Posts from your Archives – This Was a Great Day by Jennie Fitzkee

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Jennie

This is my very first blog post, the wonders of teaching and what really happens in the classroom. Inspiring! Thank you for sharing this, Sally.

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Brinkmanship #midnighthaiku

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Jennie

I was struck with this beautiful writing, describing how we view the start of our day and the choices we make. “The dawn brings it’s own gifts. My daily task is to see them.” YES! I’m a teacher, and this is what I do every day. “Children bring their own gifts. My daily task is to see them.”

Sue Vincent's avatarSue Vincent's Daily Echo

Rising in silence
Spirit of sorrow and joy
Erasing the night

I watch the sun rise from my doorstep. Inside, the humdrum necessities await. Outside, the small dog explores the garden with the same excitement every morning. Birds sing, the weather, fair or foul, reveals itself and adds its definition to the possibilities to come. I am poised on the brink of belief.

I have a choice. I can face the day ahead with weariness, plodding through its demands, resentment building. I can accept the daily gauntlet of challenges. Or embrace them with open arms, knowing that what comes, must be. The dawn brings its own gifts. My daily task is to see them.

For Colleen’s anniversary challenge

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IF YOU LOVE DOGS THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL LEARN!

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Jennie

We can all learn the important things in life from a dog.

Karen DeMers Dowdall's avatarPen & Paper

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Understanding Art and Heart

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Jennie

In September, I send large folders home to children and their families to decorate, together.  Throughout the year, these folders are used to transport their child’s art work each time we send it home.  It’s our Art Pony Express, delivering precious cargo all year long.  Decorating the folder together is a nice family activity.  More importantly, it says that art is important– and a child’s work is important.  Because it is.

The folders have been decorated and returned.  They are beautiful and heartfelt.  Today one of our youngest child’s folder was returned.  My throat swelled.  So did my heart.

Yes!  Art is a universal language.  The parents understand.  This drawing was hard work for a child who is not yet three-years-old.  Look at the focus and multiple colors.  The child wanted to say, “I really like art”, yet he does not yet have all those words that are in his heart.  What he does have is art tools to speak his words.  And he spoke them well.

Yes, art is a universal language.

I have a handful of paperclipped writings and quotes beside my computer.  They mean the world to me.  When I saw this decorated folder, I immediately thought of “It took me a lifetime to learn to draw like a child.” by Picasso, and “I would like to paint the way a bird sings.” by Monet.  This parent eclipsed them and said it best of all.

Jennie

Posted in art, Early Education, Imagination, Inspiration, Quotes, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , | 44 Comments

Stillness

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Jennie

Evening tonight is stillness.  Quiet and beauty.  Nothing else.  No birds or dragonflies.  No wind.  Somehow the silence brings out all the important things.  Mother Nature is the greatest teacher of all. She gives children the wonders of discovery and learning. She gives adults reminders to stop, on nights like tonight: look around and really see. When you notice, you feel.  A hundred things rush through you, like a fast forward movie of all the good things.  Thank you Mother Nature.  I stopped.  I took everything in.  I will be your assistant at school and help children to see your wonders.

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Imagination, Mother Nature, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , | 44 Comments

J.K. Rowling on Writing

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Jennie

frenchc1955's avatarcharles french words reading and writing

J._K._Rowling_2010

(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

“Read as much as you possibly can. Nothing will help you as much as reading.”

“There’s no formula.”

“There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.”

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International Day of Peace

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Jennie

Peace is an important part of my curriculum at school with my preschool class.  It begins with kindness- that means children understand feelings and begin to develop empathy.  A tall order, but probably the most important thing young children learn.

Most recently, my class delivered a Peace Quilt (two years in the making) to the Massachusetts State House.  The Governor and Lieutenant Governor were there to accept it.  They were thrilled.  Governor Baker said that hate is learned.  He was right.  Peace is learned, too.

And children “get it”.  I will never forget Colin’s words from years ago when my journey of teaching Peace began.  Never.  Read on…

When I was in the library on this day last year, I saw they had a display of peace books to recognize International Day of Peace.  To my surprise, one of my classroom books was included in the display.

