Knuckleheads

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Jennie

Look what arrived today!

Knuckleheads, by Dan Antion

Summer reading, here I come!

Jennie

Posted in books, Inspiration, literacy, reading | Tagged , , | 76 Comments

The Final Letter

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Jennie

As soon as the school year is over and the dust has settled, my final letter to families is a reflection of the school year.  It takes families through the highlights so they can relive those moments and classroom experiences with their child.  Memories are important.

I am reliving those moments, too.  My keepsakes include:


An American flag 


A thank you note.  The book and song is Abiyoyo.


A homemade work of art.  I love the ILU (I love you)
initials, along with the child’s initials.

Reflections on a Wonderful Year
June, 2022

We hope you enjoyed your child’s year-end portfolio, as each one is a walk down memory lane for teachers.  Wasn’t it just a few months ago that children were building an Atlas robot?  Remember when we wore our pajamas to school and had a ‘Day in the Dark’?  Remember our “Peter and the Wolf” play performance?  Remember how we introduced music to inspire creativity for our Art Show?  There are so many Aqua Room events and memories.  The year has passed far too quickly.

What did your children embrace?

Building and Puzzles. From Duplos, to blocks, to Legos, children built incredible structures that were complex and thoughtfully planned.  Puzzles were a choice activity every day, from floor puzzles to table puzzles.

Dinosaurs and Robots. As soon as children watched the Boston Dynamics robots, they were curious and engaged.  First, they loved the song, then their engineering minds kicked in and they wanted to learn more.  Dinosaurs have been a favorite all year.

Russia, France, and India. We traveled around the globe using our favorite Big Book Atlas. From learning about wolves and watching a live wolf cam, to singing the days of the week in French, to dressing in native Indian clothing and eating Indian food, and balancing peacock feathers, our experiences broadened our learning.

Pen-Pals. Reaching out to children around the world by making cards, and getting cards in return, was a big and exciting experience.  Children wanted to write words and draw pictures.  It was wonderful to make connections.

Writing Thank You Letters. We wrote nine letters over the course of the year.  Nine!  They were all on big chart paper and elaborately decorated.  The heartfelt replies were an added bonus.

Play Performances. We enjoyed planning and performing “Peter and the Wolf”, “The Story of Little Babaji”, and “Goldilocks and the three Dinosaurs.”  Children continued to act out the plays on their own, on the playground.

God Bless America. This has been the favorite song of the year.  Children often sang it on their own.  It was fitting that it had a grand finale, taping a video and sending it to the White House- fabulous.

Books and Stories, from picture books to chapter reading, to fact books. Our bookshelf is well-used, and as popular as our block shelf.  Chapter reading is one of our favorite times of the day.

Mystery Readers. Children loved the surprise of a family member reading to us via Zoom.  Thank you, Mystery Readers!

Signing-In. As the year progressed, children developed letter formation and motor skills, from writing large letters, to eventually making small and uniform letters.  This became a popular daily routine.

Question of the Day. What started as a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question where children had to read a question and find their name stick, grew into a more complex activity.  We learned how to tally vote, and we broadened our math skills- greater than/less than, identifying and then writing missing numbers, and also letters.

The Animal Game. This game became a fun, everyday activity at lunch.  Teachers gave clues as to different animals, and children had to guess the animal.  Following the Animal Game we always listened to a true Jennie Story.

Music and Movement. Singing and dancing along with the autoharp or the new, big technology screen has been so much fun all year.  Children still want to sing the “Jack-O-Lantern” song, even though October was long ago.  Most recently, they want to sing along with the Singing Sergeants, “God Bless the USA.”  Yoga is so much fun, especially following along on the big screen.

Gloria, our beloved puppet, has been a constant presence of love and kindness for children. Gloria often teaches far more than we teachers can do.  Recently other new friends have joined Gloria- Oscar the Otter, Elephant and Piggie, and the Pigeon and baby Duckling.

It has been a wonderful year with your children.  We feel blessed.  Thanks for all your support.

Jennie

P.S.  Stay tuned for an update and photos on Gloria’s summer.

Posted in American flag, art, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, preschool, School, Teaching young children | Tagged , , | 74 Comments

Power of Thought…………

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Jennie

boundlessblessingsblog's avatarBoundless Blessings by Kamal

Once a mentally troubled child came home and gave a letter to his mother. He told her, “My teacher gave this letter to me and told me to only give it to my mother.” Reading through the letter, the mother could not believe her eyes. Gradually her eyes filled with tears. “Mum is there a problem? Did I do something wrong in school?” the boy asked.

With a shaky voice, the mother slowly began to read the contents of the letter to her son, “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and does not have enough good teachers to train him. Please teach him yourself.” The boy was dumbfounded. The next morning, Nancy Edison pulled her son out of the school and from that day, began to teach him diligently at home.

