Celebrating Halloween at school October 30, 2008

 

So we are not allowed to celebrate Halloween at school.  No costumes, no pumpkin carving, no Halloween books or projects.

I understand it, sort of.  Some religions are offended by Halloween with its hint of devilry, and some cultures actually believe in spirits and ghosts and thus find Halloween to be disturbing.  However, I think an argument could be made that Halloween is not about devils, or witches, or ghosts, or black magic of any kind.  Halloween is a festival for children, full of cultural richness, that helps them to confront and manage their fears whilst having a ton of fun.

Tomorrow is our big fall party, and we will celebrate Fall in all its glory, but I might just sneak in a Halloween book or song while we’re at it…..

How does your school handle Halloween?  How do YOU handle it?

update October 29, 2008

Wow, time flies.  Here are a few things that have been happening in my classroom:

• Max has moved on to a classroom better suited to his needs.  Things are easier now.  More like preschool, less like a battle.
• Most of the kids couldn’t write their names on the first day of school; but most of them can, now.
• Ferdinand and Leo are finally going to get some attention, which they need.  Ferdinand spit on the gym floor several times, even after being told not to by the gym teacher, and he also peed on the toilet seat that day.  Quite odd behavior for him, poor child.  Leo is still obsessed with pirates, but is now also obsessed with The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.
• I’m not sure what’s going on with Miss Nelson.  She seems unhappy or something.  I worry that she disapproves of my teaching, or my classroom management.  I guess I have to bite the bullet and ask her.
• I started mentoring the kindergarten teacher next door this week, in preparation for a formal observation which I will do next week, and it has been going really well.  She has clearly learned a lot, it has informed her teaching, and I have been happy to see all the great things she’s doing.  Also, I like getting to know her kids, and see the ones I had last year.
• Today the kids didn’t freeze and listen when I gave the five minute warning, and ignored me when I said, “now you need to stay at your center and finish your work,” so they got in trouble when they all tried to abandon their messes and switch their clothespins to new centers.
• October was Ezra Jack Keats month for us and it just didn’t float our boats.  I am looking forward to doing Rosemary Wells in November, and Jan Brett in December.
• Friday is our big fall party.  It’s going to be nuts, with decorations, parents, volunteers, treats, special activities, and….dancing! 

Happy Halloween, everyone!  (That is, if you’re still allowed to celebrate it, unlike us.)

once upon a time in preschool October 22, 2008

Once upon a time there was a teacher, a mom, and a wonderful, adorable little girl.  One morning the mom called the teacher and said, “Some boy kissed my daughter on the bus going home yesterday!”

The mom was very upset.  She couldn’t believe that something so awful could happen to her little girl, who was only four years old, after all.  The teacher was concerned, because four year olds are not allowed to kiss each other.  There is no kissing at school — that is the rule.  The children should know that already.

The mom was very very upset.  She seemed to think that some sort of sexual assault had occurred.

The teacher used her calmest voice and said she would look into it.  She also said, “if one of the boys did kiss her, just remember that he too is only four years old.” 

The mom calmed down a bit and the teacher said she would call her back.

The teacher talked to the little girl.

Teacher:  What happened on the bus yesterday?

Girl:  Look, I got an owie.

T:  Yes, I remember you had that on Monday.  What happened on the bus yesterday?

G:  [silence]

[repeat]

T: (trying another tack) Did someone kiss you?

G:  Yes.

T:  Who kissed you?

G:  [silence]

[repeat]

T:  Was it someone in our class?

G:  Yes.

T:  Who was it?

G: [again, silent, even when question repeated]

T:  Can you show me?  [Takes Girl into classroom.  Girl stands there looking at ceiling.]

T:  Did anyone kiss you on the bus?

G:  [pause] No.

So the teacher called the mom and the mom…..did not answer her phone.  The teacher left a message:  “I talked to your daughter and I found out what happened, please call me back so I can talk to you about it.”  The mom never called back, so the teacher spent time in the classroom writing it all down in a note to send home with the little girl, instead of reading a story to her students.

The teacher thought maybe Mom just wanted a chance to get angry and be the victim, and once she was done with that, she was done.

teacher shoes October 19, 2008

This is a picture of the Dansko Professional clog.  My favorite shoe in the whole world.

