Gloria Touring London

Posted on March 19, 2026 by Jennie

Gloria spent a full day in London and saw all the sights.  Need I say more?  Thank you, Willow, and thank you, Earl (Gloria’s new buddy.)  This is by far the biggest adventure Gloria has had, and it’s important that parents can share this with their child.  Here is what I said to parents:

Hi Families,

Gloria spent a full day in London.  This was a big event for her.  It is also big for the Aqua Roomers, because it gives your children a window into history, geography, and famous places.  We hope you spend some time reading this with your children and showing them the pictures.  Because Gloria is there, the places should be more meaningful.  Some children saw a few of these this afternoon, and Friday we will show this to children on the big screen.  Enjoy these with your child.  It’s all about learning and connecting.

Day 8 Gloria goes to London

Gloria was up early and very excited. She told Earl that today was the day that willow and hubby were taking her up to London! Earl said “That’s wonderful Gloria, I came here from London, willow was born in London and hubby worked in London so they will have a great day planned. ” Gloria was positively beaming. ” We are going on a Train and a tube…. But I am not sure what a tube is?” “Ah!” Said Earl, a tube is a small but long train that goes along an underground tunnel. All the stations are under ground and there are lifts and escalators to reach the platforms. ” Well I never said Gloria…lifts and what’s the other thing, an escalator, Earl ?” “Moving stairs Gloria, that take you up and down! “

I came down stairs and asked Gloria if she would mind riding in a backpack because there was going to be a lot of walking today. Gloria thought about this and decided it would be a very good plan and fun too. So I helped Gloria into one of our backpacks. We tried three but none were quite right. Then we tried hubby’s new backpack and it was a perfect fit. Don’t you think Gloria looks happy and comfortable.

The three of us set off for the 20minute walk to the station. When we arrived we bought our tickets, all day travel cards including zones one to six on the tube. The lady in the ticket office said Gloria didn’t need a ticket because she was not old enough. We didn’t have to wait long for our train to arrive!

This is the view from inside the train. At first Gloria stayed in her bag on the seat having a good look around.

Then she got inquisitive as more people got on the train….then she asked me to lift her up so she could look out the window at the passing scenes.

The journey was an hour and ten minutes long with lots of stops 16 in all. At every stop Gloria asked “Are we there yet willow?” To which I replied “Nearly Gloria”. With my fingers crossed 🤞.

Finally we arrived at Waterloo Station and boy it was so busy. We were glad Gloria was in her bag… I think Gloria was too.

We left Waterloo Station, ( it’s called Waterloo after a huge battle which was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, which is ten miles from Brussels. Marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army under the command of Napoleon were defeated by Arthur Wellesley and the Duke of Wellington)

The sun was out and the sky was blue and Gloria had a great view. We walked along the Thames and across the bridge towards The Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey past the London eye. Here are some photos.

Gloria spotted Big Ben and the houses of Parliament.

The London Eye

The London Eye

A London Bus

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

After Gloria had seen the houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey we headed off to see Downing Street. Then HorseGuards Parade, we were headed off towards Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column .(The Battle of Trafalgar took place on 21 October 1805.) Gloria wanted to see and know everything. I was glad to carry her because I did not want to loose her!

Gloria in Trafalgar Square

London Buses in Trafalgar Square

Gloria and me outside Downing Street

Gloria and me in Trafalgar Square

Important Street Sign

One of the Lions at Trafalgar Square

Winston Churchill not Keir Starmer. 😏

Gloria outside Downing Street

Downing Street

HorseGuards Parade

Next it it was time to walk the 25 minuite walk up the Mall to Buckingham Palace. Here are some pictures.

Top of the Mall

Gloria and me outside Buckingham Palace

A Guardsman

Walking up the Mall

Gloria liked Buckingham Palace

We found an old fashioned telephone box.

Buckingham Palac

Then we walked through Green Park to catch the tube and head for the Tower of London! We went on the Tube, down two escalators Gloria thought it was so exciting!

Tower Bridge

Green Park

Part of the Roman wall of London.

Gloria at traitors gate Tower of London

Platform at the tube station

Gloria posing at Tower Bridge.