Many years later, Thomas Edison had grown into the most prolific inventor of…

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“The” Invitation From a Former Student

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Jennie

I got an invitation most every teacher dreams about.  But first I need to tell you about this student:

I remember my students.  I love them.  Some stick with me more than others, and Colin was one of those students.  He was always smiling and laughing.  He adored Milly the quilter, and he was quite the artist.  Back in 2016 his masterpiece for the Art Show was incredible, a replication of a Claude Monet.


The next year, his art masterpiece was equally incredible.  He nailed Kandinsky.  Colin’s talents went beyond art.  He loved music and singing.  When I brought my record player into school, he was spellbound by musicals.  I played my Rodgers and Hammerstein records; “The King and I”, “The Sound of Music”, and “Oklahoma” were his favorites.

We had a grand circus performance for families that year.  It was so much fun for children.  They were tigers, poodles, clowns, and acrobats.  Guess who was the ringmaster?  Yup, Colin.

That’s the backstory of Colin when he was in my class.  Fast forward to today.

His mother emailed me the day after Colin had been cast as the lead in the fourth grade musical, “Oliver.”  Yes, Colin was Oliver.  She asked if I would come to the show, ‘since I was such an inspiration to Colin in his early singing days’.  Oh my!  And, she wanted me to be a surprise for Colin.  Yes, this is the invitation teachers dream about.

Here is Colin’s photo on the billboard.
My goodness, he has grown:

When I arrived for the show, his mother was waiting to greet me.  I was invited to sit with the family, including grandparents from Virginia.  Honestly, Mom and Dad were over the moon that I was there.  I was, too.

The show’s staging and props were elaborate, more like a high school performance.  The lights went down, the show started, and here is Colin’s solo, “Where is love?”:

Yes, he was wonderful!  Pitch perfect, heartfelt singing.  After the show came the surprise for Colin- me!  Mom had her camera ready.

I was out of control.  Colin was beside himself.  We were one.

When students remember, it is a treasure for a teacher.  My heart is full.  Thank you, Colin.

Jennie

Posted in art, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Inspiration, joy, Love, music, play performances, Singing, Student alumni, The Arts | Tagged , , , | 107 Comments

‘Donut Party’ and Much More

Posted on June 17, 2022 by Jennie

We had our year-end event with families this week.  It was the first time in two years that families, children, and teachers were all together.  It was wonderful.  Children called it the ‘Donut Party’, because they knew doughnuts would be served for snack.

They had no idea what was to come.

What we did was different from all the other classes.  They had a singing program, followed by award certificates and ice cream.  We had children and parents interacting with pillowcases.  Really.  All of the research pinpoints that the last words a child hears before they go to sleep are what they remember.  What if those words, the ones that mean the world to children, are written on a pillowcase?  What if those words are read aloud every night to a child?

Yes, it makes all the difference in the world.

This was our event, and families were deeply engaged with their children, writing words on pillowcases.  Teachers walked by, looking along.  Families didn’t notice.

This was powerful, important, and a wonderful family event.  We also presented families with children’s portfolios, a year-long collection of art, writing, photos, and much more.  Oh boy, the tears flowed, in the best of ways.

Here is an email from a parent about their child’s excitement over the ‘Donut Party’:

Hello Teachers,

Early this week we learned from Kiansh that there will be a “Donut Party” next week and he feels excited for it.

Your email communication early this week did confirm the same!

So yesterday he decided to write it down on his calendar so we don’t miss out!

And below is a picture of what he note down on his calendar for June 13th 😊. I just thought to share with you 😊

Have good weekend!

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Family, Inspiration, Love, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , | 78 Comments

The Last Day, and She Won’t Go Home

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Jennie

Today was the last day of school for children.  There were floods of tears from children, and also parents.  Hugs were like the jaws of life.  Pick-up on the playground at the end of the day was emotional for everyone.

Especially for Maddie.

Mom held the new baby brother while Maddie continued to play.  The more mom smiled, the more Maddie refused to go home.  Yes, refused.  Finally, I scooped up Maddie in my arms so we could walk to the classroom.  Maddie buried her head in my neck, and I asked her if she wanted me to sing a song.

“Yes”, she said.

“What song do you want me to sing?”

“Wagon Wheel.”

Of course!  “Wagon Wheel” has been ‘our song’ in the classroom whenever someone is feeling sad.  Children will want me to ‘rock me mama’.  And, I do just that.  So, I sang the chorus loud and rocked as best I could on two feet, as I carried Maddie to the classroom.

Children are very forgiving when their teacher is crying and singing and rocking at the same time.

Music is a great healer.  Love is, too.

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, Kindness, Teaching young children | Tagged , , | 82 Comments

Self Portraits

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Jennie

My favorite year-end art project,
children drawing a picture of themselves
and comparing it to the drawing they made
at the start of the school year.


