Imagination is the most exciting, and the most powerful tool I have when teaching children. It’s the foundation for learning, and for wanting to learn. The best learning that takes place in my classroom is rooted in imagination; from reading aloud to linking Einstein and Mozart… well, this blog post says it best. It captures the essence of why imagination is important. And, it is!
Picture stories are powerful. And, they are complicated. Children have to recall what they know, then have the words to tell a story in their own way. Our recent picture stories added even more layers of work; deciding what characters they would be and finally illustrating the stories.
The illustrations were surprisingly detailed. I think I know why. In order to fully understand how we ended up with work resembling that of first grade, not preschool, let’s start at the beginning.
Our unit of study was Fairy Tales, a topic that children love. There was already an element of familiarity, so I started by reading different versions of the stories. In The Three Little Pigs, some books such as James Marshall’s version were funny, and some such as Paul Galdone’s were serious. Other versions such as Susan Lowell’s The Three Little Javelinas were quite different. This encouraged real thinking and prompted plenty of dialogue. Those ‘W’ questions are the trigger to what I like to call ‘thinking conversations’.
We learned the meaning of Fact and Fiction. We talked about differences and similarities in each version. Within the story of The Three Little Pigs we discovered geography, including the southwest, and plenty of science. Can a wolf climb onto a roof? How is a house built? We needed to actually try, so I took the children on a walk to collect sticks and build a structure. The second pig thought this was easy, but we thought it was hard.
Children spent an equal amount of time, with a similar amount of learning, exploring Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jack and the Beanstalk. Goldilocks opened the door (literally and figuratively) for talking about social and emotional behavior, specifically right and wrong. We assume that children know and understand appropriate behavior, yet being confronted with situations that aren’t directed at the child (reminding them to use manners, for example), but at someone else (Goldilocks) actually makes a bigger impact. When I stopped and said, “She walked right into the house”, that was all I needed to say in order to start the conversation ball rolling.
By this point we were so immersed in Fairy Tales that children wanted to act out their favorite one. We took a tally vote, and Jack and the Beanstalk was the winner by a large margin. We had learned so much about the characters that the children didn’t need costumes. Props and staging, and of course acting, were all they needed. The play was such a big success that weeks later children were still talking about it.
Now children were ready to write their own picture stories, the last phase in Fairy Tales. So much had happened up to this point, so many layers of different learning, that children had both the mental tools and the passion to write and illustrate a story. Each story is different, and each illustration is surprisingly detailed. Very impressive, indeed.
These picture stories that are more first grade than preschool could only have happened with scaffolding; the culmination of listening, reading, conversation, questioning, hands-on building, science, and a play performance. That’s why they’re terrific.
Learning is a process, and Fairy Tales lend themselves to real learning in many areas. Although Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Three Little Pigs were the main focus of study, children also enjoyed The Little Red Hen, Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood. I think the interest and questions will continue for months. That’s what happens when education is child-centered, interesting, and full of opportunities for learning.
Jennie
I often write about language and literacy because reading aloud and hearing all those words are what makes the difference in learning. I want to introduce a new word into the mix: conversation. That involves more than listening; it implies that we also process the information we hear…and then talk about it. Conversation.
This week I read a book that our pen-pal preschool class in Prague loves, Little Mole and the Snowman. Well, we definitely loved it, too! It sparked more conversation than my preschoolers have had with a book in quite a while.
The story was similar overall to many American picture books, yet different in the details and smaller parts of the story. For example, in Prague most children would be familiar with mountains that are snow covered for most of the year. That element alone, which was a thread in the story, was different. Then, there were rescue dogs, the Saint Bernard that rescues people from snowy mountains, and the aerial tram (cable car). The children were drawn to all the differences, and that sparked conversation.
When I read a book, I don’t just read the words. There are so many things that happen along the way, so many questions, and so many things to notice. It never occurred to me that reading a story meant just ‘reading the words’. I’ve always stopped when children ask questions, and I’ve always initiated a discussion with my own questions.
Little Mole and the Snowman raised that bar of conversation.
A recent issue of The Atlantic featured an article titled “The New Preschool is Crushing Kids” by Erika Christakis. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/the-new-preschool-is-crushing-kids It is a great read, and her point boils down to conversation. Schools today need to meet the standards, and teachers need to follow a curriculum that involves give and take, question and answer, in order for students to learn. The problem is, they’re not learning.
