Changing how I teach the ABCs

When I first switched to kindergarten 5 years ago I remember spending HOURS (literally, hours!) every week preparing letter activities.  I remember searching for clip art, tracing and cutting out paper for the corresponding letter craft each week.  I remember photocopying the letter search sheets and letter colouring pages.  HOURS upon HOURS of preparation.  Anyone with me on that one??? (please say yes, so I know I wasn't alone)

As I began my learning journey into the Reggio approach to Early learning, I began to rethink how I taught my students letters and sounds.  I began to understand that students learn best when it is meaningful to them.  Authentic learning.  This really resonated with me, and I believed it to be true.  But I still had this big question weighing on my mind..."HOW does it happen?"  I remembering worrying "What if my students don't care about learning their letters or sounds?  What if they don't respond to the provocations and encouragement we offer?".  I had so many "what if..?" situations running through my mind.  Is that a teacher thing???  Do we all do that, or is that just a special gifting of mine?? LOL.

Anyhow, as my ECE teaching partner and I were setting up the classroom this past August we began to chat about how we wanted to teach letters and sounds.  Since it was our first time working together I didn't know what her thoughts were about this, and I wasn't sure that she'd be too thrilled when I suggested we do away with the traditional methods of teaching letters.  But, since she is seriously just about the most easy-going person on the planet (so thankful she is willing to join me on these crazy adventures) we decided to give it a go and jump in with both feet.  I'm not going to lie, we did sort of make a back up plan that if by mid-October we didn't see results we were going to bail LOL.  But I really believed in my heart that this approach was built on solid research and it just "made sense" to me.

So, on the first day of school we set out our first literacy provocation. We knew what we hoped the students would do, but had no idea if that would play out.  We put out a basket of big sticks, a basket of small sticks and a set of alphabet cards.  Plopped them right in the middle of our carpet.  Said nothing.  And waited...

within 5 minutes 3 kids were checking it out...

within 10 minutes we had 3 letters built out of sticks...

So, what did we do?....looked at each other with a smile (a probably a sigh of relief), and maximized the learning opportunity.  We walked over and asked the students playing there what was going on.  They explained that they were building letters.  Interesting to note, most of them couldn't tell us the name of the letter, but they knew it was a letter.  We asked them if they would leave them built on the rug at tidy up time so that we could share their wonderful idea with the class.  They beamed with pride :)

At the end of that play block we gathered the class on the carpet and shared what had been going on.  Students were shouting out the names of the letters they had built, and we sang songs about the sounds each made.  The kids who had those letters in their names were shouting out, it was wonderful, loud and exciting.  We then challenged the class to help us think of a way to attach the sticks together so that we could keep these "amazing" creations.  Some suggested glue (which was not out for the students yet), others said string, and then finally someone said play doh.  Since we had a play doh center out, we decided that this was the best choice.  We asked the kids if they thought having a separate container of play doh with the sticks would help, and they said yes.

Next play block...more letters.  We repeated the praise in front of the whole class, stopping kids at the centers to admire the newest letters made.  By the end of the first day we had about 6 letters made.  We told the kids that we would try to fasten them together so that we could hang them on the wall for everyone to see.  That night after school we used duct tape and twine to "permanently" secure the sticks together and taped them to the wall.  The other key thing we did was remove the letters already made from the basket.  That way the only letters remaining were the ones we needed for the wall.  After a few days the kids themselves began to note that we had almost made the whole alphabet.  They became motivated themselves to finish and make all 26 letters (which we counted, did subtraction and kept a running tally to see how many we had left to make each day).

It was no surprise to us that all of the letters with straight lines went first (A, E, I, T, W, etc.)  By the end of the week it was only a few students who were highly motivated and really enjoyed this challenge who tackled the letters S, Q, B, C and so on.  But they did it!  And man were they proud of themselves.

We had so many rich discussions with students about the shapes of letters, which letters were almost the same looking, which letters were easy to make and why some were really hard.  All of this in the first week of school...we were shocked.

The final product??....check it out!  This is probably the first thing everyone comments on when they come in the room - well that, and the lighting, but that's another post for another day ;)

Talk again soon,
Carly

Why take learning outside??

Today was one of my favourite days this year!  We were on an outdoor field trip and it POURED! I know, sounds like torture with 29 kiddos...soaking wet shoes and socks, drenched clothing...not to mention the awesome stage of semi-dry, sticky hot, muggy-ness (not a real word) when we got back to school.  None the less, I loved it!  And so did the kids.  Almost all of them said that getting wet in the rain was their favourite part of trip. LOL.  Love that!  I always say that it's us adults that have the hardest time with change and unexpected twists, kids just roll with the punches (so to speak).  So we had 29 soaking wet, happy kids when we got back to school :)

This is my favourite photo from the day.  Perhaps even my favourite photo from the whole year.  The student is so focused and engaged.  I am sure we could have spent a loooong time chatting about what he was looking at, what he was wondering, and what his thoughts were.  He was fascinated with using the binoculars, and with theBald Eagle babies he could see up in the nest (who can blame him!)

