November

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Jennie

November arrives with glorious color,
splendor in the leaves on trees.
The colors that began to flame in October are finally brilliant, vibrant
when November comes calling.

There are days of balmy temperatures and warm breezes.
November is saying come and play,
dance with me when the wind blows.
Look at me, the Wish Tree wishes children hung are still there.

Early November evenings are often brilliant, too.
Sunsets are as vibrant as leaves.
They make us stop and look.

November comes in like a lamb, an exuberant child.
November goes out like a lion, blowing away everything in its path.
The leaves are gone.  Only the wishes on the Wish Tree remain.

Late November sunsets are pink and warm,
as if they want people to feel the same way, with winter ahead.

November is full of change.
Tonight we got “the call”,
our granddog crossed the rainbow bridge.
We’re in the car headed to see him and his family for Thanksgiving.
Yes, I know…
As soon as we finished the phone conversation
we rounded a bend in the road,
and this is what we saw:

Thank you, November.  We needed that.

Jennie

Posted in Death and dying, Dogs, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, Love, Mother Nature, Nature, wonder | Tagged , , , , , | 80 Comments

A Day at the Eric Carle Museum

Posted on November 21, 2021 by Jennie

There is always something new at the Carle.
I say this all the time, because it’s true.  Every visit there is ‘something’ that floors me – sets me off like a sparkler.

Marc Brown, author of the beloved “Arthur” books was a guest speaker – the first since Covid.  These were the books my children grew up with.  I still read them to children in my class.  Little did I know there would be far more at the museum that day.  It always happens that way.  But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Meeting an author who writes books that I know and love is a tonic for me.  Big time.

Earlier, Marc Brown read aloud to the audience “Arthur’s Halloween”, certainly one of his most popular Arthur books.

I had my assistant teacher’s son’s treasured Arthur book with me, the same one.  Jack is now 22, and he still considers this book his prized possession.  I had the pleasure of telling that story to Marc when I got the book signed.  Stories are everything.

Most of the characters in the Arthur books come from Marc’s childhood – his third grade class.  He showed the audience the class photo, and we could see every character.  It was crystal clear, and great fun to put a real face to Arthur’s friends.

He went to Russia with Laura Bush, promoting her literacy foundation.  When Arthur became a TV show on PBS, guess who was instrumental in helping out?  Fred Rogers!  Of course the TV show ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ set the standard.  The two became close friends.  That made my day!

Then, I was off to explore.

The current exhibit at the museum is Color | Joy | Eric Carle.  I thought I had already seen most of his wonderful art.  Wrong!  The exhibit is, well, thrilling.  It includes his art that has never been displayed before.  I couldn’t stop looking.


There is art that inspires me to do the same with my class.


Yes, we can punch holes on paper and mount it onto foil!


We can glue tissue paper and then turn it into stars!


I just love this.

There is a remarkable work of art that brings “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” into another realm, blooming with joy.


Yes, a picture – art – is worth a thousand words.

The bookstore at the museum is THE best bookstore.  Yes, I am picky.  After reading aloud to children for over thirty decades, I know the best books.  I always find a new and wonderful book at the museum, one that is often not found at the regular bookstores.

These are my new book finds.  They are so, so good!

Thank you to the Eric Carle Museum for always inspiring me.

Jennie

Posted in art, Author interview, Book Review, books, children's books, Early Education, Eric Carle, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Inspiration, literacy, museums, picture books, reading, reading aloud, reading aloud, Teaching young children, The Arts | Tagged , , , , , | 60 Comments

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2021 – #Potluck – #Nursery Rhyme – Humpty Dumpty – What Happened After His Fall? – Jennie Fitzkee

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Jennie

Thank you to Sally for sharing this blog post on a wonderful children’s book. It takes the classic fairy tale of Humpty Dumpty, and looks at what happened next. That ‘next’ is a story of Humpty’s mending and resilience. It’s a tale that needs to be told. Today’s children need to hear this.

I will be posting some of the best new children’s books over the next few weeks.

Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives 2021 – #Potluck – #Reading Aloud & Reading – There’s a Big Difference – Jennie Fitzkee

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Jennie

Sally Cronin has shared one of my favorite blog posts – reading aloud. For me, the stories that the ‘father’ of reading aloud (Jim Trelease) told were absolutely gripping. The Boston school principal is just the story to make everyone pick up a book and read to a child. It makes a difference.

Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Sam and Alex, Then and Now

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Jennie

When children return to school to visit, it is always a treat for teachers.  When children return to give back, it becomes a whole new chapter.  I am the one filled with wonder, the children are just eager.

Sam and Alex were in my class when they were four years old.  They became best friends right from the start.

Here are Sam and Alex, when they were in my summer camp group:

Oh, did we ever have fun!

