But It's Cute!

I am writing this while sitting on my deck eating ice cream (hey...its 90!). I recently remembered a teacher who was very unhappy with me when I asked her to remove a 'cutesy' picture she had created from the wall of the her classroom. She needed the space to display more important items, such as the children's artwork. She was upset because the picture was so 'cute.' Well, sometimes cute stands in the way of functional. We just removed a tree/bush from our backyard (see photo). It was beautiful and added wonderful color, but it blocked the view of our waterfall and pond area from the deck. So we dug it up and put it in the front yard. We initially missed the color splash, but removing that lovely bush has let us enjoy the waterfall and pond area so much more. Not only that, but we have a complete view of the area when grandchildren are here (we still have three that are a worry around the water). It has also let us watch the daily march of the huge flock of quail that come to our yard to feed and bathe (they hatch eggs in the neighbor's unkept yard because they can hide and no one goes in the backyard...but we provide the restaurant and atmosphere). All these things we enjoy more because we moved the beautiful picture...bush. Sometimes adjustments are necessary to see the real beauty around.

A Happy Meeting

I just returned from speaking at the New York AEYC Conference in Brooklyn. What delightful people were there at the conference. I had the opportunity to meet Vera B. Williams, one of my favorite authors. We discussed my favorite book that she wrote, "Amber was Brave, Essie was Smart." It is probably one of the least known books my Ms. Williams, but it is my favorite. It is for older children (first grade +) than most of her books. Through prose, it tells the story of two sisters who care for each other while mom works and daddy is 'away.' I always ask my children's literature students to address the multicultural aspects of the book, using the text and the pictures. The book always reminds me of the vulnerability of children and how resilient they can be in difficult circumstances. It was a joy for me to meet Vera Williams, as she has given me many great memories as a teacher and as a grandparent.

The Roadmap

I appreciated all the comments from my last entry about teaching children not subjects. I do sympathize with the constant pressure for teachers to follow the standards, as I think they should. Our challenge is to organize learning experiences that meet the needs of the children and support each skill. I am a firm believer in looking at the core curriculum and creating a 'road map of skills' in the order that supports development and learning. It is like having a GPS system for the year. Each week when I did my lesson planning I looked at my road map to see which skills needed support. Then I chose activities that suited the group of children I had at the moment. In the early childhood years, you can adapt almost any activity to provide support for a certain skill. This kind of planning kept me on track with the core curriculum and it also helped me choose developmentally appropriate activities for the children in my class. I also read my class. If the group (or individual children) was restless or bored, I adjusted the activity. The test scores were high because the interest level was kept high. Children do learn more when engaged in the learning experience.

Teaching the Child, Not the Subject

We recently viewed a video by the creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson. (http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/66) In this video he told the story of the choreographer of "Cats" and other Broadway shows. As a child, she could not hold still in class and her parents were told she had a learning problem. Fortunately, her mother and doctor discovered that she did not have a disability, she was a dancer. A dancer who could not sit still all day in a desk. She was sent to a performing arts school and became very successful in her field. My Introduction to Teaching students tell me stories about their visits to classrooms where the teacher is so structured that there is no room for children with diverse learning styles. In these cases, I think the teacher is only concerned with covering the material, not with turning the light switch of learning on for each child. We can use excuses like class size and high-stakes testing all we want. The bottom line is to be a good teacher is to provide support for learning basic skills through the learning style of the child. It is not impossible, it is just not 'assembly-line' work with dittos. Teachers need to work smarter, not harder. We teach children, not standards.

Put the Rosey Glasses Away

I know I am a couple of years behind, but I just read, "The Book Thief" by Marckus Zusak. The perils of Liesel and Max during the Nazi occupation reminded me of the Head Start classroom that I used to supervise at the homeless shelter. I don't work with truly at-risk children on a daily basis any longer. I sometimes forget that we have children living in cars, living in foster care until a parent 'gets on their feet,' going to school or bed without food, etc. My heart always breaks for the children. They have no control over their circumstances and they live not knowing what tomorrow might bring. I worry that the current economy might leave more children in heartbreaking situations. I babysat three grandchildren yesterday. It hurts me that all children don't have the same safety, love and security that they enjoy. I wish I had a magic wand...

Intrinsic Rewards

Since I don't have my own early childhood classroom any longer, I sometimes forget the feeling you get when a child learns something new. I was recently watching my excited grandson show me that he had learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He couldn't get enough riding time. He was always asking one of the adults to go outside with him so he could ride that bike. It is such an intrinsic reward (I am helping mankind!!) to see a child accomplish a skill. That is why many of us have devoted our lives to working with the youngest members of our population.

Money for Early Childhood

I agree with one of the comments from my last entry about the wish that all preschools and daycares can benefit from the stimulus money that has been promised for early childhood. We already know that Head Start and Early Head Start has been promised quite a chunk of the early childhood money. I do hope that there will be grants and child care subsidies that will assist other early childhood programs. At the same time, I hope that there are some checks and balances in place that the money be used to improve the quality of the preschool setting. Research tells us that quality child care and preschools benefit all children attending and it can save the education system around $14 per child. However, we also know from research that poor quality child care can actually be detrimental to young children, especially in social and emotional behavior patterns. So, I do hope that money will be available to good early childhood settings to help them become even better.