Snow Bear.

Today we read the book Snow Bear. It's a fun touch and feel fuzzy book about a little bear who went out exploring after winter hibernation. Not listening to his mom by going too far he ended up losing his way. Naturally, the end of book discussion led to stories about getting lost.

Making the connection that getting lost is not really a big kid thing to do, one girl said, "When I was younger, and didn't know better, I got lost in Target. But my mom found me and I was only three then." It's interesting to think that for a five year old, two years ago counts as "younger." You and I? Not so much.

One inquisitive boy who always proclaims how well he uses his brain told us,"One time at the toy store my brothers left me even though I said stay right here."

Looking for more details I prodded, "Were you scared?"

"No, I was brave," he said proudly. "I followed their water footprints and found them!"

Quite impressed with this clever way of searching for his mom I exclaimed, "Wow, you certainly were being a detective!"

The last story was told by a girl who always seems to stretch to find a story applicable to share. "One time I was looking for my little brother and then I found him in my mom's room!" Relevant or not, she shared how she found meaning of the story by drawing from her own experiences; I was glad to hear whatever she had to offer.

For this very reason, end of book discussions quite easily turns into my favorite part of each day. It becomes very apparent that simply reading the book loses much more of what we have to discover. Not only do we get to discover more about the book itself, but we also get the opportunity to learn more about each other. We see the book come alive with an even deeper meaning based on the context and application to each child. Their stories make reading time special and so much more meaningful.

Developing Mutual Respect.

Last week I walked into Barnes & Noble Bookstore to kill time before my next appoiment. I walked in convincing myself I would not buy anything. With my general love for teaching and education it is hard to come across the areas of the store that apply to this subject without adding to the list of books I feel the urge to buy. First stop: Children's Books. I spent some time in this section smiling at all the books I'd love to have. When I left, I managed to avoid any books in hand. Next stop: Teaching & Education. I flipped through the pages of many books and wrote down titles of interest for later reads. Then I came to one that sparked a particular interest, "Positive Discipline In the Classroom." The subcaption reads, Developing mutual respect, cooperation, and responsibility in your classroom. Just what my class needs. Determining this book as a "need" rather than a great want, I purchased the book, and dove into its inspiring contents right away.

This week I have started implementing many of the techniques shared in this book and am already experiencing more than positive results. The book shares "Class Meetings" as one of the ways for students to have a say about their feelings and together solve problems of concern, but before you can jump right into these meetings they must have practice in communication skills. As an introductory to these brief meetings which I will call "Team Time," we sat in a circle together and practiced the basics of listening.

Each student had the chance to tell the class a story that they wanted to share. I first had them walk out of the classroom to come up with their story, while the rest of us came up with a plan that would exhibit poor listening skills. While the storyteller came in excited to have their turn holding our new "talking monkey" friend, we listened most intently. After three seconds we then did our poor listening action. Things we came up with were: covering our ears, talking to our friends, hiding under the table, walking away, turning our backs, closing our eyes, clapping our hands etc. I was surprised to see that even though each child knew that we would probably do something rude or distracting, they were stilll thrown when we did and felt sad. We all had the opportunity to share our feelings of how this made us feel, and then execute proper listening skills the second time around.

I don't expect listening skills to be mastered right away, but we will continue to practice, practice, practice and get better in time. We are taking small steps to developing a mutual respect in our classroom, but in the end will make a big difference.

The Case of The Broken Apple Timer.

Every once in a while I will read a book that my students absolutely adore. Reading them once isn't enough. It must be read until the kids are only partially bored of it, and Miss Molly is desperate to find another quick fix favorite. Surprisingly, their favorites are usually ones that I would never expect them to really get into. Recently, a book ended up on my desk. I have no idea who gave it to me, but it was clearly someone who knows my secret obsession of children's books. The book: Detective Dinosaur. I can't figure out why, but this book became one of those favorites, even by the girls. Besides the mystery, they probably find it thrilling listening to me pronounce the big dinosaur names. Who wouldn't find that enjoyable?

Thanks to Deputy Diplodocus, he has inspired some of my sprouts to become detectives themselves. They were eager to help me solve "The Case of The Broken Apple Timer," without any knowledge to what actually happened. "I'll help you Miss Molly. I'm a detective you know," a willing assistant informed me. All he knew was somebody broke Miss Molly's apple timer, and there had to be a missing piece laying around. I smiled thinking that the case became how it was broken, and not who broke the timer. Nonetheless, neither part of the mystery could be solved. I'm OK with that, but Apple Timer, you are already missed.

Biggest Valentine Ever.

Our Valentine's Day party was a big hit. Each child contributed to this event by bringing something for our party. Easy, yet I was surprised at the outcome of how the kid's responded to it. "What did you bring?" one would ask. "I brought the carmel dip!" another would shout. Or my personal favorite, "Who brought the grapes? They are not good!"

Even if it was only mom sticking a package of heart-shaped plates in their backpack and sending them off to school, I'm glad that everybody had something to contribute. I think we all need those moments to feel important and involved.

As we were sitting at the table eating ever so quietly, I read to them a new story, "The Biggest Valentine Ever" by Steven Kroll. The book became a perfect fit for my class. Clayton and Desmond worked together to make a valentine for their teacher, but ended up fighting and ruining the whole thing. At this point in the book, we all had serious looks of concern. It was a sad thing to see best friends fighting, and somehow I think we were starting to relate. The two went home that night to make one of their own, but neither valentine turned out to be as wonderful as the one they made together. In the end, my class smiled with congratulations as Clayton and Desmond stepped it up and made the biggest valentine ever!

This sweet moment didn't seem to last long. The major rush of sugar kicked in, and before I could blink an eye I had my entire class running out the door to look at the water puddle that was mischeiviously created in the bathroom. It seemed like just as I had taken care of that little moment of spontaneous creativity, I caught intentional napkins being glued to innocent faces with carmel dip. [Time for a chill moment!] No games. Only happy songs and fun finger plays for the rest of the day.

I think I can officially say now, I'm all partied out. I don't deny that I love to throw special and memorable events for my students, but two days in a row of almost uncontrollable excitement has been the two most fun and exhausting days. Good thing I have a long weekend to recover with an extra two days off!
Happy Valentines day. :)

Giraffes Can't Dance.

During story time yesterday I brought out the book ‘Giraffes Can’t Dance’. Now if you know children, they love to tell you every little detail of their lives. They not only love to be heard, but acknowledged. That said, one of the students began saying repeatedly, “I had this book in Louisiana!” Although I heard what he said, I continued on with the introduction of the story without acknowledging his remark. As I read on, he was now waving his hand frantically trying to get my attention. Before I could finish the page to finally call on him, he shouts, “I’m doing rule number two!” Even if he is raising his hand WHILE speaking, at least he’s trying. :)

Our classroom rules are as follows:
Rule number one- I know my job.
Rule number two- I raise my hand before I speak.
Rule number three- I listen to the speaker.
Rule number four- I work without bothering others.
Rule number five- I clean up properly.