Yes, Gloria Has Arrived in England. Thank You, Willow!

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Jennie
Gloria Has Arrived .
Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Music to Inspire My Young Artists

Posted on March 10, 2026 by Jennie

“Where words fail, music speaks.”
~Hans Christian Andersen~

Music is at the heart of every emotion- inspiring poets, writers, and artists.

I use music to inspire my preschoolers to paint.  Oh boy, do I ever!  First I bring in my record player, which instantly becomes the coolest, newest piece of technology children have ever seen.  I take ‘forever’ to show children how it works.  Rubbing the needle under the arm to make a big sound silences children.  They are in awe.

Then, I pull out a record album, something they have never seen, and I tell children, “This is the music.  I’ll put it onto the record player.  Just watch.”

Oh, they watched with wide eyes.


The first piece of music I always play is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, because the music starts slow and quickly builds to a crescendo.  Again, children are just flummoxed.

As the music plays I become as excited as the music, and I tell children, “Here’s what happens; the music goes into your ears and then into your brain.  Then it shoots out of your fingers like shining stars.  It helps you to paint.”

And that’s how music helps my preschoolers to paint and feel inspired.  We’re painting in earnest, as we prepare for our annual Art Show.  Oh, Beethoven is only one of the many record albums I play.  After all, it takes many kinds of music to inspire many kinds of children.

From classical to rock to Broadway, I play it all.  This year I’m playing Doin’ The Twist by Joey Dee and the Starliters.  Maybe we’ll practice the ‘one two three kick, one two three jump.’

Honestly, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Handel’s Water Music are just what children need to listen to as they paint.  After all, we’re preparing for our annual Art Show in April.

Jennie

P.S.  We begin to paint this week, with real artist’s paints in tubes, squeezed onto a palette.  Stay tuned!

Posted in art, Imagination, Inspiration, music, preschool, The Arts | Tagged , , , | 52 Comments

Goodnight Moon Keeps Growing

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Jennie

Yes, Gloria is off to England, clutching her favorite book, Goodnight Moon.  Pierre was the one who told her to take her favorite book on the journey, and of course Gloria’s favorite book is Goodnight Moon, because she hears it read aloud at school every day.

We have just started to learn about France, and we have Goodnight Moon – in French!

We will read the book with Pierre.  Well, Pierre will be doing most of the reading.  He can read the French words and I can read the English words, page by page.

Of course I’ve been reading Goodnight Moon aloud to the children every day before chapter reading since the first day of school.  They now know the words by heart, but not so much the pictures.  As I got the book ready for Gloria, children delighted in looking through the illustrations, finding all the objects they know so well by hearing the words.  Then, we found the mouse on every page, and saw the darkening on each page.  It felt like Goodnight Moon had come full circle.

Goodnight Moon book cover

One of the many book pages where children find the objects
they have heard me read about
over and over again.  


Interestingly, the pages darken as the book carries on.
This was quite a discovery for the children.

As the year goes on, I change up Goodnight Moon.  Sometimes I substitute children’s names into the text; “In the great green room there was Sally’s telephone and a red balloon, and a picture of Sam jumping over the moon.”  This is hugely popular, and hearing their name in the text is important.

Sometimes I sing Goodnight Moon.  The tune doesn’t matter.  Music cements language and literacy.

Sometimes I even do a ‘Jennie Rap’ with the djembe.

Now is the time of year when the Helper of the Day can join me to recite Goodnight Moon.  This is a big deal!  Knowing the words is one thing, wanting to say those words loud and proud is another thing.

Jennie

Posted in Book Review, children's books, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Gloria, Inspiration, literacy, picture books, preschool, reading, reading aloud, reading aloud, School, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , | 63 Comments

Bon Voyage, Gloria

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Jennie

Gloria is going to England!  Yes!  Fellow blogger/writer/poet Willow Willers at willowdot21  invited Gloria to come and visit her.  Willow has always loved my posts about Gloria.  Well, she just loves Gloria, and when you love someone, you need to be together.

This week at school we had a huge school-wide Bon Voyage party for Gloria.  Everyone knows and loves Gloria, so saying goodbye was important.  Gloria gave everyone a lei!


Gloria with her teachers

The whole school gathered in our Community Room.  Gloria was scared.  She has never traveled across the ocean.  Thank goodness her good friends Rosie and Pierre were there.

