Recycled Rainbow Reflections

After a long weekend with family and a long walk downtown on a hot sunny day, we had several (six) large water bottles on the kitchen counter... I begged my husband to resist the urge to throw them away and allow me some time to think about what to do with them.  I've been collecting a bag of recycled goodies for the children at my agency but this was just a unique opportunity to have six fairly similar bottles, all clean, just sitting there!

I did what any rational teacher would do.  I made rainbow bottles!  Each bottle has a different color and is sealed with hot glue.  What's the point?  This is a fantastic way for tiny humans to observe light and its properties in a hands on way; the light shines through and leaves a color reflection.  It also allows for some experimentation with color mixing.  Overall, it just appeals to the curious nature of tiny humans!  It took me roughly 20 minutes to make and now I have 6 bottles to share with the two-year-old classroom!  I can't wait to see how surprised the teacher is when I show up on Tuesday! 

Just add water (and food coloring)!
Sealed with hot glue.

 This type of activity is open-ended and children can participate in making the bottles as well.  You could add oil to make a "lava lamp" which always turn out cool.  You could add items like beads, buttons, or glitter to make it even more interesting!  I kept it simple because I'm interested in seeing not only how the children explore them but also how the teachers utilize them.

Note the color reflections on the windowsill & imagine what this might inspire in a child-centered art area of a classroom.  Imagine the possibilities!

20 minutes later, all packed up and ready for delivery!

Illinois Early Learning Standards:
11.A.ECa  Use senses to explore and observe materials and natural phenomena.
12.E.ECb  Participate in recycling in their environment.
25.A.ECd  Visual Arts: Investigate the elements of visual arts.
26.B.EC    Use creative arts as an avenue for self-expression.

Back to Basics: Nature

Frequently when out on a walk with young children, they begin to collect pieces of nature and stash them away in their pockets.  Sometimes the adult demands the child empty her pockets at the door; sometimes the adult accepts this and allows the child to bring those treasures into the house or classroom; and sometimes, just sometimes, the adult encourages the child to bring those items in for further exploration and conversation. 

The mental image for me is the fall nature walks that teachers usually take with children.  They encourage the children to collect the leaves and then allow the children to make nature collages.  But I've been giving this type of experience some thought...

Why not further extend their understanding of nature and the composition that is nature?  Encourage children to bring the leaves into the home/school and begin to break down the leaves.  How?  Mortar and pestle (you know, that thing you got to make guacamole but never really use)!  Children can grind the leaves down to the most basic levels and experience all that the leaves have to offer with their 5 senses.  Then, children can use the created "leaf dust" to make a representation of a tree.  Or whatever else their little hearts desire.

Don't have a mortar and pestle?  I'm willing to bet you could find one at GoodWill or HomeGoods.  We got ours as a wedding gift... and it now resides on the shelf... unused... waiting perhaps for a tiny human!

A sad little mortar hanging out just above the cereal...

Ours came from Crate & Barrel, but you don't need to get super fancy for grinding up nature!

Just imagine the possibilities!!!

Happy Nature-Walking!

Reflection on Relay

Materials had been purchased for two of our sites and disbursed to the classrooms with no real intentionality or explanation.  Teachers asked "Well what is that platform for?  Can I put it in the hallway to get it out of the way?"  This type of question lead the project to its core, looking at the materials and equipment in the classrooms and how to intentionally introduce them to not only the children, but also to the teachers. 

To keep the project manageable, it was brought back to just one site with 6 classrooms.  Teachers participated in a workshop about clay; they were introduced to its properties and given tips on how to use the material with young children.  Teaching teams were then asked to share documentation from the experiences they offered children and those pictures were shared via website for teachers to see and reflect on.  Other items like articles and reflection questions were also shared via this website.  After the first clay workshop, teachers did offer clay in the classrooms but it didn't last long; so we invited Allen (another Relay participant who has proven to be invaluable and one of my best resources yet) to lead a workshop on clay with an emphasis on mathematics.  Teachers shared their "ah ha!" moments long after Allen's departure.  It is the agency's intention to continue to work with Allen to support the needs and development of the teaching staff.

For me, the Relay Project has been a life-changing experience.  I've gained so much by sharing experiences and reflections with a group of my peers that I might not otherwise have been able to meet with; knowing that time was set aside each month to meet helped maintain the focus.  I have seen things and met people I otherwise might not have had the opportunity to; a personal favorite was meeting and chatting with Lella Gandini.  I have learned to do nothing without joy.  The joy I find in my work keeps me motivated and energized, even when things get difficult and frustrating.  My only wish is that I had been involved from the beginning.  I've seen myself grow (and continue to grow) into a reflective role at the agency and at the advice of a friend have "embraced the baby steps" and "do everything with love."  I feel better equipped to guide my teaching teams into reflective practice and intentional teaching as a result of participating in the project.  I see the changes and growth when I enter a classroom and see a documentation panel hanging on the wall, when previously there may have been commercially-made art.  I intend to follow through with these changes long after our closing meeting this June; the benefits have proven to far outweigh any obstacle.  We are moving forward in our growth, no matter what.  The project has helped me to see that there will always be obstacles, but we just need to find the way around them.