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Today is the day.  It is International Day of Peace.  My journey to peace with children is a good story, and the travels along that pathway have been far more meaningful than I imagined.  Peace.  The title on the library book says “quilt”, because my class designed an authentic Peace Quilt.  That quilt is my blog photo!  But, let’s start at the beginning, as it is a really good story.  And all my stories begin with,

“It happened like this…”

Peace was the theme in my school years ago, and children embraced it with acts of kindness for others.  During that school year my husband and I attended a wedding in Philadelphia.  With a few hours to spare we toured the historic district to see Carpenter’s Hall.  Ten minutes before the 5:00 closing we dashed across the street  to the National Liberty Museum.  I was thunderstruck by their magnificent Peace Portal in the lobby, a canopy of stained glass above intricately carved wrought iron columns.

I just knew.  This was “it”, something my classroom could make.  We had celebrated peace… yet this was different, much more meaningful.

Back at school we recreated the peace portal on top of our loft.  Tubes to hold rolled carpeting became the four posts.  Each child decorated a velum sheet with colored tissue paper, and we connected all the art to hang above our peace portal.  Tiny white lights over the canopy was the finish.  It was beautiful.

I never expected what happened next.  Children wanted to be there, just sit and be.  So, I decided to interview each child when they were under the peace portal and simply ask them what peace was.  The answers were so profound we made a book.

Colin told me, “Peace makes me feel hearty.”  I said, “Oh, it makes you feel strong.”  Colin looked at me like I had three heads, patted his heart with his hand and said, “No, heart-y.”

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The following year I visited the Bennington Musuem in Bennington, VT to see their Grandma Moses collection.  When I walked in, there was a display of Haitian quilts.  They were the most beautiful quilts I had ever seen- murals, works of art.  Again, I just knew.  This was something my class could do.  This was important.

We could make a peace quilt.  And yes, we did.

I met Milly, a master quilter.  She was the magician and lover of children who transformed their design into a work of art.  And, it became a magnificent quilt that hangs in the museum in Philadelphia.

That is the story behind the book at the library.  It is a book of poems about peace, based on the experiences of making the quilt.  After all, making a peace quilt is incredible.  Writing a book about it is only natural.

Here’s the point- peace is about the heart, thinking and doing the right thing. The little things are the most important of all, because they’re the foundation for the big things.  By teaching children’s heart they come to understand peace.

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Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Kindness, Peace, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , | 39 Comments

The Lunchbox Note and Storytelling: Lifetime Lessons

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Jennie

Lunchtime in the classroom with fifteen preschoolers is very busy.  Once containers are opened, hot foods are heated, milk straws are inserted into their boxes, and napkins are found, things change.  Drastically.   Lunch becomes intimate.  Not quiet, but a place of comfort where children (and teachers) share their stories.  Children talk about their dogs and cats, their grandparents, their sleepovers.  They share what is on their mind, and also in their heart.  It’s how we become a family– we are a family at school!

Lunchbox notes are a special treat for children.  I make sure that I read the note to the child: “Happy first day of school, Ella” or “Have a fun day today at school, Josh.”  Last week Savannah had a special lunchbox note:

My goodness– it was a song.  And, it was Savannah’s favorite song.  I knew this was special, so I started to sing the song to her.  She was a bit taken aback, not wanting to be the center of attention.  So, I stopped singing and apologized.

Suddenly Allie, who was sitting close by and heard everything, raised her voice in singing the song.  All alone.  Then other children started to sing along.  I joined in as well.  Savannah beamed!

These are the moments that matter most.  Connecting with children is one thing, but children connecting with each other is another thing.  Lunch seems to be where it all happens, the important stuff.  Much like sitting around a campfire with friends, it is the perfect environment to establish friendships, trust, confidence, and language skills.

This is how important it is:  A study was done to determine if there was a common denominator among the National Merit Scholars.  Were they all class presidents?  Captains of their sport teams?  President of the Drama Club or Literary Magazine?  Were they all volunteers in their community?  Surely there had to be one thing that they all shared in common.

There was one, and only one: every National Merit Scholar had dinner with their family at least four times a week.

Sounds simple?  Not at all!  At the dinner table they developed language skills, thinking and reasoning, empathy, humor, patience, compassion… the list is a long one and a good one.

These are life skills, the foundation for learning.