I have three pairs — one black, one navy, and one brown.  For nine months of the year, pretty much every single day I am wearing my Dansko clogs.  (Then in summer I go nuts and like to have many different pairs of thongs sandals to wear each day.)  I see them everywhere I go, and it amuses me to realize that those women in their Dansko clogs are members of my tribe.  Teachers, nurses, waitresses, doctors, dentists, chefs, and middle-class women everywhere wear this shoe.

But alas, I may have to venture into the broader world of shoes, as my ankles have been bothering me off and on for a few months, and I fear that wearing the same type of shoe every single day might not be a good idea.  What do you all suggest I look for?  What other great shoe options are out there, with a bit more cushiness than my beloved Danskos?

lesson planning October 17, 2008

This is a road map of some place in Italy; were I to use it, I’d get hopelessly lost, as I don’t speak Italian and know nothing of Italian geography.  Lesson planning sometimes seems like following a road map, with so many roads to follow, and so many choices to make, that one ends up frustrated and confused, lost in Italy, when one really intended to be in India, instead.

So let’s say it’s a typical Saturday, and I am at the skatepark in the parents’ lounge while my child is in skater heaven, and I’ve got my bag of lesson planning materials, as usual.  I take out my lesson plan book, and turn to a new week, and start filling in the times at the top of each column, and what we do when (journal time from 9:30 to 9:45, Gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:45, etc.).  Then I grab the teacher’s guide for the reading curriculum that the district purchased for the pre-K teachers, and I see what I’m supposed to do each day.

Then I put on the brakes.  According to my reading curriculum, I am supposed to introduce the new theme with a poster and a song.  We read the poster to learn the song lyrics, and then we sing the song, and I have some questions to ask as well.  Then there’s a large picture card with a picture that pertains to the theme, and I am supposed to show that to the class and read the questions on the back to spark a discussion.  There’s also a book that introduces the theme.  When I’m supposed to do this isn’t clear, because when I turn the page I am on week one, day one, which means the first Monday of the theme, so when was I going to fit in all the intro stuff?  On Sunday night?  Here on Monday morning I’m supposed to read a different poster — this one with a poem on it, play a cd with the theme’s song, do some phonemic awareness activities relating to the poem, and then read a big book (not forgetting the scripted questions which are provided for me!). 

This, I suppose, is supposed to happen at our morning meeting.  After that we’ll have centers time, and I will skip the centers time suggestions, as I always do, because they are pathetic.  But wait — turn the page again and there’s MORE.  There’s a brief lesson on our social skills curriculum, with yet another dumb song, and more discussion to conduct.  There’s also a chart — shared writing — that we are supposed to do together.  Oh yeah, and we are to learn the letter of the week, using the song book with the stupid songs about each letter of the alphabet.  So I guess this stuff fits in after centers time, instead of story time?  Or in addition to it?

Wait, we’re not done.  There’s also an end of the day discussion (what did we learn today, boys and girls?) and another shared writing activity using some more chart paper.  Argh.

So let’s say I am my usual self and I confidently read through all this stuff and select only what is most important, write it into my morning meeting plan, and skip all the other pointless junk.  What I’ve selected doesn’t come first, though, because first we have to do calendar time.  I have a way of doing calendar time that works well, that I’ve honed over the years, and as of two years ago, I also have a calendar time curriculum that I’m supposed to use.  So now I have to grab that book, figure out which of the many worthwhile activities in it I’ll have time for (our particular reading curriculum is pretty mediocre, but the calendar curriculum is quite good), write that in, and then put in all the reading stuff (which poster shall I use?  which book, if any, shall I read?  phonemic awareness is really important, I can’t skip that, can I squeeze that in?).  Wait, actually, first we have to learn the new letter of the week, because then I can sing the good morning song substituting the letter of the week for the first letter of each child’s name, which makes them all giggle and is a great way of learning that letter’s sound.  So I write that in.  Then comes calendar time, then reading.

Then I pick up my math curriculum to look at our new theme for math and realize that my morning meeting plan will take at least thirty minutes, and that is the maximum I can expect preschoolers to sit still on the carpet, and I have no time left for all the math I want to do.  Because my math curriculum is pretty great.  Now I flip my handy-dandy mechanical pencil around and do some judicious erasing, and fit in some math.  So now I’m done with morning meeting for Monday, but that leaves not only the morning meetings for Tuesday through Friday, but also centers time each day (what will we offer at art and writing and math that fits with our themes?), and story time each day, and also our group activity time on the days when we don’t go to Gym.

