I am honored to be a guest on Pete Springer’s blog. Thank you, Pete, for the wonderful tribute. You are like Charlotte the spider, a dear friend who wrote about ‘some pig’. I am like Wilbur the pig, feeling terrific, radiant, and very humble. In the words of Wilbur to Charlotte (thank you, E.B. White), “You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
One of the unexpected blessings of starting a blog has been interacting with people globally with whom I would have never otherwise crossed paths. After I had written my book for new and inexperienced teachers, someone asked if I had ever considered starting a blog. I thought to myself, hmm, I could do that, but would anyone care what I have to say about anything?
Two and a half years later, I’m amazed at some of the remarkable people I’ve met. One of those individuals is a magnificent preschool teacher from Groton, Massachusetts, named Jennie Fitzkee. She has been in education for forty years (two of those at kindergarten and the last thirty-eight years as a preschool teacher at Groton Community School).
Jennie is passionate about the benefits of preschool. “Social and emotional development are number one. Children need to learn how to play, make friends, share…
I love this cartoon.
A child sees the sign in the library
“Read To Them! They’ll Remember Forever.”
She joins story time at the library.
The librarian is reading, “Stories For Children.”
The child then reads aloud to her stuffed animals,
“Animal Stories.”
My favorite T-shirt,
“When we read aloud to kids, we change their world.”
I finished reading aloud the first chapter book of the year,
“Charlotte’s Web.”
A parent shared this video of their child ‘chapter reading’,
something he does every night.
The scene is Wilbur who is desperate.
He needs to convince Templeton to get Charlotte’s egg sac,
in order to save her 514 babies. If you listen carefully,
you can hear him projecting Wilbur’s emotions.
Gloria is an important member of the Aqua Room… well, that’s an understatement. Every year she is ‘the one’. Somehow she brings more kindness and understanding to children than anyone does. She’s been around for over twenty years. Today was her first day in the classroom this year. Oh, my!
The backstory is a great one. Years ago teachers were mindful about diversity and inclusion in the classroom. Every teacher had a ‘persona doll’ (Asian, African American, Spanish) to help teach children. Well, there were few people of diversity in our community. I knew teaching diversity really meant teaching acceptance. What people would children see who were different, maybe even a little scary? Old people! If they used a cane, or were unattractive, that was diversity in their world.
Enter Gloria, someone who is very different. She is old, not pretty, and even looks like a witch. Of course she is not a witch. Don’t we often judge people on how they look? She just likes to wear black. She is very shy, incredibly kind, and the best friend ever. Over the years she has been invited to high school graduations, the Red Sox championship parade, vacations in Maine, Trick-Or-Treating… you get the picture.
Today Gloria met the children. You could have heard a pin drop. I had to encourage Gloria, she was so shy. Once the children learned about Gloria (she had been in a different school where children called her a witch), they understood. This was big. This is how children develop empathy. Thank you, Gloria.
Every child had an opportunity to meet Gloria. Sometimes Gloria asked a lot of questions, sometimes she laughed, sometimes she spontaneously kissed a hand. Every child felt special. Every child wanted to greet Gloria.
As the day went on, children were in and out with Gloria as they played. Aubrey loves to carry her pillow and blanket as she plays. It is her comfort. Today she asked Gloria to take care of her pillow and blanket while she played. Wow!
Thank you, Gloria. You made Aubrey feel loved and comfortable. You have made many children feel the same way over the years. You are the best Aqua Roomer.
Today was only ‘day one’ with Gloria. She will be with us for the school year. We are excited. Gloria is, too.
My flight to LA to appear on the Kelly Clarkson Show was packed. I was in the three-seat section along with a nice young couple. After a few hours in the air, it was apparent that she was pregnant. He was glowing and reached over occasionally to pat her tummy. She brought along plenty of healthy food, and shared her delicious figs with me.
Halfway into the flight I leaned over with a smile and asked when the baby was due. “January!”, they both said.
I couldn’t help myself. I knew what I had to do. The conversation went something like this:
“Would you like to know the best thing you can do for your child?”
“Yes! Please tell us!” Their eyes were as big as saucers.
“Read aloud to your child. You can start now, before the baby is born. Goodnight Moon is the book you need to get. Right away.”
“Wait, wait! I have to write this down.” He pulled out his phone and went to ‘notes’.
“I’m a preschool teacher in Massachusetts. I recite this book every day to children before I begin chapter reading. It’s rhythmic and rhyming. Children love this book.”
“Chapter reading?, to preschoolers?”
“Yes. When your baby is born, read all the time. Music is also wonderful, especially classical music.”
“We’re both musicians. I play the guitar and my wife plays the flute.”
My goodness! We talked about music, art, playing in mud and sand, what to look for in a school, and I told them about the Eric Carle Museum. This couple was over the moon with everything I had to say. I remember the husband’s ‘lightbulb moment’, when he understood that a child can’t move forward and learn in school without hearing words and stories.
“Jennie, would you please quit your job and come and teach our child?” How nice!
As we left the plane, they kept yelling out thank-yous and reaching out to me. That’s as good as it gets.
Yes, I recite Goodnight Moon every day before chapter reading. I sometimes do it ‘the silly way’, substituting children’s names into the story. I even do a “Goodnight Moon Rap”
The return flight from LA was also packed, and I was in a three-seat section, along with a mom and her 10-year-old son. They were quiet and friendly. Every time they had to get up they apologized. No worries, I kept telling them. On this flight I had to finish reading the books the library had given me to review for Book Bears. I host a library reading group every month, plus a read-aloud group. It was peace and quiet to read, and I thoroughly enjoyed Gooseberry Park and the Master Plan.
As I was ready to put the book away, I looked over at the 10-year-old boy. His head was down in a video game of some sort. He had been a kind child on the flight, but he had not seemed happy.
Yes, I knew what I had to do. Again. I couldn’t help myself.
I leaned forward. “Would you like to read a really good book? I just finished it. It’s so good!”
He looked up, and he smiled a big smile. It took him only seconds to put away his video stuff. I could tell he was excited. I handed the book over and he settled in for a great read. His mom was teary-eyed. “Thank you. He plays too many video games. Thank you so much.” She touched my arm and smiled.
As the flight continued, I kept glancing over to the boy. He was absorbed in the book and looked happy. When the flight landed, his mom took a photo of the book so he could get it at the library and finish reading. Three people were very happy; it was a hat trick.
Never underestimate the power of a good book and reading aloud.
“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”
For my blogging friends who are unable to see The Kelly Clarkson Show, here is a clip of my part on the show. Many bloggers have wanted to see me on the show, so here I am:
I cannot say enough about Kelly, her team, and the ‘bottom line’ of everyone on the show – kindness. Everything I do in teaching is rooted in kindness, and how wonderful it is to see, first hand, big stars and a mega show that hold the same values.
A Teacher's Reflections 