Another Tube Station

Gloria looking at Tower bridge

Tower of London

The Shard

Tower of London

Tower of London

We caught the tube from Green Park. One stop on the Jubilee line to Westminster then we changed to the district line five stations to Tower Hill. As we came out of the station we could see the Tower across the road. We stopped to show Gloria the remains of the Roman City of Londinium. A prominent, 2,000-year-old fragment of the Roman London Wall stands in a garden just outside Tower Hill underground station. Built around AD 200, this, along with a smaller section inside the station’s westbound platform, constitutes a significant, accessible remnant of the original 3rd-century, 2-mile boundary wall.

We crossed the road and walked around the castle walls and saw the statues of a lion and two lionesses. “Why are there statues of wild animals here asked Gloria” I explained that that area was called The Royal Menagerie of the Tower of London was a historic, centuries-old royal zoo established in the early 1200s by King John to showcase exotic, diplomatic gifts like lions, polar bears, and elephants. Located near the western entrance, it became a public attraction before moving to Regent’s Park in 1835 to become the London Zoo.

After we had walked around the outside of the walls and Gloria had her photo taken at Traitors Gate. Gloria asked me “what is Traitors Gate? ” I explained that Traitors Gate is an historic water-gate entrance to the Tower of London beneath St. Thomas’s Tower, built between 1275 and 1279 by Edward 1st. Known for transporting prisoners accused of treason via the River Thames during the Tudor period, it served as the dramatic, often final, entry point for high-profile figures such as Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More and Queen Elizabeth 1st thoy she actually came out again.

As we walked away from the Tower we walked towards the Thames … Gloria was so excited to see Tower Bridge!

Finally on our way to get the tube to start our journey home we walked along to Pudding Lane to see the monument where the fire of London started . I explained to Gloria that The Monument to the Great Fire of London, often called simply The Monument, is a 202-foot-tall Doric column situated near Pudding Lane in the City of London. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr. Robert Hooke, it was built between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the 1666 fire and celebrate the city’s rebuilding. I also told Gloria that if the monument was layed down on its side in the correct direction, it’s tip would reach the exact point where the fire started. Gloria thought that was very cool 😎

We were all tired by then so we got the tube to Waterloo and then the train home! Guess what Gloria did when she got in….Yes she told everyone all about her trip…then before going to sleep the all read GOODNIGHT MOON 🌙 🌝

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Posted in Community, geography, Gloria, Inspiration, Learning About the World, wonder | Tagged | 14 Comments

Lucky the Leprechaun

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Jennie

Every year the Aqua Roomers try to catch Lucky the Leprechaun.  It takes great planning to build a serious leprechaun trap.

This trap had it all, from a pulley system to scary dragons.  It was a masterful culmination of creative young minds designing a no-fail trap.

It didn’t work.  Lucky the Leprechaun is very clever. When school opened this morning, here is what we saw:

 

This was a wonderful day.  Children learned math and science, building the trap.  They also learned all the efforts that go into building a trap might not work.  Life lessons, team work, and joy.

Jennie

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Storytelling to High Schoolers

Posted on March 17, 2026 by Jennie

I was invited to tell stories to our local prep school high schoolers, and help them write stories with a cultural perspective.  They have a winter break, and students sign up for an event.  Many signed up for me, and the kindergarteners at school.  First, students were assigned to a kindergartener and interviewed them, writing down everything in small journals.

Here’s where I came in.  I met with all the students as a group and gave a presentation on storytelling.  Here is what I said to students.  It’s a long story, but a really good story:

“Storytelling has been around since before written language.  It’s the heart of learning and of joy.  The first story I told to my preschool students was a true one, ‘The Peanut Man Story’ and I’ve been telling true Jennie Stories ever since.  I’m going to tell you that story, and I want you to watch my face and listen to how my voice and body language change.”