And really, that isn’t all there is to think about.  I have the Core Knowledge preschool curriculum and I love the part about what preschoolers should learn and know at the end of each month, so I try to consider that and figure out where I can fit some of that in.  And for every theme I do I have a bulging file folder full of ideas and activities and art projects and worksheets that I have brought along with me to the skatepark, so I have to go through that and consider what I want to use.  Plus I have a lot of really great curriculum guides for teachers about themes, phonemic awareness, circle time, science (yikes, can’t forget science!), writing, morning message, guided reading, brain games, and so on.  So I have to go through all those and try to figure out what of all that stuff I want to use.

At this point my brain is getting really fried but there’s also our portfolio assessments to think about.  My students still don’t all know their colors, so is there a way to add colors into the current theme?  Some children are having trouble counting to five, so is there an activity I could plan for the math table during centers time to help those children?  Also, one little boy knows every letter and every sound, so is there some beginning reading I could do with him one-on-one at centers time?

And — oh, yeah — there’s the whole question of the standards.  What I really need to do is look at the early childhood standards for my state and make sure that we are covering the standards, and making progress so that by the end of the year, every child knows everything he or she is expected to know.  So now I have to grab my standards and read them again to be sure I’m on the right track.

Sigh.

I don’t mean to say that I can’t do it.  I can — and I do, every week.  But for those of you reading this who are not teachers, it’s one heck of a lot harder than it looks.

what this fall has really been like October 15, 2008

I stayed late at school today for a meeting on Max.  His parents were there, as were a social worker, a psychologist, a therapist, a special ed administrator, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, Miss Nelson, and me.  We all agreed that he is unable to be successful in my classroom, as had been hoped, and he will be moving in the next two or three weeks to a smaller classroom with more adult assistance. 

I feel sad about this, although I know it is the right thing for him.  I had never had any special ed students NOT make it in my classroom, and now all of a sudden I’ve had two.

But I got this email from Nan, who stopped by on Tuesday to pick up something she’d forgotten, and this really helps:

Dear Kiri;

I just had to drop a note to share with you an interesting observation
that I had today when I stopped in for my charger.  Somehow things
looked very different as an observer than they did when I was in the
thick of it. 

I only saw the class for a moment, but here is what
occurred to me.  I think as we have struggled with David and Max
and, now with Leo, although it has been very challenging for me,
it required nothing more of me than doing my job.  It is my job to try
and figure out how a child can adjust to a regular ed classroom.  What
had not occurred to me before, was with children that lack the skills
to operate in a regular education classroom, the effect on the
classroom teacher is they can not do their job. 

I think standing on the outside helped me see how frustrating it has been for you, such a talented teacher, to not be able to do your job due to the chaos.  Every teacher has to deal with behavior, but I believe that David and
Max are the first time we have not been able to manage things with
any level of success.  Poor Miss Nelson looked completely at wits end when I
looked her in the face.  You looked calm but although you continue to
run your class, Max running around is a tremendous distraction,
not just to the teachers but to  the students. 

I guess I am sharing this because it was surprising to gain
an “outsiders” perspective.  I want to reaffirm that your teaching and
your purposeful structure is good for students’ learning.  I am not
writing to weigh in on Max’s next steps, I am merely wanting to
remind you that how you teach and what you teach work.  I have seen it
time and time again.  It has helped bright children blossom, it has
helped remedial children gain, and it has helped many special ed
children with some pretty significant challenges. 

I know that the team will do well by Max and that he will either
succeed in your class or the team will find a placement where he will
succeed.  I just want to be sure, if seeds of doubt are creeping in
your mind, please remember that what you do is solid and that there is
a long history of success that should guide you.

I will be thinking of Max and the team as I move on.  I hope I can
consult with you when I don’t know what to do because I REALLY trust
your judgement.  I am truly grateful for all you have taught me
about education, team work, and children.

Thanks for four great years.  I am looking forward to that drink with
you and Ali.

Nan

 

 

 

 

something in the air October 13, 2008

The weather was wacky today.  Started off warm and steamy, then the temperature plummeted.  Rained all day.  Perhaps it was affecting the children, as a few of them had a rough time. 

