more PC

A favorite activity is humming to lure the periwinkle snails out of their shells.  Here's a primate at work...and by the way, this is a brief excerpt--he was at this for awhile!  Love the perseverance!

Here are a few pics from the day...which made me pause to remember that the real world is a wonderful place to learn, discover, and wonder!

                                                              inside an empty mussel

            I think this guy is called a scud...we have to look it up.  Great way to introduce field guides!

                                                                          low tide

a staring contest with a periwinkle

We headed straight to lunch after the cove visit, so when we returned from recess, the primates revisited their sketches and shared with the whole group.  Every entry was unique, personal, and followed the established journaling routine of including the date/time/tide/weather conditions.  Here are a few:

                                                         rock                          glass

                     I drew a seaweed.  it smelled bad.  we saw a fox when we arrived.  it looked sick.

This entry depicts a sewer drain the primates discovered, thanks to the low tide.  It was covered in barnacles and periwinkles.  I questioned this primate about writing, "very hot today"--since it was in the low 50s! She said the sun felt hot on her face.  good observation and I love the heat radiating from the sun in those two swirls.

looking forward to our next trip!

Palmer Cove

We finally made it back to Palmer Cove for some nature journaling, and as with our last trip, Mother Nature was kind to us!  Despite frost on the cars early this morning, there was no wind and the sun was shining and kept us warm as we explored the cove for something interesting to draw.  We also lucked out with a really low tide, exposing lots of tide pools and tons of periwinkles.  No crabs today--where have they gone?

As we approached the beach, one of the primates called out, "There's a dog on the beach!"  We quickly realized the scraggly, skinny creature sadly scratching his ears on the shore was no dog--it was a wild fox.  What a sighting!  Not something we expected to see at the beach!  It was sad to see the little guy slink off as we waited and watched--clearly he was not in the best of health, but the fox was subject for many primates' journal entries, and we definitely felt lucky to see him.  Check it out:

aquarium visit

We were very lucky to be visited by the local aquarium last week.  They focused on tide pool creatures and proper exploration techniques at the beach.  Perfect connection to our big project this year!  The primates were exposed to familiar vocabulary that we've been using in class & on our trips to Palmer Cove--tidepool talk!  And we learned a lot of new words too.  They got to touch and observe the animals and practiced taking turns, sharing, listening to and following directions.  They did a great job and I was a proud teacher.  Some highlights:

                                                           moon snail

                                                         hermit crab

periwinkle

                                   mussels, quahogs, scallops, barnacles, an oyster, periwinkles

horseshoe crab

where we're at

Time is moving along at lightening speed as usual.  We are rehearsing for our annual tradition of performing the story 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving at Stew Day--our whole school celebration the day before Turkey day...also my favorite day of the school year (maybe tied with the last day of school?haha)  It's a wonderful celebration of our school community filled with performances, crafts, fun activities of all sorts, and of course, stew.  Last year, we interpreted the story through movement and dance to the theme from "Superman".  This year we are taking the more traditional route and acting out the story as I narrate.  The primates are ecstatic, and every year I find this is a wonderful unifying project for our class.  It's also wonderful to know that my primates from years past will watch and remember what fun they had when they performed the story, which is a reminder to honor the turkeys we'll gobble up the next day!

Trips to Palmer Cove have been on hold for a variety of reasons, and I am bummed out about that as I had high hopes of making weekly trips.  Many things this year seem to be taking much longer than usual--goal setting, opening new choice centers, establishing reading groups, and just getting things off the ground in general, but every group is different and presents different challenges and experiences.  So I'm taking it as it comes, slowing myself down, and really just focusing on what each day brings and allows us to accomplish.  Not easy for a "full steam ahead" multi-tasker with big plans, but I am nothing if not flexible, so, this year is what it is...and so far, there have been a lot of wonderful moments.