The Peanut Man Story

It happened like this.  When I was in first and second and third grade, there was a man who lived in my town, Dr. Tyler.  He was really old.  He was short, heavy, and he had white hair and a white beard.  Who do you think he looked like?  Yes, Santa Claus.  I thought he was the real Santa Claus.  Dr. Tyler had a peanut farm, and over the summer he grew peanuts.  I’ve never seen peanuts growing.  Have you?  In the fall, he picked them all.  He had hundreds and thousands of peanuts, all in shells.  Then one day he would come to school.  No one knew when he was coming.  The principal didn’t know.  The teacher didn’t know.  He would just show up.  We could hear footsteps in the hallway and the classroom door would burst open.  There he stood, saying nothing, carrying a big sack of peanuts over his back.  Now he really looked like Santa Claus!  He dropped the heavy sack onto the floor and the teacher yelled, “It’s the Peanut Man.  Duck”.  Everybody dove under their desks.  Then he took his big hand, scooped a huge handful of peanuts, and threw them across the classroom, hard.  We covered our ears and closed our eyes.  He did this again and again, throwing peanuts everywhere.  It sounded like pelting rain.  The peanuts were hitting the desks, the chalkboard, the lights…everything in the classroom.  Suddenly the sound stopped.  Everything was empty.  We heard footsteps, and the door slamming shut.  The teacher said, “Boys and girls, the Peanut Man is gone.  You can come out now”.  Wow!  The whole room was covered with peanuts everywhere.  The floor was so full that you stepped on peanuts wherever you walked.  They were in the lights on the ceiling, too.  We spent the rest of the afternoon picking up all the peanuts, putting them on our desks in a big mound, cracking the shells, and eating them.

“Now I want to tell you one of the most popular Jennie stories.  This one is different, a little scary which children love, and plenty of voice and emotion.  As the story goes, when I was forced to take my little sister to the mean old lady’s house trick-or-treating, it’s storytelling at its best.”

The Halloween Story

It happened like this.  When I was a little girl, children went trick-or-treating all by themselves.  There were no parents trick-or-treating.  I was eight and my sister was six.  We were so excited!  I dressed up as Raggedy Ann and my sister dressed up as a scarecrow.  We had our bags ready to collect candy.  Then my Mother said, “Jennie, don’t forget to go trick-or-treating at Mrs.Crotty’s.”  Mrs. Crotty!  She was old and mean.  She never smiled.  Her house was always dark.  Even the bricks on her house were dark.  And, the bushes and trees grew all over.  I did not want to go trick-or-treating at Mrs. Crotty’s.  I didn’t say anything and my sister and I headed off all over the neighborhood.  We had so much fun and stayed out until it was very dark.  When we got home we spread our candy out.  I gave my sister the Tootsie Roll Pops and she gave me the Reese’s peanut butter cups.  We were having a great time.  Then my Mother said, “Jennie, did you go trick-or-treating at Mrs. Crotty’s house?”  I looked down and didn’t say anything.  She said, “Take your sister and go, now.”  I took my sister’s hand and we walked to the house.  By now, trick-or-treat was over, and there were no lights on at any house.  Of course Mrs. Crotty’s house was the scariest of all.  We walked up to her dark porch.  I was squeezing my sister’s hand so hard.  I told her to knock, but she said, “No, Mother told you do it.”  So, I swallowed hard, knocked on the door with my heart pounding, and then there was a creak of the door.  Just as we were ready to run away the lights came on, and Mrs. Crotty was there.  She was smiling!  She went to the kitchen and brought both of us a huge popcorn ball, warm and covered with caramel and butter.  She wasn’t even scary!

“Now, you have the power to tell the story about the child you interviewed.  But the challenge is to incorporate a cultural element.  You can do that!  Children have creative minds, and given an opportunity, want to make up stories.  This fall we learned about woodland animals, and children wanted to write their own story Bear Story.”

“Many children’s books have a multicultural theme.  Classical stories often have a new twist.  One of the best is The Three Little Javelinas, by Susan Lowell, a take-off of The Three Little Pigs.  I’m going to read you the story and use props, a pig and wolf ears.”


“Another wonderful story is Abiyoyo, a traditional South African folk tale about a father who is a magician and his son who plays the ukulele.  People tell stories of the giants who lived long ago, especially Abiyoyo.  I’m going to read and sing the book, and use a magic wand and a giant.”


“Because this is an African tale, we learned some Swahili words, and children wanted to write their own story.  So, we substituted Swahili words for English words.”

“Children loved this!  In this case with Abiyoyo, storytelling had everything from soup to nuts.”

After my presentation I spent time with each student helping them  to write and tell their student’s stories.  This week, they get to read their stories to me before reading them to the children.

Jennie

Posted in children's books, Community, Diversity, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Imagination, Inspiration, literacy, picture books, preschool, wonder | Tagged , , , , | 45 Comments

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

Posted on March 11, 2026 by Jennie
Gloria Has Arrived .
Posted in Uncategorized | 29 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 , , , | 70 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 , , , | 66 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 , | 54 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