I have been hearing a lot about Nature Deficit Disorder and have wanted to do more reading about it.  I have had the Book "Last Child In The Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv on my reading list for a year now, but I haven't ordered it.  I have so many books on my list, my night stand is literally overflowing.  I am not sure where I stand on this issue, or whether I agree with everything Richard Louv has to say, but I am very intrigued by this idea and do think it is worth investigating and considering as an Early Childhood Educator.  I know that I believe children spend far too much time indoors, plugged in to electronic devices and playing with toys that prescribe their play for them, virtually eliminating the need for creative thinking (but that's a rant for another post).

If you are interested in reading more about Nature Deficit Disorder check it out here... 
(click here for link to Indigo.ca)

Back to our trip....
There is so much potential for learning outdoors, and the behaviours seem so manageable because the kids are engaged.  They are ready to learn and to explore, the trick is how to infuse the curriculum into these teachable moments.  This is an area that intimidates me...I think I need to jump in with both feet and give it a go.  I think if I stop to reflect and document our learning after each time outside I would quickly realize how much curriculum we are covering.  That was so often the case this year as we stepped into an inquiry based, emergent curriculum this year.  As I was walking around with my group today I kept thinking how much documenting and note taking I wanted to do so that I would remember all of the things the kids said, or asked, or discovered.  I knew I would never remember it all.

We are so fortunate in our area to have an outdoor facility that provides opportunity for outdoor education.  It isn't a huge facility, rather it is a chunk of land donated by a family and now being transformed into an amazing education center.  It has one full time qualified teacher, and many amazing volunteers (a lot retired teachers, or current teachers not employed full time).  They are just in the beginning stages of creating programming for classes, and we have been fortunate enough to be an unofficial pilot class for them as we were the first ones to ask to come back several times in a year (particularly once a season) to see growth, change and the many different learning opportunities this space provides.  I mentioned to them today about my dream of having "Forest Fridays" where my class would go every Friday for an hour or two and do all sorts of activities, some run by them, some run by our ECE teacher and myself.  Could you imagine?  Heaven :)

Here are some of the learning moments form today:

ZY was so proud that he used the legend to decipher what larvae he had captured from the river, and then used the insect book to discover what the bug would look like fully grown.  So much literacy and science going on here:)

Yep...that's me with the waders on.  I think it's a good look eh?  Not a bad day's work, trekking through the river digging up rocks and catching all sorts of critters.

Our learning tools today :)

Sifters, magnifying glasses, buckets, and identification books :)  All you need to explore the river.

One of our awesome Moms helping dig up the river rocks for critters.  I was joking with the Moms that it was hard to tell who was having more the fun, the parents or the kids LOL

Our guest teacher was showing the students a butterfly that had died, and then led a discussion about the similarities and differences between many butterflies.  

Another awesome learning moment.  On our Bird walk we went to see the Bald Eagle's nest that makes her home in the same spot each year.  Many of our SK students remembered last year when we visited.  Some students got to see the Momma Eagle fly overhead last year.  This year, both babies were popping their heads right out of the nest to say hello.  Students used their binoculars to get a good close look at them.  It was awesome!  If you look at the top of the photos, right in the center and down just a smidge you will see the nest in the tree.

Our guest teacher had a cool app on her phone that made the calling sound of each of the birds we were looking at.  I would definitely recommend getting this app!  I will try to get the name of it, and put it on this post in the next few days.

We found a lot of trees covered in Woodpecker holes.  Here a student is trying to see if she can hear the Woodpecker inside the tree.

I was doing some searching online for ideas of how to "do" learning outside (if that makes any sense).  I am a practical person by nature and wanted a "how to" manual to get me started.  I don't need a list of activities or lessons to copy, but I do want something to spark my ideas and some guidelines to help me know where to begin.  I came across this blog click here that seems to be loaded with great ideas.  I was particularly drawn to the review of the book titled "Dirt Teaching:A beginner's Guide To Learning Outdoors" By Juliet Robertson.  Looks awesome.  If anyone has read it I would love to hear your thoughts.  Should I add it to that enormous pile on my nightstand I was telling you about?

LOVE THIS :)

Our New Play Space - part 1

Holy doodles!!!  What an undertaking!  As part of our transformation into FDK we relocated our Kindergarten yard to accommodate the number of children who would being playing here.  We had big dreams about the possibilities this space provided.  To say that the current yard is...umm, shall we say, bare??  Would be giving it to much glory LOL.  Take a look....not much going on...