Rosie is on the right, and Pierre is on the left.

Gloria couldn’t speak to all the children, but as soon as she saw Rosie they had a grand time and she relaxed.  Then she looked at everyone and talked.  Oh, how she talked!  She showed them the big map on the screen, how she would fly from Boston to England.


Pierre has flown before.  He’s from France.  Gloria asked him  to tell everyone what Bon Voyage means, because it’s French.  Bon means good, and voyage means trip.

Gloria asked Pierre what he did so he wouldn’t be scared flying across the ocean in a plane.  Pierre said, “I took my favorite book to read.”  Gloria’s eyes brightened, because her favorite book that she hears every day at school is Goodnight Moon.  She will definitely take the book on the plane.


But, the questions kept coming.

“Jennie, Gloria can’t read.  Who will read to her on the plane?

“Weston, there are so many people on the plane.  I bet someone can read to Gloria.  Everyone knows the book.”

“Jennie, will she fly alone?”

“Yes.  I’m not worried.  Everyone will take good care of Gloria.”

“Jennie, when will she come back?”

“I don’t know.  I think it depends on what she does in England.  I’ll let everyone know when she plans to come back.”

Here’s the thing; children aren’t really worried, they’re just not quite ready to let her go.  Does that make sense?  Are they excited for her trip?  Yes!  Big Time!  They just care.

Gloria might get to visit school children in their classroom, so she wanted to work on singing her ABC’s, and asked everyone to help.  She started with “ABCDEF Giraffe.”  Everyone laughed, and Rosie told Gloria she had to say G, not giraffe.  Okay.  Gloria tried again, and the whole school helped.  “ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO Penguin.  More laughter, and also more help from children.  Finally she held hands with Rosie and Pierre and made it through the whole alphabet.

It’s moments like these that help children connect with Gloria.  They know she makes mistakes and needs help.  They know she is just like them.  No wonder children love her.

Thank you Willow.  Gloria is excited to visit you. ❤️

Jennie

Posted in Diversity, Expressing words and feelings, geography, Gloria, Inspiration, Learning About the World, School, Teaching young children | Tagged , , | 120 Comments

12 Years!

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Jennie
12 Year Anniversary Achievement

Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!

You registered on WordPress.com 12 years ago.

Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.

Thank you to my fellow bloggers
who are also dear friends,
perhaps more than you realize.
I can’t imagine being without you.
Really.

Jennie

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 103 Comments

My Winter Olympic Memories – and More

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Jennie

My winter Olympic memories go way back.  Black and white TV.  Skating was done outside.  Most winter events were outside.  I remember watching skaters do compulsory figure 8s, following a track on the ice.  I watched Peggy Fleming.  She was amazing.  I watched 13-year-old Stephanie Westerfield skate in the 1962 World Championship after the entire ’61 USA Olympic skating team was killed in a plane crash.  I watched Jean-Claude Killy ski.  He was fast!

In recent years I’ve come to love curling and snowboarding, certainly nothing I grew up with.

It was Jim McKay and the Wide World of Sports every Saturday afternoon that brought more than sports into our living rooms on television.  He gave us the Olympics.  “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” became a hallmark for sports, and the Olympics.

I was glued, and have been since childhood.  There have been so many wonderful Olympic events.  Hubby and I were in New York with friends in 1980.  They tried to get us tickets to the USA hockey game, but the day before our friend was at a game and reached up to catch a puck.  Ouch.  We watched that game on TV.  Yes, it was Miracle on Ice.

The Olympics have always had a profound effect on me.  It’s more than sports; it’s countries competing together in an air of unity.  It’s fierce competition, balanced with respect and friendship.  This should be a roadmap for the world.

For example, when USA played Denmark in men’s ice hockey this week, at the end of the game the Denmark players all shook hands with the referees.  Wow.

And the Scandinavian countries that are ruling the roost in the Olympics?  I’m not surprised.  Outdoors is their favorite place to be, unlike many Americans, especially children.  They outrank America in education because from childhood they are outside and physically active, which stimulates the brain and learning.  Win-Win for them!

Jennie

Posted in America, Inspiration, joy | Tagged , | 52 Comments

My Valentines

Posted on February 14, 2026 by Jennie

What could be better than valentines
from my school children?
Nothing.
I hit the jackpot of love.
Happy Valentine’s Day.

