I would like to add to the author’s suggestion for getting pictures of emotions from Second Step. The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) website also has many free options of how to use emotion pictures and includes the pictures. Go to csefel.vanderbilt.edu and look under the resources for teachers. There is also link on the right side of this blog under Website Resources. As you read the chapter on Empathy I could not help but think of myself on many occasions causing stress in my classroom because I had to be in charge and in control. Stress on my part and that of a child could have been reduced by being more empathetic letting my control go and allowing the child to hold a toy during circle time or lay down instead of sitting. It would have meant adjusting “my own preferences for what would benefit the class as a whole.” (p.64) Can any of you relate to that? I also like her suggestion the if a certain procedure is not working smoothly, then stop and reteach it. I also had to think.
I would have to question her comment on the bottom of page 71, “Easing the journey from oracy to literacy” This implies scaffolding and I would prefer to think about it as Christopher Kliewer, Ph.D does, more cyclical. His document Building Blocks for Literacy and Language is for parents and it references children with special needs. It can be found at http://www.pealcenter.org/images/PEALBook_Kliewer_for_web.pdf and I will add this link to the resource section.
Moving on to Kindness… I have put every one's name in a hat for the book The Invisible Boy which is a great story about kindness and Kristine Koerner-Bowe has won this children’s book -I will bring it to you next Friday since I will be seeing you then! Congratulations!
On page 73, I was mulling in my head - do I feel that addressing a situation with the whole class is appropriate for 3 and/ or 4 year olds as well? Any opinions out there?
My other thought as I read was obviously this has taken years for her to get to the point where she could write a book about it. Where would you start? What can you do right now and what can you aspire to do the rest of the year?
One last thought - I tend to believe that everyone in a class are not “friends” I prefer to call them classmates. What I do feel is important is that you are friendly with all your classmates. This might look different for 3 year olds - we could possible talk about everyone being our friend then but by 4 and 5 I think it changes. Agree? disagree?
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In my reading of chapter 6, I liked how the author described how her colleague used a few centers in the morning to allow the students some choices and some time to ease into the school day. It gave the teacher time to check in with each student and observe them as they came in, setting the stage for a good day and developing empathy. I notice this year with having a much more rushed schedule in the morning, we have meetings every day except Fridays most weeks, from the time school officially starts at 7:30 right up until students are in the rooms already working with my assistant watching them. I feel like I am walking in late everyday to a room full of students I have had no time to greet or check in with. It has made a big difference in how connected I feel with this group, I have only a few minutes of informal time before our schedule for the day begins and things get so busy. I didn't realize how much of a difference that time first thing in the morning made when I compare this year to last year. I will need to think of a way to improve that part of the day...
I like how the author looks beyond the behavior to try and identify the function of the behavior. When we are able to look past the behavior we are able to help the student find another, more appropriate way to meet his/her need or to reteach the expectation/clear up a confusion. Reacting to a behavior without figuring out its function is a short term solution; the behavior will return. Tracking the behavior over a few days or even weeks can help identify possible contributors to the behavior such as: precursors, environments, people, situations, stimuli, etc.
I believe having consistent routines and procedures for everything is vital to creating a smooth running classroom that lends itself to a year of learning. I always refer to my old copy of Harry Wong's First Days of School as I set up my classroom each fall. Thinking through what, how, why, where...help to make the classroom more relaxed and efficient, creating more time for learning after the routines and procedures are in place. When something is not working, reteaching is vital or you will lose valuable time in the long run. When I see a repeated issue, I own the mistake, "I'm so sorry for not making sure that we all know how to..., let's take a moment to learn the routine/procedure and find out why we do it this way."
I am a firm believer in giving students choice so that they are more willing to be available to learn. Little choices get "banked" and I can "withdraw" when I need students to do things "my way" sometimes. This is the idea behind "Love and Logic", which is an excellent teaching and parenting resource. We all engage more when we feel that we have control and a choice in the matter. My students can decide when to read (out of the 3 Daily 5 rounds), what to read (from a plethora of good fit books), and where to read (under a desk, on a cushion, in a comfy chair, on the floor). They see all the choices so they don't pay attention to the fact that they are doing what I want...reading:)
In the beginning of the year, as well as throughout the year, I love to build classroom community using literature. This allows me to point out an issue by bringing up a character in the book we read, without pointing out a specific child, keeping the reminder light, but effective. I especially like being overly exaggerative, which really gets students attention and brings them back to the lesson from the book. For instance, when I see an issue with wanting to be first or anticipate an issue, I obnoxiously call out, "Me First, Me First" and they all know I am referring to Helen Lester's character in her humorous tale titled, Me First. They quickly remember, that being first is not always best. Following is a list of a few of the books I read to build community and self-worth in my classroom. I'm sure you have used many of them also, but they are some of my favorite "anchor" stories that we refer to during the year.
Be Yourself
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon-Catcrow
Catalina Magdalena-Arnold
Chrysanthemum-Henkes
A Bad Case of the Stripes-Shannon
The Mixed Up Chameleon-Carle
The Dot-Reynolds
Leo the Late Bloomer-Kraus
Kindness/Respect
Me First-Lester
Have you filled a bucket?-McClong
Do Unto Otters-Keller
Each Kindness-Woodson
Autumn's 1st Leaf-Metzger
Lonely Scarecrow-Preston
Team Work
The Crayon Box that Talked-DeRolf
Big Pumpkin-Silverman
I loved Chapter 7 and it fits right in with what I try to teach students. I have two rules posted on the wall in my Speech room and one of them is Be Kind. I myself need to memorize Aristotle's quote about educating the heart and a few of my students need to focus more on 'kindness as a sign of pride in themselves and appreciation of others so that they can be more courteous and helpful members of our community'. One resource I've used, and seems to dovetail well with Ms. Buckley's work, is the preschool curriculum by Michelle Garcia Winner. It has helped me teach specific skills to our young learners so that they can be more effective in group learning situations. You can check it out at socialthinking.com
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