Upcoming events include another annual tradition--our dog biscuit fundraiser for the local animal shelter.  We will advertise, collect & tally orders, and then spend many days baking dog biscuits and creating cat toys for people to purchase for the pets in their lives.  Always a big success!  Last year was the first year I did not do this project....even when on maternity leave I came in to do this project with little Chloe snuggled in the baby Bjorn!  Since having my own kiddos, I have been forced to scale down here and there in order to keep my sanity, but this year I really want to do it and it will augment our economics study very nicely.  The primates noticed the "pet sale" bin I took out this morning to assess what we'll need, and everyone was freaking out that I had plans to sell our class pet turtle...who do they think they're dealing with here?!  NEVER!!!!  I want to tell them about it, but I think we are overloaded with excitement as it is, so I'm trying to keep my big mouth shut for now!  more to come......

One thing I really want to write about is drumming.  This is quite a rambunctious group, and we struggled tremendously with settling down for morning meeting in September.  So I pulled out my "gathering drum" and one day just sat on the rug and began drumming.  Suddenly, every primate was on the rug, clapping along with the pattern I was drumming.  WOW--I expected this would grab their attention, but I never thought they would actually gather and start drumming along with me.

I just love when the primates lead me, so I took inspiration from this impromptu activity.  Each day, morning and afternoon meeting begins with my drumming a "sound pattern" and everyone gathers (although a bit slower now!) and for about 2-3 minutes each time, our whole group is moving in unison, sharing the moment together as one noise making unit.  I LOVE IT!!!!  I am not by nature musical in any sense of the word.  Music brings more of a linguistic pleasure to me--I love song lyrics, and the memories some songs evoke...like this old Irish tune we first heard in a pub in Killarney, which brings me right back there every time I hear it.  And, I am terribly tone deaf--just ask my poor children who have to listen to grossly off-key lullabies nightly!  So here is an area of definite challenge for me, and a goal this year is to really try to incorporate activities that require the use of musical intelligence.  I'm NOT talking about singing the habitat song (more of a mnemonic device than use of an intelligence).  I am talking about things like the drumming.

First, it is a non-verbal signal that meeting time is beginning.  Second, everyone has to join in the pattern which fluctuates--dum-dum-DUM, dum-dum-DUM, then da dada da, da dada da, etc., and follow it.  I'm starting to get a little stale with my limited repertoire, so I plan to utilize the musical intelligences in the group by asking different primates to drum.  This will exercise creativity in creating a pattern and require attention and concentration to follow it.  THAT is using one's musical intelligence.  We solve the problem of getting everyone gathered on the rug and create the product of a group moving to and following a rhythm.  It's really quite magical when it happens just right.

I pointed this out to the primates a few days ago, as I noticed the vigor dwindling in the group.  It has since been restored, and I look forward to the many days ahead, beginning and ending with this beautiful group experience.

Now I need to figure out how to use a fat separator to make gravy before next Thursday.  Wish me luck and any & all advice welcome!

read with caution

It's been quite awhile for me and while I had great expectations of catching up with all things work related this past week off (our extended school year gives us a blessed break in Oct!), I found myself blissfully focused on all things mommy.  And it was a WONDERFUL week!

I think part of my reluctance to blog is the craziness that is happening in education right now.  And all the national lunacy, shameful politicizing, and inexcusable neglect that is all over this country is really hitting home--to all of us.  I read several teacher-authored blogs, and have teacher friends from all over the US, and no matter where the location is, the story is the same.  And the problems are systemic--starting at the very top, yet all the blame I hear is placed on the ONLY people actually taking any action--the teachers.  Bad, bad, bad things are happening and for the first time in my career, I truly feel utterly hopeless about education.

Thank goodness for the primates, who despite all this ridiculous adult crap, still enter the classroom eager and excited and willing to learn and laugh and share their lives.  And that is what I want to focus my blogging on--the good.  Last year the weaving project and the blog were a great escape for me, a chance to focus on all the GOOD that happens in my classroom vs just venting about all the crap from above that is constantly piled on top of everything I try to do as a teacher.  I need to have a place where I can reflect and focus on the real matters at hand--teaching and learning, and I'll save my venting for comments on the blogs of the other frustrated, worn down teachers who are brave enough to speak out.

But please, read with caution.  Please keep in mind that with every valuable teaching and learning moment I may write about, there is a whole other world of education outside our classroom that is crumbling and taking many good and great teachers down--not to mention the effect all of this has on our students.  It's not enough to say "we value teachers" (not that anyone is saying that these days), our society needs to take action against using the education and well-being of American students as political tools or news stories.  I'm sure every now and then my frustration will spill into a post, but my goal is to talk about the GOOD, and I hope that this focus will sustain me as a teacher this year and show an alternative, realistic view of what does happen in a classroom.

