53: When Enough is Enough

Sometimes,

no matter how hard you try,

you can't shelter your students

from the world around them.

After 35 years,

there isn't much that shocks me,

but today,

I was shocked...

well maybe heartbroken

is more like it.

During outdoor play,

the students decided to play 

Red Light, Green Light.

I had not taught this yet,

but they lined up on their own.

One child told them

we are going to play the Squid Game.

(I have never seen the Squid Game,

but I did see a parody on SNL).

As he turned to say red light,

he put his hands together

and aimed it like a gun at his classmates.

I knew what he was doing.

I yelled stop before he was able to shoot.

I don't have control over what my kids watch at home.

Nor do I want to censor their home life.

It's not my students fault that the are watching

Squid Games,

but I am pretty sure it is NOT appropriate for 4 year olds.

So what do teachers do?

I gathered them all together,

every single student.

I was a little pissed that for some,

a traditional child's playground game

will now be remembered only as a game

of elimination through violence.

I told them we are going to learn a game.

I told them I was going to teach them the way

I learned it.

And we played.

Red Light, Green Light.

No weapons.

No violence.

I may not be able to control how they play at home,

or on the playground in the future,

but today,

I can.

 

52: The Day After....

 ...Halloween, and it's a Monday!

How scary is that?

Well, luckily

not too scary.

Minus 3 kiddos,

confiscated one lollipop,

and energy level was only a tad 

above normal,

for a classroom of 4 year olds

on a regular day.

We finished up more pumpkin themed

activities,

and completed a bulletin board.

Not too bad

for the day after

Halloween.

Concept of Print Work

Our messy, wonderful wall of pumpkin investigations!

I am not the one size fits all looking bulletin board teacher.

I need my bulletin boards to reflect who my students are,

how they think,

and where they are in the process.

Although the directions were the same,

the outcome was not.

#letthemlead.

51: Halloween Eve, Eve

Halloween is on a Sunday this year.

So today we had our Annual Halloween Parade.

We didn't have one last year

and this year,

it looked a little different,

Indoors

No parents

No heat from the sun (It was over 80 degrees)

No candy bags

but still the same.

Excited children

Fun costumes

morning parade.

Then we tried to have a "normal" day.

We continued our pumpkin investigation.

Today we used all 5 senses.

We watched Mr. Almonte cut open a pumpkin.

We got to feel the inside of a pumpkin.

\We scooped out the seeds.

We smelled the pumpkin.

And we tried pumpkin pie!

Next week

we will plant the seeds and make more observations!

50: Pumpkins, Pizza, and Ponce

We were scientists today.

We started by making a prediction.

Then, we tested our hypothesis.

We made observations.

Then we recorded our observations,

Next, I wanted to see if students could transfer

their new knowledge.

It's a process. 

Today was the 50th Day of School.

Zero, the Hero brought ingredients to make pizza!

But we misread the salsa label

for tomato sauce.

My team partner improvised

aka Ketchup is just like pizza sauce.

Maybe not exactly,

but close enough for students to eat their 50th Day pizzas!

Even M ate.

Had to get a tote of cookies,

because cake for an entire class

wasn't an option!

Happy Birthday to my incredible TA!

She loves cake, just like me.

Need to order a regular size next time.

Still yummy though!

49: Shake 2021

 It's a good idea to dance and

move around before a long 

earthquake drill.

It's a class favorite song/dance now, 

We are One (in Spanish)

Finding things to do on the warm blacktop

with 4 year olds can be a challenge, 

but this year,

my creative TAs came up with

a few things to do.

#1. Practice writing your name on the white board.

When you already know how to write your name

you can draw a detailed picture

and try to write a sentence.

#2. Draw and write

#3. Some fine motor, number sense practice

using old Foss Kit materials.

We had number bingo too,

but didn't need it.

40 minutes later... back to class!

After school, I had the best visit at Kaiser,

or should I say the most productive,

useful appointment with a PT.

We set goals.

We practices 4 exercises that will help

strengthen my hip, knees, lower limbs

because going up and down 

in year 35 is very different than year 5!

48: Letting L Lead

One of the goals we have for L

is to have him join our class

more often.

Today, he participated more than he has ever has.

I made him the greeter this week.

I think he likes it.

He also participated during our time with our OT teacher

and was able to follow the song using his rhythm sticks.

He hadn't done that before. HUGE!

After OT class,

we usually break into small groups.

L wasn't ready.

He went up to the stage with one of his favorite books

and sat there.

What could I do?

Sometimes,

you just have to let them lead

and just follow.

So I did.

It was one of my favorite books too.

Can't wait to see what L does tomorrow.

 

47: Pumpkin Week

I love drawing with students.

Each piece is so different and

unique to that child.

Today we drew pumpkins

and used water color markers 

to make them look 3D!

Thanks to my favorite Art Educator blogger,

https://cassiestephens.blogspot.com

I discovered how easy it was "water color" with markers!

Loved how they came out!

And my daily M picture was amazing too!