Our project within the Relay Project has changed and shifted several times and changed hands over time, however the overall goal has always been the same:  provoke and inspire our teachers to share meaningful, intentional, and high-quality interactions and experiences with the young children in their classrooms. 

Moving forward, no matter what.

MsDanL

The 5 most important words

I need a drink now?
The weekend is finally here?

Actually... no.  What would you say are the five most important words?  At first I thought this was an open-ended question but it was quickly answered by the speaker at the Cardinal Stritch graduation ceremony this past weekend in Milwaukee.  Please, thank you, I'm sorry.  Ha.  These kids are graduating college with the same rules or guidelines they learned in kindergarten!  All I Really Need to to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten?  Bases, covered. 

By using please, you are showing that you cannot do everything yourself.  You need help from others to succeed.  Thank you shows others you appreciate them and their efforts.  I'm sorry.  Pretty self-explanitory.  We're all human and we all mistakes, but we learn from them and grow.  Edison once said, "I have not failed, I've simply found 10,000 ways that do not work."  When we screw up, it's important to reflect on the error and keep moving.  Just keep swimming. 

What would you say are the next 5 most important words?  Why?

Music of my heart

What’s the music inside you?
Lame, right?  I mean c’mon, this question made me think of the Nsync song about the music of the heart but after I finished singing the song in my head (and humming out loud), I began to consider the real message.  What’s your passion?  Remember that expression about doing something you love and never working a day in your life?  That’s what we’re talking about!  What’s the one thing you love to do and would do even if no one was paying you?  For me, I thought about the environments of early childhood classrooms.  I would LOVE the chance to rearrange, repurpose, and redecorate early childhood classrooms.  It’s one of my passions!  I often do it with classroom teachers while visiting and just begin making simple suggestions and before you know it the entire room has changed and the behavior problems that once were the center of every team meeting have disappeared and now we can focus on the actual learning.  That’s my education music.  I also have some scrapbook music in there as well; I could spend an entire day scrapbooking without batting an eye.  And blogging… it’s no secret that I love to blog and even if no one else reads it, to me it’s a simple way to document my growth.  An online journal, if you will, that helps me in my journey of reflection.

What’s the music inside you?  Go ahead, sing the NSync song, and then answer the question.  ;)

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I attended a graduation ceremony this weekend for my lovely cousin who completed her studies to become a teacher (Go Emily!) and in the moment, the speech shared by the keynote felt trite and way. too. long. 

But after letting that speech and the sentiments marinate for a bit, I feel the speech was not only appropriate, but quite 'catchy.'  The gist of the speech left the audience with three questions to consider in life.  Seems little cheesy at the get-go but after hearing the message, I truly think this man had the message of reflection in mind with his speech & I sat in the US Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, WI with a light bulb above my pretty little head. 

This week I’ll be sharing the questions with you and seeking your thoughts…

What do you want to be when you grow up?For me this question hit home because my dear friend Megan and I have been asking each other this question for the past two years and as scary as it can be, I’m not sure I know the answer yet.  When I was a child, I wanted to be a teacher.  When I was in college, I wanted to be a teacher.  Then I became a teacher and saw the opportunity to affect more than just 20 children with my knowledge and passion.  I dove into a position as the mentor for our teachers and have enjoyed the challenge so greatly that I now wonder how to make an even bigger impact.  It’s important that we keep growing, keep pushing ourselves and find the tasks that require us to do something greater than we ever imagined we could.  It’s easy to settle into the comfortable and put ourselves on auto-pilot; but imagine what you could be missing!  Don’t settle for ordinary. 

So, the obvious next question here is simple.  What do you want to be when you grow up?

Bribery and Teachers

Let me begin this post by sharing the challenge set out before the teachers at the beginning of our Spring season for the assessment cycle...

The classroom with the most observations entered into the GOLD system will win a semi-fabulous prize.

The season ends tomorrow and I began to graph the trends of documentation collection for the entire year and have realized that yes, I need to award the teacher who collected the most data, but I also need to recognize the outstanding efforts of one of our infant teachers.  I bet you're wondering, Why is she so special?

For the fall season, this particular teacher collected no observations.  Considering our assessment tool is observation-based, you can imagine the sense of alarm I experienced after completing the fall cycle.  Winter?  Winter brought us 1 observation from that classroom.  Sigh.  Now I also need to recognize that during the past few months, this teacher has been dealing with some incredible turnover and poor work ethic of partner teachers.  Spring.  C'mon Spring, bring us something good!  No whammys, no whammys, big money.... STOP!  Spring brought us... drumroll please... ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT observations.  WHAT?!  Who is this new woman and how did this happen?  I could not be prouder of her work & the work she has done with her new teaching partner, who has been working hard to collect observations and create documentation panels, etc.  I have been smothering these teachers with love in celebration!  They were, in fact, blushing.

Victory?

Is mine!!!

P.S.  In case you're wondering, the winner this season had 289 observations collected for Spring Cycle.  SERIOUSLY?!  My teachers are kind of amazing!