Things Are a Little Messy

If my life was a block center, it would look like this—

If my life was a dry erase board, like this—

If my life was a sensory table, like this—

I'm in the midst of an exciting adventure...one that will make the blog soon. In the mean time, I'm living in the messy, chaotic "fun."

And for a reflective guy, I haven't had much time to think about things. Please forgive the short posts or the little gaps. I'll be back with more news...and more reflection...when I can clean things up a little.

Tell me - what's happening to you that's exciting right now?

Pet Peeves

Guest blogging today is my dog, Lexie, on our pet peeves.

Things Lexie doesn't like to hear in a classroom.

"No, that's the wrong way to do it."

"Tell him you are sorry."

"I can't do it."

"You have to color inside those lines."

"No noise!"

"It's time to go home."

"No dogs allowed."

(inspired by the #kinderblog2012 challenge - question 3)

Envelopes + Tape + Markers

Envelopes + tape + markers = creativity.

Sometimes the basics are the best.

Game On!

Today I am blogging on the collaborative blog PreK and K Sharing about making games for kids.

Here are a few posts about making and playing games.

Posts on Brick by Brick

• Letter Twister Game (using the Giant Game Floor Mat)
• Toss and Spell Game
• Our Trail Board Game
• Life Sized Board Game
• Pick Up Sticks 

Posts on Other Blogs

• DIY Bored Game (Gardening Without Skills)
• Swimming Pool Math Toss (Blissfully Domestic)
• Paint Chip Matching Game (Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning)
• Parking Lot Game (House of Baby Piranha)
• "Car"d Game (Toddler Approved)
• Paint Chip Game Board (Alphamom)
• Ziplock Quilt Math Game (Pre-K Pages)
• Color Game (Teach Preschool)

What homemade games have you made? What's your favorite game to play with kids?

Stapler Adventures

It all began a few weeks ago. We were putting things out for the kids. Cindy decided to staple a few pieces of paper together and create a few blank books. The kids enjoyed creating with them.

Since we only had a few blank books...and those that used them really enjoyed them, we decided to put out paper strips and the staplers. We stapled a couple of blank books...and put out lots of strips for kids to staple their own. (We had the paper punches out, too, for more experiments.)

And some of our books became folded and stapled and folded and stapled.

The next week we put out the strips and staplers again...to make wrist bands. Kids really enjoyed doing this...and making a few books, too.

This week I didn't have the staplers out. Put random leftover strips were out in the writing box.

"Can we have the stapler?" a boy asked.

I didn't have our small staplers but I pulled out the stapler that stays in my teaching bag.

We're still enjoying our stapler adventures. I like how the kids experiment and repeat using the staplers. I wonder where our staplers will take us next?

A couple of other posts about staplers—

• Stapling Fish
• Favorite Things: Staplers

Teaching in the Digital Age, Chapter 6

Sharing Knowledge and Learning Through Publication and Presentation Tools

Today I am hosting the book study blog party, focusing on chapter 6. Maybe I'm just a slow learner...or slow thinker. But as I read this chapter, a thought hit me about this entire book. Throughout the book I think Brian Puerling is showing ways to use technology to do things that we already do. I know, big revelation. But I think I almost saw a lightning bolt when I thought of this. 

In this chapter, Puerling focuses on ways teachers can provide experiences in which children use publication and presentation tools to create:

• Classroom newsletters
• Invitations to class and other events
• Informational articles
• Nonfiction books
• Books inspired by authors
• Video books

I've created newsletters and invitations for the classroom. But I haven't involved the children in doing so. It would be easy to incorporate technology in these experiences. Puerling talks a lot about using teams of kids to tackle different jobs - gathering information, develop content, upload and assemble newsletters, review content and finalize newsletter, make copies or publish electronically. I could see how these steps could be a long-term project for older preschoolers and younger elementary kids. And word processing software could be fairly easy for kids to use.

Puerling also talks about using online services to create and publish books—nonfiction books, original books, and books based on favorite books. These books (from places like Shutterfly) are bound like regular books. 

We've published our own books, too. But I've used PowerPoint software, inserting photos and asking kids to provide captions. Then I print them out and bind with binder rings, brads, or chenille stems. More low tech, but cheaper and quicker. However, I may upload some of our books to create a more "real" book from the online services.

Puerling's summary provides some great food for thought: "Too often the learning that happens in a classroom stays in the classroom. Particularly in early childhood classrooms, too often investigations, new ideas, questions, process, and conclusions are not shared with families, school, and community." The strategies in this chapter provide some appropriate ways to develop resources and share learning with families.

Once again, this book has challenged my thinking and helped me consider ways that technology could be integrated in the classroom as another tool for learning.

Check out Preschool Spot for past chapters.

Magnetic Sticks

We made magnetic sticks by adding self-adhesive magnets to colored craft sticks. As I set up this week, I was thinking about Deborah's recent post about invitations on her Teach Preschool blog. So I set up the materials like this:

The first kids came in and this is what happened. (I didn't suggest he do this.)

Then the kids began to experiment.

Note someone changed my H to "a tic-tac-toe shape."

An alien

How many? "...10, 11,12..."

A sun and stars

An invitation of what to do...and letting the kids use their own ideas. Our magnetic sticks were a success!

Surprise Endorsement

As we were preparing the room yesterday, a visitor appeared in the door. Someone who will be in our class next year...well, in 3 weeks. She looked in and Cindy began to talk to her.

"You'll be in here in 3 weeks," Cindy said. The girl smiled.

The girl's sister came up beside her. (We taught the sister last year.)

"It's a fun class," the sister said. "The best class."

I'm not trying to brag or boast. I'm not trying to glean compliments or tell others how great my class is.

I was humbled. And affirmed.

Thinking about how kids learn...letting kids explore their own ideas...using their interests to guide what happens in the room...makes an impact.

Apparently an impact that is remembered.

Thank you for making that kind of impact in the lives of children.

(Sorry for the self-congratulating post. The statement was so unexpected; it's still echoing in my head today.)

"I'll Do It"

Last year I blogged about our marble painting with a friend activity. We did it again recently and the kids loved doing it.

I think the "partner" aspect attracts many kids. And you get to roll something back and forth fast. So fast that it sometimes gets really close to the edge.

Or even falls off the table. But that's okay - it's sealed up.

Usually two kids will ask to do it together, doing the activity twice so each will have a painting to take home. If one child comes to do it, we'll ask him to find a friend to help him.

This time one boy was always on standby - to be the other pair of hands if needed. Ms. Cindy would say, "___ needs a friend to help." He would say, "I'll do it!"...even if he was somewhere else in the room.

It's great to always have a friend at the ready...someone that will say, "I'll do it" whenever you need some help. That's what a community is all about.

Again and Again

What do you do when you learn a new skill? Or when you know you've mastered something? 

Do you want to do it again and again? Just to show you can. Or show it to all your friends.

Do it again to make sure you remember how to do it just right?

Experiment a little, adding some new elements to your achievement?

Sometimes you just like to do the same thing again...to keep your skills honed.

You never know when that skill may become useful.

(I watched this boy repeatedly build his blocks in a line and knock them down. Day after day. Around what the other kids were doing. Sometimes he would build something else. But he always went back to this familiar--and really cool--construction.)