Look at how they’ve grown!

Jennie

Posted in art, preschool, Teaching young children, Uncategorized, wonder | Tagged , , | 67 Comments

a wish for my students on their last day.

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Jennie

Hear, hear! Dear teacher Beth, you have this, and your students do, too. This is also my wish for my students. No apologies for abundant enthusiasm. Never, ever.

beth's avatarI didn't have my glasses on....

“there is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything.

negative people find their walls.

so never apologize for your enthusiasm.

never.ever.ever.

-ryan adams

may you all live like this forever. and ever. and ever.

love, your teacher

(who lives like this too)

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A Year of Chapter Reading, 2022

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Jennie

Here is my newsletter to parents about our year of chapter reading.  It’s the best part of the day in the classroom.

Chapter Reading
June 10, 2022

Chapter reading is one of our treasured moments of the day.  We bring to life the imagination, the world, and the past.  The anticipation of ‘what happens next’ stirs excitement every day.  Children listen and think.  They ask questions.  Ask your child, “At chapter reading where do you make the pictures?”  You will hear your child say, “In your head.”

When we finish a good book and then start a new one, emotions run high and low.  The end of a good book is so satisfying and pleasant, yet…it is over.  That is the wonderful roller coaster of reading.  And, with each chapter book we read, we ride that roller coaster again and again.

We have finished Little House on the Prairie, and it was thrilling; from Jack the dog, to building a house, to Indians in the house.  Pa and his neighbor Mr. Scott dug a well, and we learned about the bad gas deep inside the earth (Pa had to save Mr. Scott) that only a candle can detect.  Of course, I had to bring in my grandfather’s childhood portrait wearing a miner’s hat with the same candle. Laura and her family had fever ‘n’ ague (malaria), an illness that people thought came from eating watermelons.  There was also fear of Indians, which was an opportunity for Gloria to discuss diversity and prejudice.

We read a second Doctor Dolittle book, Doctor Dolittle’s Journey (ask your child about Long Arrow and Spider Monkey Island), and we added a new book to our chapter reading this year, The Wild Robot.  It is simply wonderful, and the children know there is a sequel.

These are the chapter books we have read this year.  Good books are meant to be read over and over again.  We encourage you to revisit these wonderful books with your child:

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles

The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Doctor Dolittle’s Journey, adapted by N.H. Kleinbaum

The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown

The fundamental constant that gives children the tools to succeed in school is language.  The more words that children hear, the better they will do in school.  Reading aloud to children is far more than an enjoyable experience.  It increases their language development!  In kindergarten through grade four, the primary source of instruction is oral.  The more words that a child has heard, the better s/he will understand the instruction, and the better s/he will perform in school, in all subjects.  Therefore, we will always campaign to read aloud.

A wonderful guide to book recommendations and to understanding the importance of reading aloud is the million-copy bestseller book, The Read-Aloud Handbook.  I have used the book since my children were little.  The author, Jim Trelease, visited the Aqua Room and GCS.  We are featured in the seventh edition of the book.

Jennie

Posted in chapter reading, children's books, Early Education, Inspiration, literacy, reading aloud, reading aloud, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 48 Comments

A Package From the White House!

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Jennie

My class loves singing, and this year “God Bless America” has been a favorite song.  How do I know?  Children sing it from the loft in the classroom, and when using the bathroom.  They sing it while building with toys, playing on the playground, and at lunch.  When something becomes a passion for children, I do something more to bring that passion to life.

A relative of one of my students is the Coast Guard Liason to the White House.  Yes, I was the brave one; I emailed her to tell her how children love the song.  I asked if we could send her a video of the children singing, as a Memorial Day Remembrance for the White House.

She was thrilled!  So, we got to work to practice and videotape the performance.  It is fabulous!  Off the video went to the White House, and a few weeks later we had mail!

We received a package from the White House!  Our “God Bless America” video was well received.  Each child was given two packages of candy, signed by the President.  That was very exciting.  The letter reads:

Dear Aqua Room,
It was such a wonderful surprise to see the video of you singing patriotic songs for Memorial Day!  You sounded fantastic and it made me so proud see you commemorate Memorial Day.
I showed your video to lots of people in the White House and they loved it!!
Hazel’s favorite aunt

What an experience for children to sing their favorite song for the White House, and then receive a thank you letter and a gift.

In a separate email to me, she said, “Thanks for teaching the kids about Memorial Day and recognizing those that gave us everything we have today!”

Jennie

P.S. I told her the story of making the God Bless America quilt years ago, and how it came to go to the Intrepid Museum and then hang at the Fisher House in Boston.  She knows Fisher Houses, and visited the one at Dover Air Force Base.  That must have been a humbling experience.

Posted in America, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Inspiration, military, patriotism, quilting, School, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , | 75 Comments