This is what I do in my classroom at lunchtime.  I create the “dinner with the family” environment for children.  Everyone’s opinion is valued.  We are listeners, and we are storytellers.  Oh, the stories we tell!  Jennie Stories (from my childhood) are beloved.  Why?  Because through storytelling, children know that their teacher had the same fears and tears.  Every day is a Jennie story, from spiders to bats to birthday cakes to the Peanut Man…

I know the difference this makes with the children I teach.  What do I tell parents?  Have dinner together, talk, listen, tell stories.  It makes all the difference in the world.

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Imagination, Inspiration, storytelling, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , | 89 Comments

Being ordinary…

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Jennie

Ordinary, yet extraordinary. Sue Vincent writes, “Perhaps living ordinary lives the best we can is what makes people extraordinary. There is beauty in that.” This is me!

Sue Vincent's avatarThe Silent Eye

gardens 107460

Why would anyone want to read about me?

It is a question I ask myself… one amongst many as I write snapshots from my daily life and memories from my past, as I share opinions and beliefs, the small adventures, the human fears… I can sort of understand the interest in the places I manage to visit, the old customs and stories of mysterious sites. I can understand the occasional flash of humour. But come on, says the niggling little voice, a nobody from nowhere… aren’t you just kidding yourself? Who wants to read about your fears and foibles, your little successes? Why should you be of any interest to anyone? You’re ordinary.

Maybe that’s the point. I am ordinary. My kind of ordinary… because it is the only kind I know. Other people are extraordinary in my eyes. They do things I have never done, achieve things I have…

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Book Bears

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Jennie

Book Bears started yesterday.  It’s my library reading group, mostly second graders.  Yesterday we met each other and  shared our favorite summer read.  ‘Meet and Greet’, with books.  Some children were nervous.  Some were outgoing.  I could see a wide disparity with their books, from Harry Potter, to Frog and Toad, to an American Girl Doll book.  A typical gathering of children.  Thirty minutes later, we were bonded at the hip, BFFs.  This is what happened:

I greeted every child, making sure I said something important to each one; Haley and I had the same earrings, Jonah went to sleep-over camp this summer, and so on.  Then I passed out the snack, walking around the table to every child.  My conversation went something like this:

“I love books.  This is so cool to share our favorite books.  But I have to tell you something.  When I was your age” .. pause

“You didn’t read books?”

“You’re right.  I was a terrible reader.  Are you ready for this?  Guess how many times I went to a library when I was your age?”

No guesses.  Stunned faces.  Interested faces.

“One!  That’s awful.  And now I love books.”

I immediately made a connection with the children.  They knew I was real.  They knew I understood.  And they knew I loved books.  As they ate their snack I said, “You eat snack and I’ll go first.  I’ll tell you about my favorite book this summer, Summer of the Monkeys.  It might be hard for you to read, but your parents could read it aloud to you.”

I showed them the cover, told them about living in the country a long time ago, how the monkeys had escaped… on and on.  I was ready to give each child a turn to tell us about their book.  Haley said, “Can you read us some of the book?”  All eyes were glued and nodding with Haley.

So, I played ‘The Stop Game’.  I fanned the pages until the children said, “STOP!”  Then I read that page.  We played ‘The Stop Game’ twice.  You could have heard a pin drop.  Oh, how they loved hearing me read aloud those words.  Finally a child asked, “Could you read us this book every time we come?”

Children crave hearing stories and books read aloud.  Even the best of my Book Bear readers – Nora, my Harry Potter reader – begged to hear more.

Hearing the words is carved into our DNA.  Oral history and storytelling goes back to the beginning of mankind.  It is natural, beloved. Words are magical.  Once a child is a proficient reader, s/he becomes the captain of the ship of words.  Then, all those words and their magic is the foundation for learning.

Every Book Bear shared their favorite summer read.  They read aloud a favorite part of their book.  Reading in front of a group of strangers when you are in second grade is uncomfortable if not terrifying.  I was so proud of my Book Bears!

Our first book for October will be The Year of  Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes.  It’s a Newberry Honor book.  I know the book (terrific is an understatement) and I can’t wait for my Book Bears to get together and discuss this book.  Life is good!

Jennie

Posted in books, chapter reading, Early Education, Imagination, Inspiration, reading aloud, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , | 85 Comments