Smorgasbord Afternoon Video – There are still good people and good moments to be enjoyed

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Jennie

Yes, there are good people, and they make all the difference in the world. Thank you for this wonderful post and video, Sally. Enjoy!

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My Favorite Christmas Ad 0f All Time!

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Jennie

The Spirit of Christmas
That’s what it’s really about.
This is the year we need to keep that spirit alive.
This is the year we need to find happiness.
If we are happy, it is contagious.
I bring you my favorite ad, as this is the one to, well…
fill me with twinkle lights that shoot out of my fingers and toes.
Yes, this is the one.

May you find happiness and joy this season.
It’s the little things, not the big things, that are important.
Dance, smile, hug your kids, look at the sky.
You will become the shooting star for others.

Jennie

Posted in Expressing words and feelings, Family, Giving, Inspiration, joy, Kindness, Love, music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 75 Comments

Giving Thanks – Miles and “The Wild Robot”

Posted on November 25, 2020 by Jennie

Today I finished reading aloud to Miles, “The Wild Robot.”  I was a bit choked up.  Miles and his sister Claire (also a former student) were too.  This was the best Thanksgiving, real giving that truly matters.

For bloggers who don’t know Miles, he was my preschool student last year.  Over the summer he had a serious brain injury, had emergency surgery in Boston… what could I do to help?  He needed to rest his brain, so I started reading to him, every week.  It was wonderful.  Miles could rest and become ‘lost’ in a terrific adventure story.

Our reading together continued every week, even after his healing was going strong.  We had to finish the book!  More importantly, we had established a ‘tradition’, a weekly routine.  Tuesday afternoons were special, from September through November.

And sadly, today was the last day.  The children gave me a book, and most importantly, words – messages of thanks, priceless words.  Aren’t words true treasures?  They stick with you forever.  Words from a book, and words from a child are the greatest gift of all.


Thank you, Miles.  I was sad when it was done, too.


Thank you, Claire.  I love your little book!

“Once upon a time, there was a very special girl named Jennie.  She was a great reader and came over once a week to read to the family.”

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with giving and reflecting on what is important.  The little things are really the big things.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Jennie

Posted in chapter reading, children's books, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Inspiration, reading aloud, reading aloud, Thanksgiving | Tagged , , , , , , | 78 Comments

Today’s Quote

Posted on November 23, 2020 by Jennie

This quotation is ‘just what the doctor ordered’, what we all need right now. There is nothing better than belly laughing with a child at school, or with a best friend. I love Victor Hugo’s words.

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Reading Aloud “Ox-Cart Man”

Posted on November 22, 2020 by Jennie

At the request of fellow bloggers, here is a video of me reading aloud the classic children’s picture book, “Ox-Cart Man.”

But first, I wanted to show you a mural the children made last year that hangs as a permanent display at school.  It depicts the start of his ten-day journey to Portsmouth.  This art was made with paint and tissue paper.  The making of the mural was a joy for children.  That speaks volumes for the book “Ox-Cart Man.”

I hope you enjoyed the story as much as the children did, and as much as I did.  Good books are meant to be read over and over again.

Jennie

Posted in America, art, books, children's books, Early Education, geography, history, Inspiration, Nature, Particia MacLachlan, picture books, reading aloud, reading aloud, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , | 69 Comments

November – “Ox-Cart Man”

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Jennie

As I drove home tonight and looked at the sky, I immediately knew it was an “Ox-Cart Man” sky, the one in November where he finally arrived back home.  Do you know “Ox-Cart Man” by Donald Hall?

It is one of the first really good books I discovered when I started teaching.  It tells the story of a New England farmer and his family, over the course of a year.  Children learn about the work on a farm in each season, from spring to the following spring.  They pick apples and geese feathers, boil the sap from maple trees to make maple syrup, knit mittens from the wool of sheep, make shingles and candles, and more.  There is much that happens in order for the ox-cart man to make his journey to Portsmouth.

He begins in October

It takes him ten days to walk.  Ten days!  He is in Portsmouth Market to sell what he grew, made, and raised over the year, including selling his ox and the cart.  Kissing his ox goodbye is a favorite for children.

He returns in November

This is my favorite part of the book, as children see the vast difference between October and November.  I flip back and forth between the illustrations.  We spend time to talk about the journey and what he sold.  We reflect on what he made and grew.  It was hard work.

And what did he get in return?  A broom for his wife, a knife for his son, and a needle for his daughter.  Oh, peppermint candy, too.

The illustrations are simple and perfect.  The text flows, holding the reader to the story – the entire year on the farm.  I did not know that “Ox-Cart Man” is actually a poem.  I learned that when I read “The Poet’s Dog” by Patricia MacLachlan.