I don't want to leave this post all gloom and doom, so here's a start of concentrating on the brighter side:

blind contour drawing

Here's one of our first lessons in sketching, specifically "blind contour drawing", which requires sketching something without looking at what you are drawing.  We used "shields" to help us "not look". I heard many cries of "this is too hard!"...but no one quit.

Our subject matter was gourds to align with the current season, autumn.

Some chose to concentrate more time on one gourd and others chose to make several attempts using different gourds.

 Many primates felt frustration with this task and frustration is an unavoidable--maybe even a necessary--step in the process of learning something new.  And everyone experienced frustration with blind contour drawings.  The learners were frustrated, yet motivated, and that's a successful learning experience.  So we'll continue with this task a few more times, and it will be interesting to see how frustration/motivation unfolds in the individual primates in other areas: reading, writing, math, science, socially.

Ahhhhh, feels GOOD!

the adventure's begun

Well it's day 11 and we have officially started our curriculum project.  In the days prior, we have been getting to know each other, establishing routines, working out kinks in the schedule, endured interruptions for fire drills and bus evacuation practice, laid some groundwork for beginning our project....now we can get down to business!

The primates wrote poems about autumn today.  I've read three poems to them so far and we've read & reviewed the book: Sky Tree by Thomas Locker several times.  We've shared personal stories and observations about fall, and brainstormed a list of autumn words, which is posted in the classroom.  This is a very brief intro to poetry because I intend for these poems to  serve as a baseline assessment--what can they do with little direction?  what do they know about poetry and how are they able to translate that to performing the task of a poet?  A few days ago they drew pictures of autumn after brainstorming a list of autumn colors.  They used these pictures as a reference as they wrote today.  The class gathered on the rug and those willing shared their work.  We practiced audience etiquette and how to show support for the very brave act of sharing one's work with a group.

This is a time of major observation for me--getting a sense of my new 1st graders and recognizing growth in my 2s.  As a whole, the group seems excited about poetry and about our subject matter--fall, which is a good sign for how engaged they'll be during an extended poetry study.  Plus this is a wonderful opportunity for primates to share stories from their personal lives and make connections with each other.

We also began our first sketching session.  We discussed finding shapes in objects and explored dried gourds, chestnuts, pinecones, acorns, and seed cases.  Each primate chose one object to sketch--starting with basic shapes.  We established the routine of writing name, date, and the name of the item in the upper right corner.  This is important because we will mark our journal entries in this way.

We are also reading The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony Di Terlizzi and Holly Black.  The primates' imaginations are running wild with mysterious, trickster creatures of the natural world.

Off we go!

welcome

The new school year is underway and it has been.......interesting to say the least.

Occasionally I attend these collaborative assessment meetings at Harvard where educators from all parts of the world and all facets of the field gather to consider and discuss student work and current issues in teaching and learning.  After 9/11, the facilitator began reserving the last 15 minutes of discussion to ponder what it means to be an educator in a time of war.  This question has evolved in the years since to: "what does it mean to be an educator at this moment in time?"  A very powerful question with complex and multiple answers.

What does it mean to be a parent in this moment in time?  What does it mean to be a child at this moment in time?

Summer is such an amazing season of sunshine, warmth, and outdoor adventures.  But autumn's cool  and colorful days are my favorite, and as we all settle into a different rhythm of work and school and longer nights, I am considering these questions.

I'm also thinking about how to use the blog this year.  I'd like to include podcasts, and I hope people will respond to the surveys and posts with comments.

I'm listening to the gubernatorial debate as I write this...sigh...educating in this moment of time......

doing good

Just returned from a refreshing day of curriculum planning for our very exciting year long study this year, and my husband is home from his first day with students, so the conversation around here is quite lively tonight!  We are also preparing for our son's first day of Kindergarten next week at a Waldorf school (our daughter will be starting nursery at the new school too!).  Waldorf is a private school guided by the work of Rudolph Steiner.  It is about as opposite as you can get from public education in America, so this promises to be a very interesting school year for all of us!