Here are Sam and Alex now:
Still best buddies after all these years.

They came to school to help with our annual Fall Fix-Up this past weekend.  They’re now so…big.  That happens when you become seniors in high school.

These two are all about giving back to their roots.  We talked on and on about their dreams for college and the future, and about their memories in the Aqua Room:

Hermit crabs and the guinea pig.
Taking Gloria home for a weekend.
Crunchy Cheetos.
Music at rest time.
Chapter reading and stories.

One of the first classroom books I made with children was “Brown Bear, Brown Bear.”  Sam was right there in the book:

Alex was always creative in his play:

Sam wants to do his Eagle Scout project at school.  I have been to two Eagle Scout ceremonies, and let me tell you- it is a lifetime achievement.  Did you know there is only one group that has all members who were Eagle Scouts – the astronauts who landed on the moon.  Wow.

I am a keeper of treasures.  Cards and drawings from children are treasures.  So are letters from parents.  Here are excerpts from Sam’s mother’s letters (to the director of my school), those many years ago:

“…on a teacher who stood out amongst the rest.  I originally saw a picture of her on the GCS website.  She had brought her class to the Groton library…how interesting!  Oh how Sam and I LOVE the library!  In this picture she was holding a book that her class had created called “The Groton ABC Book.”

The letter is a long one, and quite wonderful.  Then, there is a letter about Sam and Gloria:

“Never judge a book by its cover”

“While searching for great books about chapter reading books filled with adventure, I heard Sam exclaim with excitement “GLORIA”!!!  As I looked up, I saw Sam run to the back wall, filled with books on fall and Halloween.  Amongst these books on the shelf was indeed a doll that looked very much like Gloria.  There she sat with a scrunched up old wrinkled face, and to some of the other children looking on, had a somewhat scary demeanor… but something magical happened.  Sam picked her up, like a long lost friend and gave her a warm hug.  “Gloria, I’ve missed you!  Mom- It’s Gloria!!!”

The letter goes on, as to why Gloria is important and makes a difference, planting wonderful seeds, and making impressions.  That is exactly what teachers do, too.  When we plant seeds, make impressions, and give children love and enthusiasm for learning, it makes a difference.

Thank you, Sam and Alex.

Jennie

Posted in behavior, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Gloria, Inspiration, preschool, Student alumni, Teaching young children | Tagged , , | 87 Comments

The End of the Day at School

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Jennie

It’s Friday, and the day has been blustery.  We watched the wind and rain blow leaves off the trees.  We’re learning about Russia, and we’re planning a Zoom play performance next week of ‘Peter and the Wolf’.  We listened to every instrument.  A parent (and music teacher) Zoomed with the children about the instruments in Peter and the Wolf.

By 4:00, children were tired of toys and needed to move.  We played “Firework” by Katy Perry.  I taught children how to do the Conga Line, and we danced up and down the hallway to the song.

Music fills the soul.  Children are drawn to music.  Who knew that my old-fashioned Conga Line dance would be so popular with this modern song?

The day ended on a big high, and Gloria and the toys  had to settle down for the weekend.

She decided to settle down with a book about bears.  There are jungle animals and dinosaurs close by who have been restless.  They’re waiting in line at the vet clinic.

 

I wonder what the weekend will bring?

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, preschool, School, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , | 50 Comments

Veterans Day With Preschoolers

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Jennie

Preschoolers need hands-on experiences to help cement their learning.  Today we learned about the American flag, so making one was just the right thing to do, because patriotism begins with our flag.  We needed to thank our veterans, but let me back up…

Years ago, when we were able to take field trips with children, I took the class to the Shriner’s circus.  Little did I know when the circus begins the lights go out and a big American flag drops down.  Everyone rises to sing the Star-Spangled Banner.  Everyone except my class.  Parents were chatting.  Children were running around.

I was horrified.  I rushed to every child to take off any ball caps and put their hands over their hearts.  That was my turning point, my wake up call.  I knew I needed to teach children about our flag and more.

I start with books, and I sing the books.  These are the three best, the tried-and-true, songs that children love to sing, with illustrations that bring the songs to life.  Do you know what a towering steep is?  My children do.

Then, we are ready to sing, standing proud with our hands on our hearts.  We learned what a veteran is.  We talked about bravery and serving our country.

After we made the flag, doing all the cutting and gluing, we were then ready to say a proper ‘Thank You’ to a veteran.  This is important!  Children’s words are authentic, and I never change a single word.  Decorating a thank you note is as important as the words.  It is hands-on learning and giving.

Do grown men cry?  Yes.  Ed was pretty choked up and teary eyed.  The children knew he loved the letter and the flag they made for him.  See, that’s one more step for children.  They learned, and they gave.  They felt good today.

