Category Archives: Inspiration

My Favorite Christmas Ad 0f All Time!

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Jennie

The Spirit of Christmas That’s what it’s really about. This is the year we need to keep that spirit alive. This is the year we need to find happiness. If we are happy, it is contagious. I bring you my … Continue reading →

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Family, Giving, Inspiration, joy, Kindness, Love, music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 75 Comments

Giving Thanks – Miles and “The Wild Robot”

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Jennie

Today I finished reading aloud to Miles, “The Wild Robot.”  I was a bit choked up.  Miles and his sister Claire (also a former student) were too.  This was the best Thanksgiving, real giving that truly matters. For bloggers who … Continue reading →

Posted in chapter reading, children's books, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Inspiration, reading aloud, reading aloud, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , , , , | 78 Comments

Reading Aloud “Ox-Cart Man”

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Jennie

At the request of fellow bloggers, here is a video of me reading aloud the classic children’s picture book, “Ox-Cart Man.” But first, I wanted to show you a mural the children made last year that hangs as a permanent … Continue reading →

Posted in America, art, books, children's books, Early Education, geography, history, Inspiration, Nature, Particia MacLachlan, picture books, reading aloud, reading aloud, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , | 69 Comments

StoryWalk – An Eric Carle Book

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Jennie

A StoryWalk is a book, told with a series of signs, planted outdoors along a walk, that take you through each page of a book.  You follow along, walking from one ‘page’ of a story to the next.  It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, books, children's books, Early Education, Eric Carle, Imagination, Inspiration, Nature, picture books, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , | 60 Comments

Music We Love – Our “Wake-Up Song”

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Jennie

Music is part of our school day, every day.  Thank goodness!  We have many favorite songs, from rhyming to silly, classics to new discoveries, patriotic, quiet and loud, and… well, I play all kinds of music for children.  They love … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, joy, Love, music, preschool, Singing, The Arts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 54 Comments

Gloria – a Regular Day at School

Posted on November 7, 2020 by Jennie

Somehow Gloria knows how to make things right for a child.  Emmett left his lovey kitty at school.  Here is his mother’s email: Hi all, Emmett came home today without lovey kitty. He doesn’t remember where lovey kitty is in … Continue reading →

Posted in behavior, Diversity, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Giving, Gloria, Inspiration, Kindness, Love, preschool | Tagged , , | 52 Comments

A child’s tale

Posted on November 4, 2020 by Jennie

Originally posted on Sue Vincent's Daily Echo:
Road to Love – S.Vincent I had one of those ‘moments’ today as I passed between the bookcases in the bedroom. It is odd the things that make it through the veneer…

Posted in children's books, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Inspiration, reading, wonder | Tagged , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Halloween, Then and Now at School

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Jennie

Our classroom family event, a few years ago. Halloween is quite different this year.  There’s no trick-or-treating.  Children will be wearing pajamas to school today for ‘PJ Day’, and ‘A Day in the Dark’.  These are fun alternatives to costumes, … Continue reading →

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Gloria, Halloween, Inspiration, jack-o-lanterns, preschool, Singing, Student alumni, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , | 67 Comments

The Old Burying Ground

Posted on October 18, 2020 by Jennie

I love history.  It’s the stories, and understanding life way back when, that is deeply important – to me.  When those lives are on hallowed ground, in the beauty of fall, history comes alive. Groton’s Old Burying Ground is simply … Continue reading →

Posted in America, art, Death and dying, Expressing words and feelings, geography, history, Inspiration, Mother Nature, Nature, The Arts, wonder | Tagged , , , , | 100 Comments

Gloria’s First Day at School

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Jennie

It happens every year.  Gloria comes to school, and children are wide-eyed.  Silent.  Maybe scared.  And somehow, she becomes a friend.  Well, not exactly.  She becomes herself, and children want to be her friend. It started with Eddie.  He was … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity, Expressing words and feelings, Gloria, Inspiration, Kindness, preschool, Teaching young children, wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , | 79 Comments