Truth in Play

I am a big advocate for play. I think it crucial to the way children develop socially, emotionally, and cognitively. It allows children to express what they may not be able to during direct one-on-one conversation, and provides teachers/parents/child specialists a chance to glimpse the world of a child, as evidenced by a particular conversation in my classroom.

During Free Centers, it is not uncommon for my students to involve me in their imaginative play. One of my boys, who I have mentally nicknamed Warrior, decided he wanted to be a bad robot.

"Ms.S, I'm going to kill you."

"Really, why?"

"Because I am a bad robot."

"Why are you a bad robot? Why not be a good robot?"

"I don't know. I'm just bad. Maybe I came from a bad factory."

Now, many people would have flipped out after hearing his initial statement, given the current climate from recent events. But I know how little boys play, and more importantly, I know this kid, so I didn't take it as a threat, but a compliment. He felt comfortable enough with me to include me in his play, to invite me into his world, which for this little boy is a big deal. But this conversation did confirm that there is much turmoil under his clam, quiet everyday demeanor. My heart aches for him, and all I can do is continue to love him and pray that he comes to understand that he is not a bad robot, no matter what the other voices in his life say.

Fantastic Friday!

What a great day to start Spring Break!

We had our EHES Olympic Closing Ceremony during Harmony on Friday. It was fun to see all the kids dressed in their grade levels/countries colors, wearing the hats of their country, and waving all the different flags. My little Olympians loved chanting/screaming "U.S.A!" as loud as they possibly could, and cheering when the medal winners were announced. Our class won a silver medal in Music, one of the two medals Team USA/kindergarten won. There are no words to describe the look of pride on ALL of kindergarten when Molly, our representative, went up on the medal stand.

After Harmony, we had just enough time for our morning drink & restroom break and morning recess before lunch. Pizza day and a silver medal; my sprouts were on cloud nine.

Afterward, we finished Dr.Seuss week out with reading The Foot Book. I then announced we were going to play rhyming bingo to help us with our rhyming skills. I was rewarded with "Thank you Ms. S! " "You're my very best teacher." and lots of I love you's. (I'm pretty sure this was more because of the prizes, than actually playing the game, but whatever motivates them to play!).

Playing Bingo in my class is loud, hilarious, and LOUD. I'm sure if someone would have walked in, they would have thought it was utter chaos. However, I love that we are loud; to me it says we are actively engaged in, and excited about learning. Each word I called out would be rhymed by everyone in unison, whether it was on their bingo card or not. We played three rounds (my usual limit), and had three winners. I only had one crier, which I consider a success.

Free centers were after bingo, which is also a pretty loud activity. My kids imaginations were on fire; I was served several delicious meals, visited by a team of doctors who cured me of "dying", and even rescued from a killer robot.

We ended our day with activity (art), snack, recess, and of course the Treasure Box. We did our goodbye song, and my kids were off to a week of quality time with their families. It was a long, loud, eventful day; the perfect end to Dr.Seuss week, and a great start to Spring Break!

Kinder Conference

I love Kindergarten conference! The sights, the sounds, the shopping!

Joking aside, I DO enjoy going to professional development (although, I wish they wouldn't have them at the beginning of the week!). I am always on the lookout for more effective ways to teach my kids, to help my little ones reach their full potential. My goals this year were to learn more about integrating writing, finding out more about the role of play in the classroom, and finding a center system that works for my class. All three goals were met to some degree; my least fulfilled one was the one about play. The presenter in the RTI workshop I was in referenced an article about play in the classroom (here it is). It seemed that the majority, if not everyone, agreed with the thesis of the report. But we all have standards to meet, tests to pass, and administrators and legislators to appease, leaving most early childhood educators in a very difficult position.

I would love to know more on this topic, and perhaps how other educators integrate play into their classrooms. For now, my Fun Fridays will suffice.

BTW if you have not checked out Jack Hartmann and his great songs for learning, you really should!

http://www.jackhartmann.com/