Edward Zigler, a Yale professor and leader in child development and early education for a half a century, noted that in the best preschools children are given the opportunity to use and hear complex, interactive language. Yes! He is so right. It’s not just asking and answering a question, it’s the dialogue that happens. Children have to think and process what they hear, and then have a conversation. That is learning.
The Atlantic article also notes that the focus should not just be on vocabulary and reading, but on talking and listening. Conversation is gold. It’s the most efficient early learning system we have.
This is what I do, every day.
Jennie
Children naturally gravitate to art, whether painting at an easel or drawing pictures. Art is akin to sand and water; it triggers learning, and it’s fun for children. Each year my class displays and Art Show for our entire community. This has turned into a big event, because the art that children create is remarkable. It is done over days and days. Well, a masterpiece certainly wasn’t created in a day. Neither are the works of art that my class creates.
Last year we studied Abstract Art, and Colin was captivated by the work of Kandinsky. Colin really wanted to paint one of Kandinsky’s paintings, and he did. He worked so hard:
Did I mention that Colin was three-years-old? No, he is not a child prodigy. We simply gave Colin the tools, encouragement, and multiple days to work on his art.
When we begin our Art Show, first we have to learn about artists and art. Over the years we have learned about Impressionism, Cubism, watercolors, and even Early Renaissance art. Then we learn what tools they used. We paint with real artist’s watercolor paints from a tube. We squeeze the paint onto pallets, and mix to get the color we want. Our brushes are from an art store with both flat and pointed tips. Real tools help to make real art.
Music is another element to inspire children. As they paint, we often play classical music, and the children decide which album they want to hear. Last year Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 was a big hit, and that was the music children wanted to hear. I bring in my old record player and albums. Just introducing the record player alone is edge-on-your-seat exciting. Picking the music is really fun. One year children wanted to hear The Supremes.
Each part of learning and preparing is child-centered; this is true emergent curriculum. When children learn and then are empowered with making important choices, great thing happen.
We then work on our masterpieces for weeks on end. I constantly refer to each piece of art as a ‘masterpiece’, because that word is empowering to children. It makes a difference. When the art is finished, each child ‘names’ their piece. Much like the real masters, a true masterpiece has a title, a name. This final step is a grand finale for a child, giving a big nod of approval and validating all the hard work. We frame the art, add a label with the title and signature, and proudly show it off. What a moment for children!
Our Art Show hangs at our post office for two months. An accompanying Guest Book is always filled with comments. I think the whole process of the Art Show, from introducing art and artists to naming our masterpieces is a journey of learning for both the head and the heart.
Jennie
Museums always inspire me, and my recent visit to the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH was no exception. The added bonus was seeing Eleanor, one of my former students. She is now in high school. How can that be?
Eleanor was a quiet child when she started preschool. She was always kind, and loved learning new things. She was a ‘reader’, often looking through picture books and sitting up front when I read a story aloud. Fairy tales, particularly Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky captivated Eleanor. I think of looking at the illustration of the tower and ‘figuring out’ how Rapunzel got in. Eleanor liked that challenge. I’m not surprised she is doing well in school.
I remember reading The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman and watching Eleanor laugh and smile. That was the when she took a big step out of her cautious and quiet self, and she never looked back. Aren’t books and stories powerful! We then began a unit on China. Eleanor brought her Chinese / English dictionary to school. The book was so popular that I bought a big Scholastic Children’s Dictionary for the class. To think that all those years of reading aloud and discussing not only books, but their vocabulary words… and I never had a dictionary on hand for the children. Thank you, Eleanor. It continues to be well used and well loved.
Last year I had a call out of the blue, Eleanor asking me to come to high school on Career Day and talk about being a teacher. That was a special day! Connections with children seem to pop-up unexpectedly. And, frequently. Children like Eleanor have made a difference in both my life and my teaching. Michelle visited the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia to see our classroom quilt. Juliet visited the Museum of Modern Art and saw the original Starry Night painting, which brought back memories in my classroom for her. Both stories are posts on my blog. Making Connections; it makes a difference. Seems like museums have made a difference for children as well.