Jennie

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Giving, Heart, Inspiration, Kindness, Love, School | Tagged , | 68 Comments

The Best Teaching – Not Always in the Classroom

Posted on February 11, 2026 by Jennie

When I stumbled across this post – lucky me – back in 2018, I couldn’t believe there was teaching at this high level by a school crossing guard.  I was electrified.  I was reading about more than teaching, I was reading about a teacher who knows how to connect with children.  Welcome to Steve Bottcher’s Curbside Classroom.  This is the first post I read of many of his Curbside Classroom posts.  I hope you enjoy reading with the same excitement as I did.

“How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck…?”

PAVAROTTI

“Who was Pavarotti?”

I thought I had them stumped. But stumping wasn’t the end game. The objective was twofold: strengthen our daily dialogue, the fun part; and stimulate their thinking skills, the learning part of our relationship. .

As for Pavarotti, the surprise answer came from a confident high schooler on a unicycle who steadied himself, as best one can on a unicycle, and delivered it with certainty. “Not only was Pavarotti a famous Italian opera singer”, he opined, “but he was a tenor”.  I was impressed.

I’m a crossing guard for a suburban school district in western New York State. Every school morning and afternoon, I have a minute or so to interact with groups of kids ages twelve to eighteen years, while waiting for their signal lights to change. I try to make the wait meaningful.

“What is the formula for converting Fahrenheit to Celsius?”

Recent mornings been have been cold, bitter cold, the perfect environment to challenge them with this question. And the answer came fast. “(F-32) /1.8”. These kids are good.

It’s become apparent that they almost expect something each day, a quiz, a fact, a general question. An approaching airplane provokes a simple discussion. An unusual sunrise or an odd cloud formation gets us talking and imagining. It’s all about the dialogue.

“Who was Francis Scott Key and what did he write on this day (Sept 14) in 1815?”

“What direction are we facing while waiting to cross? Forward doesn’t count!”

“January is named after the 2 headed Roman god Janus.”

“Why did Frosty the Snowman tell the kids not to cry?”

“How many centimeters in an inch, millimeters?”

For the most part, kids haven’t changed over the years. The younger boys are still immature, they run, yell and ask nonsensical questions.  And boys and girls still hold hands. But there are some noticeable changes. Pink, purple or blue hair is common with today’s girls, and even with some boys. The huge backpacks have replaced gym bags for carrying books. And, nearly everyone is connected via cell phones.

However, kids are still kids. If I can make them smile or laugh as they start their school day, then ‘mission accomplished’. And it all starts with a greeting…and, maybe a new question…

“Good morning, kids. Have a great day!”

woodchuck

“Oh, By the way, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

To my surprise, they had answers. We’re learning from each other.

Steve
srbottch.com Jan 2018

Dedicated to a wonderful teacher I’ve been fortunate to know, Jennie, and her cadre of lucky students.

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, School, teaching | Tagged , , | 62 Comments

Go Patriots!

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Jennie

Gloria and Jennie
are ready for the Super Bowl.
Go Patriots!

Jennie

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 65 Comments

Children’s Affirmations

Posted on February 1, 2026 by Jennie

Affirmations trigger those important positive feelings.  When it comes to children, they need affirmations.  Big time.  They need to know they’re important.  They need to know they matter.  Affirmations help.

Before chapter reading, we listen to and recite Goodnight Moon.  But… before that… a teacher does daily affirmations with the children.  It’s a big deal.  Well, it’s more than that.  Children recite affirmations with gestures, while standing proud.  Does it make a difference?  You bet it does!

“I am special.”

“I am smart.”

“I am strong.”

“I am brave.”


“I am loved.”


“I am kind.  I belong.”

Here is what it looks like in the classroom:

One day this week a child said, “Naomi, you forgot ‘I am loved’.  Yikes, she did.  That’s how powerful and important our daily affirmations are for children.

We can all learn from children.  They have affirmations nailed, and it makes a huge difference.  If adults did the same thing, happiness and confidence would grow, and that’s how you change the world.

Jennie

Posted in behavior, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, Mindfulness, self esteem, Teaching young children | Tagged , , | 81 Comments