Oh My!

I awoke this morning with giggles.  I was thinking of some of the things I have heard over my years of working with children.  It started my day with joy and I wanted to share with you a few of those words of "wisdom".  The names have been changed to protect the innocent (or not so innocent =) )  Any photos included are just to add more smiles to your face and not a reflection of the story teller.  Grab a cup of coffee and settle back with me for a stumble down memory lane.

J. arrived very upset.  It was not a good day.  Mom was leaving him at work.
G.G. one of his favorite teachers approached him. " J. are you OK?" J pulled back.
G.G. scrunched up her face in concern. Wrinkles appeared over her forehead and around her kind eyes.
"STOP that!" Shrieked J.
G.G.'s eyes widened.  "Stop what J?  I don't know what I did."
"Stop looking at me with that OLD LADY face!"


Miss. P. and 3 year old F did not communicate well.  F had a mind of his own and needed choices.

  Miss. P loved giving direct orders.  After a long day of battling, F told Miss. P "Shut up!"
Miss. P was not happy.  This was the ultimate insult.  She marched him to the office to sit with the secretary. "I want you to sit here until you are ready to apologize."
F was a very charismatic child.  Soon he had engaged the secretary, who was trying to ignore him in conversation.
"I am going to my grandma's.  She has a talking dog."
"Is it a toy dog that talks?"
"No a real dog that talks."
"Oh, you mean he when you tell him to speak he barks."
"NO. I mean he really talks like us."
"Hmm.  You could get a dog like that on T.V.  Lots of people would love to see a real talking dog."
Miss. P reenters a few moments later.  Hand on hip, swinging her long hair over her shoulder.  "Well F are you ready to apologize?"
Long silence steady eye contact from F. Shoulder shrug followed by wide, sparkling smile.  "Yes. Yes I am, because I have a dog that is going to make me so rich I can pay you to Shut Up!"

N had developed a like of four letter words.  (I don't mean food, door, truck...etc). This had become a conversation his parents and I had over several weeks.  They were very unhappy with what he was saying at home, and where sure that it was coming home from school.  We had all been really in tune to listen to the conversations and the only time we heard a four letter word it was always initiated by N.
His dad stood in the hallway.  In a very firm voice he said to me, "We do not use those words at home.  He must be learning them at school."
"I understand your frustration and I am paying close attention to the language here at school, but I am not hearing these words even from the schoolagers in the morning.  I too, would like to figure out where these words are coming from."
N pulls on his dad's hand, "Dad."
"Just a minute and we will go. This is becoming a bigger issue than you realize he is saying these words in front of grandparents.  My mother was very upset last Sunday when N said sh*! at the dinner table."
N pulls harder, "Dad!"
"In a minute, this is serious. We don not use words like this at home.  We do not allow him to play

with neighborhood kids who use these words."
"I am very sorry. I can imagine it was embarrassing to have him cursing at dinner.  We will keep trying to discover where these words are being learned."
"DAD!"
"What N?"
"You taught me the words!"
"I beg your pardon young man.  I do not say bad words."
"Yes, you do! Those are your garage words.  The ones mom says you have to say in the garage when I am not with you!"
Long silence. Painful eye contact from N's dad. Slight blush to his cheeks.  "I am sorry.  It seems we have solved the problem."

After a long walk at a local park full of geese, that was thus full of goose droppings we returned to the classroom.  We were removing shoes due to the droppings when this class decided to start chewing on their shoe laces. "Please, don't put your laces in your mouth."
I might as well have been mute.
"Don't chew on your shoe laces.  Remember all the goose poop we just walked through?'
Total lack of interest in my words of wisdom.
"DON'T chew on your shoe laces.  They might have goose poop on them and then your are putting goose poop in your mouth."
A few discussed looks, a few stopped, a handful became more determined. (Surprise.)
"Stop chewing on those laces!  There is goose poop on them.  You will get sick."
Blank stares then 3 children pick up their shoes and go to bite their toes.  I see a vision of the disgusting seen to occur.
"Do you not hear me their is Goose Sh*! on those shoes!" 
Now I have everyone's attention.  Oh my, how can you say goose poop so many times and then slip to that word.
My co teacher catches my eye as she stifles a snicker. "Thank you, you got their attention. And know I get to tell each parent that picks up tonight: Yes, Miss. Helen did say a bad word but she meant goose poop."