Our discussion (as is usual) turned to test prep mania and the devastatingly disappointing direction "Race for the Top" is taking us, and I have a few thoughts to share.

First, there is no "race" in learning.  A race requires winners and losers.  If there are no losers, there's really no point to the "race" now, is there?  So this alleged ed reform actually demands losers, and who exactly are we willing to give up on in this country?  which children get to be the losers in this race?  On the flip side, if every teacher in the country meets or exceeds "bonus pay" requirements, is the government prepared to fund all of those bonuses?  Of course not, so again, there must be losers.

The question I think we, as parents and as teachers, need to ask is, "do we want children to be computers, or do we want children who can re-invent computers?" Computers regurgitate facts and figures, robotically decode (rather than read), and perform on demand.  Creative problem solvers and inventors solve problems and create products that matter to society.  As we look toward the future, skills for the 21st century fall into the latter category.  So it is all of those robots, who, incidentally, will most likely perform very well on standardized tests, and will, in the end, not win this race.

Just to clarify what I mean when I talk about not winning: I mean a generation that is consumed by manipulative advertising and media, a generation that can go to college but reads less and less--because a joy for reading was never developed, and a generation unable to cope with the serious environmental and societal problems that are already getting worse.

My husband works with a teacher who travels to the Dominican Republic every summer "vacation"--(a true teacher is never more than one thought away from the classroom by nature, hence the need for frequent and extended breaks), with her family to build houses, construct wells for clean water, and other  work towards bettering living conditions for poverty stricken families.  He commented on how amazing her stories are from these family experiences, and that her children authentically learn to "want to do good."  This makes me think of what "doing good" means to our students...or really what we (as a society) teach our kids "doing good" means.  Doing good on a test?  Doing good for others?  Doing good for the environment? Doing good for yourself and your family?

Personally, I'm not in a race.  And that is not an easy choice to make in public education today, but it's the only one I can live with and feel like I am "doing good".

I have so much more on my mind--still want to do a final reflection on last year & weaving!--but for now I have to figure out how to turn a holy mess of a classroom into a welcoming learning environment before next Thursday!

how do you know?

While I remain steeped in summer bliss--warm days, staying up late, letting the day unfold, the beach....every now and then September creeps into my mind.  I'm updating the look of the blog and have more plans of how to use it next year, but for now I want to reflect on a question my son asked me tonight. Over dinner, (yummy grilled pizzas--love having time to cook!), he asked, "Mama, how do you know so much about nature?"  I paused to think about this answer honestly.  I replied, "Because I ask a lot of questions about nature and I read about nature, but mostly I think because I observe and think about nature a lot."  As soon as I answered, I began thinking about implications for teaching and learning...asking questions, reading, observing, thinking...this is how I want to spend my days in the classroom this year, and I hope to create an environment which will support and encourage and facilitate this for my primates too.

I find the first part of his question--just "how do you know?" sparking ideas about assessment too.  I asked him, " How do you know I know a lot about nature?"  He answered, "Because you talk about it a lot."  Talking....

So that's my planning for the new school year so far.  I look forward to days spent asking questions, reading, observing, thinking, and talking with a new group of interesting individuals.

But for now, I'll spend a couple more weeks happily trailing behind this duo with my best friend & love of my life....

reflecting

I began writing theprimateproject as a way to get back into the habit of writing regularly, (I think originally I was trying for daily, but reality required regularly--and that has worked out perfectly!). My hope was to sharpen my writing skills as preparation for applying to doctoral programs. It's a year later, and this blog has become a powerful reflection tool for me as a teacher, and sometimes a mom too. It's also provided a new connection between myself and the parents of students I serve: a window inside our classroom and the way I see things. Teachers and parents never have these conversations--about teaching and learning in a general sense and as more process than product, and I think it has really opened new lines of understanding on both sides.

Writing is a very personal act for me, especially this type of journal writing--off the cuff, no editing, no required topic. But I ask my students to make their writing, however personal, public in our classroom daily, so this blog allows me to develop a new perspective on how I teach, motivate, and assess my writers--with their perspective in mind. Vulnerability is critical to all aspects of learning, and developing comfort with--or at the very least, willingness to be vulnerable, is challenging....and often just plain hard. A year later, I feel MUCH more comfortable.

