… exactly one week ago we had a snow day and over a foot of snow. Today it was sixty-two degrees! Naturally, with such amazing weather, one of our playgrounds was closed and the other was really too muddy for Read More...
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This afternoon, about twenty minutes before my lunch was over, I wandered up to see my third grade Reading Buddies. I did this for two reasons: first, I wanted candy and I know Mrs. F. and Mrs. G. have the best candy drawer, second I just wanted to say Read More...
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What is it about two kids wearing the same shirt (or even the same entire outfit) that just tickles kindergartners. Whenever this happens, both children come running over to point out their shirt twin. This is what I’ve started calling it – “You’re shirt Read More...
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Oh Monday… Today I took my class on a field trip to see the play Seussical… it was an hour long play, which I thought would be just the right amount of time… I fear I was wrong. When the play was over and we were walking to the bus, a sprout asked me, Read More...
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Yesterday, when Penny arrived, she didn’t walk in… she skipped in. I noticed right away, because Penny almost always skips everywhere. We have a rule about walking to keep us safe, but skipping isn’t really running and she isn’t going super fast, so I Read More...
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Oh how I love getting email from readers… here’s one recently sent: Hi there! I am a first year education student and I too am planning on teaching in a younger year classroom (anywhere from k-5) and am wondering whether you found that being a male in Read More...
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Yesterday, as I walked out of school, another teacher called out to me: “Where is your bag of work to do if we have a snow day tomorrow?” She wondered. Now, to be fair, she is a second grade teacher… I used to teach second grade and it’s hard… also, not Read More...
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