The Truly Scary Part of Halloween

Since mid June I have been hearing my preschoolers plan for Halloween.

"I am going to be Spiderman."
"I'm going to be a fairy princess,"
"Well, I am going to be Batman!"

And so it has gone from weekly conversations, to daily conversations and now hourly conversations.

It's not the sugar high that scares me.
It is not November 1st after a late night and too much excitement that makes me quake.

No, Halloween is not scary until you realize it ushers in 55 days or more of pure holiday overload. After the holiday overload you are dumped into what feels like endless winter days, especially if it is a particularly cold and harsh, Minnesota winter that traps you indoors for days on end.

So, how do you make the most of what is to come?

1. Acknowledge it is coming, there is nothing you can do but embrace their excitement.  Stop and feel the joy and anticipation they are feeling.

2. Keep to your schedule. Your daily routine might be the only thing in their little lives that is consistent for the next few weeks.

3. Discuss emotions. Help identify feelings and teach ways to express those emotions. Add books to your reading area on feelings. Keep your feelings under examination and identify how you are feeling and why. I do this with my class if you are not that type of person at least admit it to yourself.

4. Move it, move it, move it! Plan LOTS of activity in and through your day. Dance, play games, make up silly reasons to get up and roam around. Take unexpected walks, even if just through the building.

5. Provide lots of sensory experiences. Provide small bowls of

warm soapy water to play in. Make play dough and add seasonal scents. Play in shaving cream. Listen to soft music. Light your room in Christmas lights and turn off over head lights.

6. Make the most of it. It only comes once a year and it really is not that long. Embrace the season and magical moments. Look for those instead of looking for the crisis waiting to arise.

You are in control of the environment set up for the kids around you. Make it the best for them and it will give you peace and delight too.

Some helpful links:
https://www.familyeducation.com/fun/playdough/play-doh-recipes
https://www.yourtherapysource.com/blog1/2009/06/
https://www.verywell.com/holiday-stress-and-anxiety-in-children-620516

Have a great idea? Email me at Fromfingerprintstomasterpieces@gmail.com and I will include it on my facebook page.

Pumpkin Provocations

To provoke someone is to stir up or arouse a feeling or action.  It is an intentional act to draw someone out.  Often we think of it in a negative term as in to provoke anger. 

A provocation is meant to inspire another to investigate.  With this in mind I provided white pumpkins, decorative gourds and squash for my class.  I put out hammers, golf tees, rubber binders and sticks.  Nature provided the leaves and tomatoes that joined the provocation.

Once set up on the table children were drawn to it like magnets.  They came and went as they pleased.  I stood by but did not offer any suggestions or aid; unless help was requested starting a golf-tee or removing a golf tee.  A few children remained at the table for over 2 hours never once heading anywhere else to play.  

Being outside meant that there was no concern of what kind of mess the exploration would create.  The sun danced over the table creating fun shadows and lighting while the exploration was going on.  The breeze blew leaves around the activity in swirls.

Once done the loose parts were gathered up for another day and the pumpkins, squash and gourds were left outside for further perusal at another time.  

Fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination were put to work while trying to hold a golf-tee and use a hammer to pound it into the gourd. There was focus, muscle memory and language
developement, while manipulating the loose parts.  

Science, language and literacy came into play as observations were made.
*"The pumpkin shell is cracking the further I push the nail in."
*"The outside of the pumpkin is hard to poke."
*"These binders stretch easier than those little binders."
*"Tomatoes poke easier than the pumpkins."
*"These brown spots are softer than the rest of the pumpkin."

Art was explored as rubber bands were added like spider webs, and leaves and twigs were braided into the rubber bands.  Gourds and tomatoes were stacked to create 3 dimensional art.