In defiance of all psychometric testing, (and yes, I am comfortable saying that I do not see any value in standardized testing worth the price we pay to gather the flimsy data it provides), I have chosen to make my (and my students') learning visible through written documentation, reflection, photographs, and videos. Observation and analysis are the assessment tools I use, and this blog provides some evidence towards that end.

Writing the blog has helped me shape my beliefs and ideas on teaching and learning influenced by MI theory vs. "g" intelligence, and when speaking about this, I notice an increased confidence and assuredness in myself.

Finally, a word about "the primates". Most people whom I speak with about the blog ask, "why 'primates'?" Well, we are primates, defined by The Oxford American Desk Dictionary & Thesaurus, a primate is: a member of the highest order of mammals, including lemurs, apes, monkeys, and human beings.

In my research of doctoral programs, I became initially discouraged at some of the successful applicants' accomplishments prior to acceptance into a particular program, which included a guy who lived with apes for a year. I chose to consider my own "primate research project" in the jungles of American public education, hence the name of the blog and my reference to my students as my primates. I also feel confident in my ability to make correlations between what teachers face today to the wildest dangers one might encounter in any jungle!

So almost a year later, I am moving forward with doctoral plans, although my timeline is still a bit unclear, (again, reality requirements!), but I am definitely much farther along the path to a new destination than I was in '09, and I am quite happy with that progress!

School is winding down...our last day approaches in a few more weeks, which I have to admit are becoming torturous as the temps & humidity rise, and our hopes for air conditioning disappeared years ago. I hope to catch up on: *portfolio night, *the end of weaving, and *circles in learning, soon.

the rock club

First, I want to highly recommend the PBS documentary, "Where do the children play?" by Elizabeth Goodenough. It addresses the impact today's societal norms have on children, with special attention to time spent outdoors and with unstructured play. very interesting stuff--for teachers and parents. I have it and am happy to lend if you're interested, let me know.

After seeing this movie in September, I have paid more attention to the unstructured play of my primates--informally, but I have accumulated enough "mental notes" to require some written, so here it is:

Several months ago, I heard rumblings amongst the primates about a rock club game or something they were doing at recess. I don't remember exactly how I found out about it, but it seemed interesting, so I began listening more carefully. I acknowledged that I knew about it, but didn't ask too much and didn't express any real interest, as I wanted to really investigate this "undercover". I learned that two of my quietest, sweet, team player primates were the founders of the club--in their words..."they started it!" These primates were also the leaders of the club, whose membership spans other k/1/2 classrooms and includes most of mine.

They always re-enter the classroom after recess chattering about the rock club, so one day I asked a primate what exactly they did in the rock club. It was a classic reply: he looked at me wide-eyed, and in a complete "duh Mrs. G" tone of voice said, "We mine..."...like what the heck else would they do in a rock club? This got me too curious to just observe & eavesdrop any longer.

I found out that there was a huge membership, but that not everyone plays rock club every day. Also, that if you don't play for 2 consecutive days without letting either of the leaders know you'll be doing something else, you're OUT. But they are pretty flexible with letting you back in if you ask nicely, and promise to check in to avoid the 2 absence penalty.

Now when I told my husband this story, he asked, "What are they running, the mafia?!" He didn't like the idea of kids having to report to other kids. But honestly, I think it is amazing and wonderful. This is how the real world works. They have established this whole complex mini-adult society out at recess that involves leaders and workers, consequences for breaking the rules, and second (sometimes fourth and fifth chances)....and, let's not forget, they MINE!

I brought in some rocks I collected at the beach last weekend to donate to the rock club, wanting to support their mining endeavors, but they told me "thank you, but we can't take them." when I asked why not, they said the older kids would throw them and move them around. it would just be too hard to hide them all. wow. so instead they each chose a rock to keep in their bin at school. very interesting.....

There has been one primate who was getting kicked out weekly for crushing all the rocks or making it hard to dig. Sometimes, they said, he fools around too much and they can't get their work done. The first time he was kicked out, he was very upset, so I got involved. We talked it out with the leaders, and I asked them to give the ousted primate a second chance. I also validated their points and told him if he violated the expectations of the club, then he couldn't be in it. He's had a few "issues" here and there, but has remained a member.