One child — who has never acted this way before — started acting out sexually, repeatedly attempting to kiss Nan on the lips, hugging (squeezing roughly, more like it) and kissing two students even when told to stop, rubbing in a sexual way against Nan’s leg, talking about boyfriends and girlfriends, and so on.  Yikes!  The school psychologist dismissed it, but I am worried, and will take it up with the social worker tomorrow.

Poor Leo was really off today.  We wouldn’t let him wear his pirate hat in the classroom, and for the rest of the morning he was totally disconnected and wouldn’t participate in anything.

Poor Max went to the house corner and the little girl who was already there left as soon as he arrived.  Then he waited hopefully for someone else to choose house, but no one did.  He stood there with a sad face and said, “doesn’t anyone want to play with me?”  No one wants to play with him, because he is mean to them, and kicks them or pushes them over or yells at them.  There is no way to talk to him about this, though.  He is incapable of discussing his own behavior.  He just yells stuff like “Go away, crabby teacher!  I’m telling on you!”  My asssistant teacher took pity on him and went to play with him in the house corner, which helped, but he still looked sad.

And Nan — today was her last day, and she was trying to keep tabs on both Max and Leo, but simultaneously trying to arrange for her replacement and fill out paperwork and try to sort out contradictory information on changing jobs (sign this paper!  Now!  No, don’t sign that paper, that would be really bad!  and so on).

Life without Nan starts tomorrow, and I think it could be tough.

Mrs. Migraine October 13, 2008

I didn’t post most of last week because I was having migraines most of last week.  Imitrex, which usually works really well, failed to keep them from coming back.  On Friday I woke up with a killer headache at 4:30 am, and imitrex failed to work competely.  By 9:15 when I finally arrived at work, I had taken three (!) imitrex plus half of something else, and was still in pain.  The morning is a bit of a blur.  I went to urgent care that afternoon, but the migraines came back on both Saturday and Sunday.

Today — knock wood — I am migraine free for the first time in more than a week.  So I’m back.

gruesome bug action October 8, 2008

This weekend I had my sons look for spiders.  They caught two, which I brought to school Monday morning in a plastic cup.  On my way in the building I found a small beetle, which I added to the cup.  I transferred my new friends to the terrarium, and at centers time four children sat at the science table and watched the bugs.

On Tuesday, I looked in the terrarium, and one spider was toes-up, the other wasn’t moving, and the beetle was nowhere to be found, so I didn’t bring out the terrarium.

Today, we looked in the terrarium and the remaining spider had caught the beetle in its web.  We brought it out and four little boys sat at the science table using what English words they had:  “awesome!” and “destroy!”

I went to the office for a Spanish-speaking interpreter, who came and spent a few minutes with the boys, answering their questions (do spiders have eyes?  is the beetle dead?  what is the spider doing? etc.) and talking about what was going on in the terrarium (look, the beetle has an orange tummy/Godzilla!/wow/is he eating the bug?).  I think it made his day, and I know the four boys were thrilled.

Frankly, I thought it was pretty cool watching the spider wrapping up his victim.  I do feel guilty about that bug, but I suppose spiders do need to eat.

moving on October 8, 2008

Yesterday was David’s last day with us. 

He was hardly in the room at all; Nan kept taking him out to “take a break,” and she told me she wasn’t going to push it, as she could tell he wouldn’t be able to handle being in the room much.  After he’d gone, I said, “and I didn’t get to say goodbye!” but Nan said she thought it was better not to make too much of an issue of it.  And at dismissal time, she and Miss Nelson had to more or less carry Max and David to their bus, as they were both totally out of control.

Meanwhile, Max had an awful morning.  He took everything out of the house corner cupboards and dumped it on the floor, took puzzles off the nearby shelf and dumped them on the floor, and started to scream when I told him to clean up his mess.  Then he ran out of the room.  Then he ran back in and turned the house corner table on its side, making more of a mess.

He screamed, he pushed or kicked a few kids, he knocked over stuff on my desk, and he wouldn’t leave the room when I told him to go take a break.  And….Miss Nelson didn’t make him.  She said I should just go ahead and read the story, but meanwhile, he’s screaming.  And the kids are staring at him.

Eventually he calmed down and listened to the story, but I’m not too sure that it was handled right.  I mean, Max — and the rest of the class, for that matter — got the message that you can be disruptive, destructive, and disrespectful, and nothing will happen to you.

So I need to talk to Miss Nelson about that today.