Social skills were developed as children took turns with hammers, helped each other problem solve issues and discuss what their plan was with the

gourd they were working on.  Cooperation was developed as several children worked on one pumpkin together.This provocation was rich in learning and so much fun to just observe.

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Making Magical Memories

Look at this smile.

It embraces everything I love about children. Joy - He is definitely delighting in the moment.
Goofy- Yes, he is a ham.
Creative - He and another child have been busy building together, exchanging ideas and learning to work cooperatively.
Engaged - Nothing is going to stop his plan, not even a nosy teacher with a camera.

Memories are born from allowing children to just be. To spend time seeking, searching, exploring and playing without an adults agenda sitting over them. Memories are a gift we allow our children to create, package and wrap for themselves. I believe it is one of our greatest gifts we give if we sit back and just become a part of that magical moment in their life.

It is my personal belief that in the push to provide the best for our kids we have forgotten how magical moments become magical memories. Providing the best education, the endless exposure to sports and sport camps, and planning every detail of our children's lives are not allowing them to discover their own memories. They are carrying away memories we lovingly, gave them.

But what about their own memories?

I think of my mom and stories from her childhood that would give today's teacher, gray hair, heart palpitations and yet at the core do embrace Developmentally Appropriate Practices.

She tells of finding and big, old tire and rolling it down a street, that was on a long hill with several cross streets. This was back in the late 40s and early
50s but still dangerous with cross traffic.

When the thrill of that wore off what do you do next? Wedge the smallest child in the tire and roll him down the hills. (Deep breath, he survived, unhurt.)

The best part of the memory is watching my mom tell the story, see her picturing the moment as an old home movie and listening to her laugh as she describes the scene to us.

I want to supply the children in my life with those moments, but within the bounds of safety and security. 😀 So how do we do that?
1. Provide plenty of time for children to play on their own.
2. Provide expose to nature, and the great outdoors.
3. Open ended materials. (Sticks, rocks, stumps, tires, tubes, boxes, sheets, etc...)
4. Quietly observe and only step in when danger is a real thing.

Please share some of your fondest childhood memories in the comments below.

FEAR NOT! When my mom comes to visit me at work I keep her with in arms reach and under close supervision.

Love you mom!

Still making wonderful memories with my mom.
Camping together October 2017 in Afton State Park.

Take Care of Yourself!

Teaching is hard.

Loving and supporting little individuals, with minds and personalities of their own is not easy. So why do you do it?
I started teaching, to put myself through college. I was going to be a veterinarian.  (I am still using lots of skills I learned preparing for that field, everyday with classroom pets.) I stayed a teacher because I fell in love with my kids. So why do you teach?

I have many wonderful days with my class. Then I have thousands of average days, with my class. Then I have runs of Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days where I am not even sure Australia is far enough away and Mars sounds peaceful. But I get up every morning, actually eager to see my kids. And go back. So why do you go back everyday?
 One of the things I discovered early on was I needed to know why I chose teaching, why I went back every day and I needed to know how to recharge. Have you asked yourself these questions? Only you can answer them.

I teach because: I am amazed by their minds and thoughts. I love learning with them and because of their questions. But my biggest reason is I can not image not getting up and going to school. I can't imagine not seeing their smiles, hearing their giggles and not helping them through their difficult moments. I do it for the pay. (Hugs, snuggles, drawings and paintings, and never ending trust that they are my most important treasure.) Yes, I am rich beyond measure, but penny poor. So why do you teach?

I come back because: I make a difference in each life. I matter to these children and they depend on me. I need them in my life because they teach me so much about them and myself. Why do you go back?

I recharge by: drawing, writing, painting and learning. I recharge by taking time away from work, by going on restful vacations and camping. I recharge by reading, crocheting and sometimes knitting (not always recharging). I recharge by reevaluating my whys in the above questions. If children ever slip out of the main focus then it is time to either recharge or find another calling for my life. A passion never burns you out if you take care of yourself.