The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester is New Hampshire’s best kept secret! “Woman Seated in a Chair” by Picasso is one of the prized pieces in their collection, and it did not disappoint. I learned that it was quite an angry and anti-war painting, as Picasso painted it in a tiny apartment in Paris in 1941 with WWII raging in the streets below. I was able to look alongside the frame’s edge, viewing the art from a side angle, and see that the white circles of paint were actually raised. Did you notice the large drawing behind the photo of Eleanor and me? It is one of the few Peter Milton drawings that are in color. The museum has one of his black and white drawings as well. Perhaps my favorite pieces were Flemish renaissance art. There is much to enjoy at the Currier Museum of Art.
I made a wonderful connection with Eleanor. It brings teaching ‘full circle’ because learning and giving are repeated, sometimes decades later, with pleasure.
Jennie
I don’t think people know who my hero is. I doubt my own children even know; they would say my it’s my grandmother, Nan. And, so would most people close to me. Nan was the best grandmother, and what I learned from her shaped my character, taught me far more than even she ever realized about reading and art. She was strong and kind, and she always inspired me. She touched every part of my life. Nan was a superhero.
There are heroes, and there are superheroes. Just ask any 8-year-old. A superhero makes a difference to everything in your life, like Nan. A hero is someone who touches your life in a very specific way.
Heroes inspire me, because then I become a better teacher. There is one person, a teacher in Baltimore long ago, whose teaching made me stop and realize what’s really important. When I read her story, I felt like I was walking in her footsteps. Well, I felt like those were the footsteps I had to walk in. I wanted to be just like her. I needed to be just like her. My throat still closes and my heart pounds when I read her simple story. It is in the original Chicken Soup for the Soul book, published in 1993:
Love: The One Creative Force
A college professor had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’s future. In every case the students wrote, “He hasn’t got a chance.” Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.
The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, “How do you account for your success?” In each case the reply came with feeling, “There was a teacher.”
The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement.
The teacher’s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. “It’s really very simple”, she said. “I loved those boys.”
My copy of the book is worn, and the pages open-up to this story, because I’ve read it too many times to count. It changed how I looked upon teaching and children. I often write about an emergent or child-centered curriculum, and how that has led to the best learning. Well, now you know where it started. And, now you know who my hero is. If I can fill her shoes and give children the same love so they can succeed, that’s all I need.
Jennie
My very first day of teaching preschool in Massachusetts, thirty-two years ago, was both career and life altering. Lindy, my co-teacher, asked me to read the picture books to children each day after our Morning Meeting. Sure (gulp)! I was new, scared, and unfamiliar with many children’s books. I had not been read to as a child, except for The Five Chinese Brothers from my grandmother. I still remember the page that opens sideways, with the brother who could stretch his legs. One book, and to this day I remember it vividly.
The book I read to the children on that first day of school was Swimmy, by Leo Lionni. It was magical for me, and for the children. The story line, the art, the engineering, the words… it was a taste of something I knew I had to have. And, I couldn’t get enough.
The next few decades I consumed children’s books. I realized that the more I read aloud, the more the children wanted to hear stories and be read to. I displayed books in my classroom front-facing, so children were drawn to picking up and ‘reading’ the books. In this way, the children wanted to handle, hold, and turn the pages of books. This was a big deal! It was true hands-on learning, with exploding questions and interest. I was the yeast in the dough, or perhaps the books were the yeast. Oh, our Morning Meetings grew. We had to include a children’s dictionary on the bookshelf so we could look up words that were new. That was fun!
By this time I had become picky about good books. Whenever I read a good book, it sparked so many questions and conversations, that sometimes it took ‘forever’ to get through the book. The first time I read Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky, it took forty minutes to finish reading the book. I started with the inside cover, a picture of the courtyard, and simply asked questions; “Where is this?” “Does this look like Massachusetts?” “What is different?”
Reading picture books triggered big discussions. I often stopped to ask questions. Sometimes I would simply say, “Oh, dear…” in mid-sentence and let the children grab onto that rope. Yes, I was throwing out a lifeline, a learning line, and it worked. It was exciting, always engaging.
Before long, I started reading chapter books before rest time. This was unconventional for preschoolers, yet it felt right because children were on their nap mats and needed to hear stories without seeing pictures. I started with Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, and have never looked back. The first thing children learned was ‘you make the pictures in your head’. This is thrilling, because we now have non-stop reading and multiple discussions, without pictures. Thirty minutes of pretty intense reading-aloud. My chapter books include the best of the best.