I read this story every year to children, in November.  It is one book that never looses its appeal, never gets forgotten regardless of the many new books that have since been published.  Yes, it is a classic.  I will be reading the book tomorrow at school.

Jennie

Posted in Book Review, children's books, Early Education, history, Particia MacLachlan, picture books, Poetry, reading aloud, reading aloud, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , | 75 Comments

StoryWalk – An Eric Carle Book

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Jennie

A StoryWalk is a book, told with a series of signs, planted outdoors along a walk, that take you through each page of a book.  You follow along, walking from one ‘page’ of a story to the next.  It is a walk, and it is reading.

What if a StoryWalk included more than reading the story?  For preschoolers, adding movement and all sorts of challenges to each ‘page’ makes it even more exciting.  The perfect book, of course, is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Bill Martin Jr and illustrated by Eric Carle.

This classic and beloved book is our new StoryWalk at school.  Children love it!  After our walk, back in the classroom, Connor blurted out, “I love doing the blue horse.”  This ignited a flurry of excited children telling everyone their favorite page.


“Lumber like a brown bear on your hands and feet.”

And the pages continue:


“Lift your red wings and flap.  Fly to number 3.”


“Waddle and quack like a duck, at the same time.”


“Gallop in a circle.”
No wonder this was so popular.  And there were more favorites:


“Arch your back and stretch like a cat.”


“How many goldfish fins can you count?”


“Clap for your friends.”

Books and reading are fundamental to learning, and to stirring the imagination.  When children can do the book, the interest is even greater.  This is akin to acting out a story with a play performance, but with calculated movements that are important to gross motor development.  Children have fun – they’re inspired by the story, challenged to move, count, and even breathe.  “Take a sheep breath. Deep breath in, baaaa breath out.”

Thank you, Bill Martin Jr AND Eric Carle, for giving children a wonderful book with so many opportunities.

Jennie

Posted in Book Review, books, children's books, Early Education, Eric Carle, Imagination, Inspiration, Nature, picture books, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , , , | 60 Comments

Preschoolers Thank Veterans

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Jennie

At school this week children made a giant thank you note and American flag for our local veterans.  Saying thank you is important, but this goes deeper.  Veterans and Veterans Day help me to teach children about core values; honesty, integrity, and service over self.

What is a veteran?  What did they do?  That was our start.  Next, we learned about the American flag, especially counting the stripes and stars.  I wonder how many children know that our American flag actually has a nickname.

Then we got to work.

Children decided what they wanted to say on the thank you note. I wrote their exact words, and they used markers to decorate the big note.

Cutting red strips of paper for the American flag was hard work.  Really hard work!  Children were proud of all they accomplished.

I had the privilege of delivering both of these to our local American Legion post, as they were preparing for their Veterans Day ceremony.  With Covid, the event was low key, so our delivery was a bright light.  As I read aloud the thank you note, I heard their sounds and words that told me this was a ‘big deal’.

They asked to take photos.  I asked, too.  And suddenly I heard, “Jennie!  Jennie!”  Eddie, a child in my class, saw me and rushed over.  There was the flurry of hugging Eddie (with masks) and questions “He is in your class?”  I stopped to show the American Legion officers the parts of the thank you note that Eddie had decorated.  The silence was grown men who were pretty choked up.

They wanted a photo of Eddie, too.  He is joined by his sister and a friend.

A thank you is sometimes the best gift of all.

Jennie

Posted in America, American flag, Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Giving thanks, Kindness, military, patriotism, Teaching young children | Tagged , , , , , | 63 Comments

Today’s Quote

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Jennie

Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale. ~ Hans Christian Andersen ~ ________________

Today’s Quote
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Music We Love – Our “Wake-Up Song”

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Jennie

Music is part of our school day, every day.  Thank goodness!  We have many favorite songs, from rhyming to silly, classics to new discoveries, patriotic, quiet and loud, and… well, I play all kinds of music for children.  They love the Beatles and Vivaldi and Frank Sinatra.  They love “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.”  They love the Supremes and Woody Guthrie.  They love music that identifies instruments.

What do children love every single day?  Our wake-up song, “Pata Pata”. We play this when rest time is over.  Oh my goodness!  Children love to dance, and see this YouTube video from the Ed Sullivan show.

Happiness flows.  Children want to gently wake up a friend who is sleeping.  Other children want to move and dance.  Everyone comes together.  It’s that kind of a song, and we play it every day.  Thank goodness for music.

Jennie

Posted in Early Education, Expressing words and feelings, Inspiration, joy, Love, music, preschool, Singing, The Arts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 54 Comments