On a side note, our current chapter reading book is “The Story of Doctor Dolittle.”  Hugh Lofting wrote the book in 1920, over a hundred years ago.  He was serving his country in World War I.  He had children back home, and there was nothing to write home about, as the war was so terrible.  Instead of writing letters to his children, he wrote stories about animals, which became his beloved book that children still read today.  My class loves this book!

So on this Veterans Day, I also think of Hugh Lofting.

Jennie

Posted in America, American flag, chapter reading, children's books, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, military, patriotism, preschool | Tagged , , , , , | 78 Comments

E.B. White’s Letter to the Library Children

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Jennie

Early-1971, in an effort to attract as many youngsters to the premises as possible, Marguerite Hart — children’s librarian at the newly-opened public library in Troy, Michigan — wrote to a number of notable people with a request: to reply with a congratulatory letter, addressed to the children of Troy, in which the benefits of visiting such a library were explained. This response came from E. B. White:

April 14, 1971

Dear Children of Troy:

Your librarian has asked me to write, telling you what a library can mean to you.

A library is many things.  It’s a place to go, to get in out of the rain.  It’s a place to go if you want to sit and think.  But particularly it is a place where books live, and where you can get in touch with other people, and other thoughts, through books.  If you want to find out about something, the information is in the reference books—the dictionaries, the encyclopedias, the atlases.  If you like to be told a story, the library is the place to go.  Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had.  And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together—just the two of you.  A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort.  A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered.  Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people—people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.

E.B. White

My goodness!  Surely E.B. White knew how important a library is, and what a precious letter this had to be.  His words flood me with ‘being there’ and feelings.  They always do.

I will forever champion for libraries, books, reading aloud, and E.B. White.


My favorite photo of E.B. White,
on the rope swing in his barn in Maine,
one of the best Garth Williams illustrations in “Charlotte’s Web.”

Jennie

Posted in books, chapter reading, children's books, E.B. White, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, reading | Tagged , , , , , | 57 Comments

What Do Children Think?

Posted on November 7, 2021 by Jennie

It’s the last hurrah.  Fall is hanging on to its beautiful colors like a child playing in piles of leaves, or carefully making a bouquet of bright colored leaves.  That’s what children do when they are struck by wonder.  And, fall is wonder.


This tree shades the sandbox.


There’s something about wind
making red leaves rustle…
Children stop.
They listen.
They look.
They smile.
I do, too.


Up close the colors explode
when hit by sunlight.

It seems the leaves are every color,
as if they are a community of one.
This is color blind in a true sense.
“We are here!”, they say in a powerful way.

The sky looks blue, very blue.  At day’s end
pink appears in the blue sky.


Perhaps it is a warm smile at the trees
and fall colors.
Perhaps it is a thank you.
That’s what children think,
and so do I.


Day’s end is a final burst of color,
much like fall’s colors.
One last hurrah.

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Imagination, Inspiration, Mother Nature, Nature, preschool, Teaching young children, wonder | Tagged , , , , , | 115 Comments

Gloria Trick-Or-Treating Through the Years

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Jennie

After Halloween and trick-or-treat, children need to reminisce.  Of course they do!  They write picture stories about their adventures on Halloween night.  We talk about costumes and candy.  Remembering the good times is important.

When a child talked about being Minnie Mouse for Halloween, I remembered that was Gloria’s first ever Halloween, going trick-or-treating in 2010.  She was dressed as Minnie Mouse!

We pulled out Gloria’s journals and found the photo.

Children were pressed against me.  Everyone wanted to see.

“She really is Minnie Mouse.”

“She’s riding a bike, too.”

I said, “Gloria has had other Halloween adventures.  She has been trick-or-treating many times.  Let’s find her pictures.”  We went through her journals; she has been trick-or-treating seven times.  Seven!


Gloria is a dragon.  Can’t you tell how happy she is?
Both girls were in my class.  The are now in high school.
Mom tells me she remembers this like it was yesterday.
I do, too.


Lizzie had the best time with Gloria.
What a big smile!


Gloria is a giant pink bunny!
For those of you who remember my reading aloud
to the boy with the head injury,
this is his big sister.
The photo is 2014.


Gloria is Nemo.
Look at those smiles!

Gloria is a cow.  Just look at that happy face!
Both Captain America and the ladybug were in my class.


In Gloria’s journal the child writes,
“She got nervous about all the costumes.
She didn’t want to dress up.
She was super brave in the dark.
She loved me and my Robin costume.”

Gloria has a way with children.  She has always been the best friend, ever.  She shines on Halloween.  Well, she shines all the time.  Gloria, you have been the best through the years.  Here’s to many more years to come.

Jennie

Posted in Diversity, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Gloria, Halloween, Inspiration, preschool, Teaching young children, Writing | Tagged , , , | 66 Comments