Now I can fly...

A comment on the REGGIO-L list led me to think about providing opportunities for children who have struggled with many challenges in life reminded me of a video I watched recently & I thought others may appreciate it. It can be found at this site, under the title "Now I Can Fly". http://achildshopefoundation.org/multimedia_videos.html

KWL Charts

A KWL chart is a great way to start out with a project--but what, exactly, is a KWL chart?

K= What you know already W = What you want to know L = What you learned A few examples from our snails & crabs project... K= What we observed & found out prior to intentionally researching. Snails are slimy. Both snails and crabs have shells. Snails eat plants in the garden & ruin them. W= How do crabs grow new skin (molt) What happens when a crab breaks its leg (from a very concerned child, who had just dropped a block on the crab and yes, broke his leg) Why do snails grow shells and crabs find them (after reading a book about this topic) Where do you find crabs? Can they swim? L = We haven't intentionally reviewed what we have learned yet, but so far we've discovered that snails die if you smash their shells in, that you can find "crab doctors" (reptiles & small animal experts) at the pet store--but they can not repair broken legs, some crabs live on the beach in California, and you can eat snails (but NOT our class snails) and some kinds of crabs (mixed responses on whether or not they are "yucky"). Some things are difficult to UNTEACH, unfortunately. After showing a video clip of two fiddler crabs fighting on the beach that was narrated by an annoying guy from the National Geographic films for children, I am still trying to convince Joshua that crabs do NOT talk. He watched the clip at least a dozen times before I finally took it back to the library (2 weeks overdue). We had a lesson on real & make believe this week, but I still don't think he gets it.

Burn out...

It happens, apparently, even to the best of us. This is the first time I've run two sessions of preschool. I was expecting it to be twice as much work, somehow it seems like it's at least three times as much. Not sure how that happens. Frankly, right now I'm pretty much only doing the state standards (while I usually do incorporate standards-based activities in our center time & occasionally in small group, they have never been the basis of my curriculum up until now) & this last week I've fallen back on pulling out my pre-planned units just because I don't have the energy to keep our projects & investigations going. There is little to no authentic documentation going on, dialog with the children is lacking, and parent communication is limited to problem solving parent notes. This is NOT the direction I want to see my program going. Our project topics were leading into studying snails & crabs. In the last few days the kids have killed most of the snails, broken the leg of one of the crabs, and another is wandering around our classroom lost (hopefully still alive). I'm seriously reconsidering studying living animals, for fear of being charged with animal cruelty. Of course, the kids do still have plenty of self-directed time (more than usual, actually, since I don't have a lot of energy to do teacher directed stuff) & I am at least following their interests in some areas (bringing out materials they request, setting up the environment to allow for activities they are interested in, etc.) I actually do still believe they are getting a more developmentally appropriate environment on my bad days than they do on the good days for most teachers in the area. They are still getting quality care. But I want to get back into engaging with the kids, building a community, encouraging the use of the hundred languages, and nurturing that love of learning!!!

Checklists as Assessment vs. Accountability

I have chosen to incorporate state standards into my program. I was initially quite concerned when they announced they were coming out with pre-kindergarten "guidelines", but viewing them I was very pleased with how developmentally appropriate they are. Using the state standards I developed a four month "cycle" in which I intentionally "teach" each standard--checking it off on my master list when it has been covered. After my first year I discovered we were hitting almost every standard via project work, those few we were not I can toss into learning centers in a variety of ways. There is *no* pressure on the children to "live up to" the standards, no "drill and kill", I do occasionally do a "structured" evaluation (at the beginning & end of the year, though it is not mandatory if they choose not to do it) but for the most part can integrate that as well (asking them to name shapes when playing with the blocks, etc). I have created a developmental checklist for each child, as some of you may recall I debated whether or not I was going to use it this year. After serious consideration, I decided to continue using it. For me, the checklists are not about identifying children's deficits, it is about charting progress and identifying strengths. While the checklists may, in part, guide my teaching for the class, when it comes to an individual child my only focus is teaching these "standards" in a way that is ENGAGING and FUN for the kids. My motto--if they are not having fun, they are not learning, period. This method, for me, provides easy accountability & documentation that the children ARE being prepared for kindergarten, with low stress for the children. It does take some time, but not more than a few hours a month. I spend about 15 minutes a class period observing the children & marking the standards I am focusing on, the rest of the time I am focused on the kids & not the standards. At the end of the month it takes me about 10 minutes per child to move the information from my class list to the individual child's checklist. Is it "Reggio Inspired"? Nope. But, for me, it is a way of demonstrating that the children are learning as much, if not more, than children in "typical" programs. Of course, the checklists are not my sole form of assessment, and are by far not the most important. The learning stories give a much more complete view of the learning process, while anecdotal notes & work samples give a "snap shot". The checklists are included in the portfolio, but not the basis of the portfolio.