Quote of the Day

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” Chinese Proverb

This quote brings to mind the many years I spent sitting in a grade-school classroom reading a book under my desk while the teacher prattled on about some topic or another I had no interest in and no emotional connection to. I don't remember any of those lectures, though I do remember getting in trouble for reading--go figure, especially when I was *gasp* reading ahead in a book we were reading as a class, which apparently is a horrible thing indeed (after all, then we might actually meet the learning goals ahead of time & what would the teacher do with us then???).

What I remember....

Preschool, playing Lincoln Logs with my friend named Lincoln, sipping yogurt through a straw, climbing too high on the jungle gym and screaming until the teacher got me down, and balancing on the cement around the playground (which was against the rules). What I don't remember, aside from the fact that I saw it on a recent home video clip, is the song about the thirteen original colonies of the United States.

Kindergarten, playing in the blocks center & the dramatic play center, climbing too high on the jungle gym and screaming (this seems to be an ongoing trend), hatching chickens from eggs--something I'm trying to figure out how I could manage with my current class group.

During the school age years I don't remember much of the "core" curriculum, but I do remember a pajama party in my second grade class (is it coincidence my kids have repeatedly asked for a second PJ party this year???), doing project-based learning in third grade (with teachers far ahead of their times) and "classroom stores" selling otter pops on the playground. Third grade is perhaps my most memorable year (and not only because I got contacts that year, extremely traumatizing--the class once got extended recess because I was in the room trying to get them in and I didn't get any recess at all). I remember the fourth grade play, which I hated because I was sick the day of auditions & made my parents take me to school with strep throat, but I could hardly talk so I still got a non-speaking part with an individual who hated me & almost didn't show the day of the play. Fifth grade was pure misery as by that point we'd done away with hands-on learning for the most part in favor of drill & kill approaches, I remember very little aside from hating math. Sixth grade I spent most of the time hiding in the library during recess, and occasionally when I cut class--for some reason my teacher, though he knew about this, didn't argue often. Probably because he inherently knew I was learning a heck of a lot more digging into books than I would sitting in the classroom. I'll never forget the amazing school librarian who took me under her wing, pushed me to expand my horizons into reading non-fiction, and gave me "jobs" that made me feel competent and useful during a time I felt very much like I didn't "fit in" socially.

My kids probably aren't going to remember the reading lessons, the math workshops, and the songs I teach them in an attempt to "educate" them on basic concepts such as colors or shapes--doesn't mean I won't do them, but I'm not going to depend on them! I hope they remember digging in the garden for worms, walking through the "forest" looking for wolves, making chocolate milk (on the carpet), and taking bubble baths in the sensory bin. I wonder what they'll be blogging about in twenty years?

Community Learning Center

Dear parents, teachers, and caregivers:

I am writing in hopes of finding a way to provide quality education to children in the Utah County area, one that views the child as a competent learner, parents as partners, and learning as an engaging hands-on experience. Over the last year and a half I have tried to implement such a program single handedly, and found it impossible to do so. It simply is too much for one person to do, and the cost of implementing a program is prohibitive for an individual such as myself who is a recent college graduate with no other source of income. I'm not looking to make a lot, but it's nice to be able to actually afford food every once and awhile!

My ultimate view is a community learning center where parents, children, teachers, and other community members can join together and cooperatively engage in learning and progressing. I picture a program where intergenerational support acts as a base for partnering in education, where the lines are blurred between teacher and student, where children and adults of all abilities are integrated in a supportive environment, and where individuals arrive each day refreshed and eager to learn and to teach. While I, personally, am drawn to programs which are completely child-directed and naturalistic, I don't want to narrow the focus of the program to one curriculum approach--rather I want to gather the best aspects of each approach and bring them together in an eclectic means which enables each child to learn in the way that best meets their individual learning style.

There are so many individuals in the area who recognize the weakness of our current educational system. We've seen an increase in charter schools, but the availability of these programs is extremely limited & private schools are cost prohibitive. I long for a program where it is possible for anyone who is willing to commit to education to join the community, regardless of social or economical status. I know there are individuals out there who share the drive to create a quality a educational program for their own children and those in the community, I'm desperately searching for the means to bring these individuals together.

If you would be interested in joining me on this journey, please contact me. I am seeking any individual with a drive to learn, and to teach. I am also seeking individuals who may be able to help with more "practical" matters such as locating and preparing a facility, organizing a board of directors, assisting with bookkeeping, and finding and utilizing available resources in the community.

Sincerely,
Heather Rindlisbacher
Nurturing a love of learning...

Phone (801) 636-5627
E-mail happythoughtslearningcenter@yahoo.com
Blog: http://happythoughtslc.blogspot.com/

The wonders of children's thinking

In the last few weeks of job interviews I've often used the line "My work with children is highly influenced by the work of early childhood educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy", but it usually leads to blanks stares or the response "Reggio what???".  It is easy to print out Wikepedia articles about the approach, and if you'd like to reference the article it is actually fairly accurate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach

However, for me "Reggio Inspiration" is a lot more than an "educational philosophy".  It is an idea that has greatly challenged my thinking of who children are, not just how they learn.  "Reggio" educators view the child as a competent learner,  not "mini adults" (as I sometimes feel Montessori did) and not individuals who can be given complete control of their education (as Sudbury Valley does), but it kind of acts as a middle ground.   In my view of the "Reggio approach" teacher acts as a co-learner, not a director, constantly engaging in a dance of sorts.  You meet the children at their level, seek to understand their thought processes, challenge your way of thinking, plan and review (not quite High/Scope, though I do draw some of that in), challenge your thinking, challenge your thinking some more, meet with the children and challenge their thinking,  link the children with resources and see where they go, then challenge your thinking some more.  

In other words, you challenge your thinking a lot.  

This is an aspect of education I see lacking in many philosophies.   Too often I see teachers going into a "learning moment" with a well thought out (or not so well thought out) plan of how things are going to go.  When the children don't respond there's something wrong with them.  After all, the idea sounds great to the teacher, highly engaging, and presumably teaches some vital skill--so why wouldn't the kids be interested?   The "problem" is kids have minds of their own.   And far too often we, as adults, fail to respect this--viewing this fact as a challenge to overcome, not a marvelous and amazing opportunity for personal growth and rich emotional connections.   Granted, this is often easier said than done.  

The other day I was climbing the stairs at the university, basically oblivious to anything below eye level like most adults, and nearly tripped over a boy, six or seven years of age.  I admit, like most adults I was initially annoyed--what on earth was a child doing sitting in the middle of a busy stairwell?  I stood back & watched as the child stood staring in amazement at a "rainbow", a patch of color on a random stairwell that nobody but this little one had paid any attention.   When I came back a couple hours later the boy was gone, and so was the rainbow, but the sense of wonder remained.  I never did figure out how that rainbow made it into the stairway, for there was no obvious reflective agent  I could identify.  Maybe a child's mind is right on--rainbows may not simply be an effect of light, but a little piece of magic.

We all need a little more magic in our lives.  

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.