Over the past months (let's be honest, it has taken a whole year to get to this point) we have been planning, meeting with Board Plant Department people, re-planning, meeting with Parent Council, re-planning,  looking for donations, running fundraisers, and so on all with the dream of creating an Outdoor Learning Space that will match the awesome-ness...that's a word right??...of our students.

We want a space that will inspire creativity.  One that will allow kids to grow and learn in ways not possible inside the classroom.  To encourage risk-assessment when they play (how high should I jump, will I fall off, can I balance on this).  We also want to add as much natural elements as possible, and instill a sense of care and responsibility towards the environment.

After what feels like forever (slight over-dramatization), the time has finally come!  We start construction this weekend (insert stadium cheering here).  Check back in next week for updates.

Here are a couple photos that inspired our planning:

(If I could not find the source of these photos, and you know where they are from please let me know so that I can give them credit)


Since we have a lot of pavement area that we cannot dig up, we have decided to put game stencils down.  We are planning to freehand several hopscotch and four square games, but purchased these 2 stencils.  I will review them for you after we have used them to let you know how intensive the process was.

both stencil from Fast Line Striping and Systems Systems
 http://fastlinestencils.com/stencils/clicklink.php?toprank=2&top10name=ALPHABET%20TREE%20OF%20KNOWLEDGE


Our overall "feel" for the space will hopefully look something like these photos:

We really like the idea of a stage area for dramatic play.  Love the mirror as a backdrop.
We are also planning large rocks as stadium seating for the audience (super cute!).

The natural obstacle course will be the biggest section of our yard.  So excited to see the kiddos enjoying this space...and me too.  I foresee me crawling on my hands and knees a few times with the kids :)
http://www.handmade4u.co.uk/PARK.htm

We tried to install a music wall earlier in the year.  Between the weather and the abuse, I mean active play, our students showed it, it didn't last long.  We are hoping to rebuild this area but plan on waiting until the next school year begins.
http://pre-schoolplay.blogspot.ca/2011/05/music-wall.html

I am SO THRILLED that we have been able to purchase these bongo drums for our yard.  I think our students will be wild with excitement.  I have no idea when they are arriving...but I could squeal with happiness that our kids get to experience this musical fun!  Check outwww.naturalplaygrounds.ca for more products they sell.  It is pretty pricey, but I am anticipating wee worth the cost.

Run, jump, balance, climb...what more could you ask for :)

Love the idea for a natural climber, as opposed to a metal one.  We haven't secured one of these babies...but we are still holding on to the dream LOL

SO thankful to some families in our school who will be donating the lumber to border our sandbox and obstacle course!

So that's it!  Cross your fingers that tomorrow goes well.  I know we won't get it all done, but let's hope we can see a real transformation begin.  I am SO ready for this yard to become a reality!!
Talk again soon,Carly

The start of something good

Well, here it goes!  I have been wanting to start a blog for almost a year now, but never had the courage.  I was always thinking "But what do I have to offer?  What can I add to the conversations out there in the blog universe?"  That little voice would say "you'll make typing eorrors errors (sorry couldn't resist), some one will leave you a mean comment and make you cry (LOL), or no one will read it."  But I've decided to put myself out there...literally...out into the great blogsphere....yikes!

After chatting with a dear friend this past weekend (who recently started her own blog - check it out at www.lovetolearninkindergarten.blogspot.ca) I decided to take the plunge.  My goal is simple: to share my journey with anyone who wants to share it with me.  Whether it be fellow teachers, parents of students, daycare providers or others.

I am realizing more and more that my passion is not only teaching and helping children, but also teaching and learning with other educators.  I use the term "educators" for parents, homeschooling families, daycare workers, professors, and people with many other jobs and positions.  We all have such important roles to play in lives of the young people around us.  I have valued so greatly the blogs that have helped me over the past year transform my classroom in both the physical and pedagogical senses.  To say that it has been an amazing year would be an understatement!  It has been full of exploring, reflecting, self-doubting, encouraging and exhaustion!!  It has truly stretched me and challenged me as a teacher and mom.

Over this past school year our class has been very fortunate to have several visitors from around our board come to visit.  They always have such great questions that cause us to reflect on our practice.  Perhaps the most common question I have received is "Where do you start?".  I remember this feeling well.  The feeling of excitement about making a change you believe will be better for your students; the anxiety of "doing it right"; and the pressure of meeting ever-growing expectations of our
Kindergarten learners.



So the question is, was it worth it?

Well, 9 months and 2 days (not exactly sure how many days, but being exact sounds so much better, doesn't it?) later my answer is YES!  My approach to teaching and who I am as a person has been profoundly changed by the learning I have experienced over this past year.

My hope is that you will find some inspiration to help you on your journey, from wherever you may be starting.

Talk again soon :)
Carly