My teaching had become language based and child centered. Often there were ‘moments’, things that happened because we were reading all the time. Reading had spilled over into my curriculum. The day we had set up a restaurant in housekeeping, children were ‘reading’ menus and ‘writing’ orders on clipboards. I was spelling out the words to one child and listening to questions about the menu from another child. I doubt these moments would have happened had I not read so often in the classroom.
I wanted to tell families what happened, about moments of learning, and of course about reading-aloud. So, I started to write more information in my newsletters, and include details. I wrote, and I wrote, sharing small moments and relating those moments to the big picture in education.
I attended a teacher seminar, and Jim Trelease, author of The Read-Aloud Handbook, was the keynote speaker. As he spoke I wanted to jump up and rush over to the hundreds of teachers in the room, screaming, “Are you listening to this man?” “Do you realize how important his message is?” Instead I wrote him a letter and included one of my newsletters to families that spoke about the importance of reading-aloud. That sparked his interest in my chapter reading, and he visited my classroom to watch. I’m included in the latest version of his million copy bestselling book.
My public library asked me to direct a library reading group for second and third graders. This was another new adventure in reading. I read The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes, among many wonderful books. Again, these were new books to me, and I loved it. This past summer I embraced YA books, thanks to reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio. I read every Kate DiCamillo book I could lay my hands on. Every one.
My reading and reading-aloud continues to grow. Thank you Read-Aloud West Virginia for getting the message of how important reading is to the public. We are making a difference.
Jennie
I want to thank the American Legion Auxiliary for interviewing and including me in their magazine. The recent edition of the American Legion Auxiliary Magazine features patriotism:
“Keeping America’s Patriotism GOING STRONG. All across the country, Americans are demonstrating their loyalty to the United States in varied ways.”
“Inspiring the Next Generation” is the title of what I do. I am so proud, and quite humbled. Those words are big shoes to fill, and I am doing just that. The article is beautifully written, encompassing singing, picture books, quilting, art, and especially stories of events that brought patriotism to life for children.
When I received the phone call last fall to be part of this important organization’s wonderful magazine, I surprised myself at how many stories I had to tell about teaching patriotism. It isn’t something I do every day; it emerges naturally or spontaneously through singing, or looking at the map of the United States in our Big Book Atlas, or reading books like Peter Spier’s The Star Spangled Banner, or seeing an American flag. Patriotism is just ‘there’, and children see it all the time. So do I.
I have written about patriotism in many ways, and my blog must have been a link that connected the American Legion Auxiliary with me. I’m so glad.
With sincere thanks and gratitude,
Jennie
Children love to sing. Over the years in my classroom a favorite song always emerges; “God Bless America”. The tune is nice and the words are simple for children to sing. I bring all types of music into my classroom. I sing all the time, even sitting on the long bench in the bathroom (that’s a favorite with children). Usually I’m rhyming away with “Down By the Bay” or making children ‘jump and turn around’ with “Uncle Jesse”. I play record albums of Handel and Mozart and the Beatles. Music and singing is everywhere.
So, why is it that children love to sing “God Bless America”? I think it is far more than the tune or the words. When we sing a patriotic song we talk about ‘presence’, how important it is to stand tall and proud. We learn how to put our right hand over our heart. That’s an event in itself, finding our right hand and also where the heart is in our body! We talk about respect, and how singing for our country should be respectful. Children embrace this. Somehow they feel empowered, or perhaps prideful. It’s as if they somehow know there is something bigger or more important to be singing about — a meaning or purpose behind the words. They simply love this song.
Milly the quilter loves this song, too. She has been under the weather lately, so the children wanted to sing “God Bless America” and make this video for her. Milly has worked with my class to make magnificent quilts that hang in museums, including a God Bless America quilt that hangs at the Fisher House in Boston. Hats off to you, Milly! We’re on another wonderful quilting journey this year with the children. It is a Peace Quilt, based on what children think peace looks like. First we wrote a poem of their thoughts, then turned the poem into a book, and now into a quilt. Stayed tuned as the quilting evolves. We already have the sketch drawn.
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 