I love that they are doing this...there's even a proposed cook out at one of the member's houses after school. I spied a guest list in the making today, and they've discussed it with me. I have noticed that when I do show interest and ask questions, they tend to seek my intervention for issues & problems--but I don't budge. This is their thing and I am staying out of it. I trust them to handle it--after all, they started it all on their own. I'm just nosey...and impressed. And not invited to the cook out!

The movie I mentioned addresses the inability of children today to do exactly what these primates have done. And I agree with the movie--whole-heartedly--kids cannot structure their own time the ways kids could 30 years ago: jump rope, kickball, boys catch the girls, or my personal favorite from 1st grade, girls catch the boys...it always ends in someone getting hurt--physically or emotionally or both, or else it gets so out of control adult intervention is needed. But this group of primates is doing it...how are they doing it? what makes them different and able to navigate these complex social systems? Of course, they still need guidance here and there, but I am learning sooooo much about who they are in their "real world", which enriches my perspective on them when I'm leading the group, where they exhibit very different roles and social structures.

I asked a few of the members once why they felt the two leaders were good leaders--words they had used to describe them in conversation. They replied, "They're really nice, and fair." If only we could say that about the leaders in our adult "real world".....

always busy

It always amazes me how many things we have happening simultaneously...for the past few weeks we have raise, observed, and recorded the metamorphosis of five caterpillars to butterflies. This week, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and released our butterflies. We sat in a circle and watched them take flight in front of the school, by a rose bush. Then we performed "butterfly life cycle yoga" in four poses (egg, larva/caterpillar, pupa/chrysalis, and adult butterfly). I planned to return to the classroom to do this to music, but one of the primates suggested doing it outside--and it was perfect! Many primates even experimented with extending their "proboscis" into flower heads to drink nectar. They got to experience and "play" the life cycle, as our real live butterflies flew around us. nice moment!

on my mind

my teaching philosohy...eloquently illustrated in this poem by Loris Malaguzzi:

The Hundred Languages Of Children
The child
is made of one hundred.
The child has
a hundred languages
a hundred hands
a hundred thoughts
a hundred ways of thinking
of playing, of speaking.
A hundred always a hundred
ways of listening
of marvelling, of loving
a hundred joys
for singing and understanding
a hundred worlds
to discover
a hundred worlds
to invent
a hundred worlds
to dream.
The child has
a hundred languages
(and a hundred hundred hundred more)
but they steal ninety-nine.
The school and the culture
separate the head from the body.
They tell the child:
to think without hands
to do without head
to listen and not to speak
to understand without joy
to love and to marvel
only at Easter and at Christmas.
They tell the child:
to discover the world already there
and of the hundred
they steal ninety-nine.
They tell the child:
that work and play
reality and fantasy
science and imagination
sky and earth
reason and dream
are things
that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the child
that the hundred is not there.
The child says:
No way. The hundred is there.


Loris Malaguzzi
(translated by Lella Gandini)

from the mom

Teacher aside for the moment, as I am consumed by my current agony over kindergarten. Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds. I truly do. However....

the situation at hand is that I am an early childhood teacher of 13 years, and now I am also a mother of a magnificent kindergarten eligible boy...and I am living in a school district I am NOT comfortable with entrusting him to.......for a variety of reasons, but honestly and most truly because it is not the school or even the school district in which I have devoted the past 10 years of my life. we are hostage in a home we have outgrown, in a school district which is not an option, and the possibility of my district granting permission for my son to attend is slim to none...and in light of the budget, leaning more heavily towards none. we can't afford to move (and this is a hard reality to face) without risking our entire financial well-being, yet fall 2010 is fast approaching and we are not registered ANYWHERE for kindergarten. so private school is our only option. and it's not a terrible option, it's an expensive option...but much less risky than renting or selling or...ugh I can't think about it anymore. we have turned over every stone. we are stuck.

I'm going down with the ship...I will hang on to that minuscule scrap of hope that he'll get into my district....I will dream he'll get into my school....I have to believe everything happens for a reason.

Lots of people have said, "it's just kindergarten", and in many ways I know this. In the grand scheme of life, this is a very small blip.

But what I believe as a teacher, as the teacher that I am, is that it is not "just" kindergarten. these early years are the most critical, of the utmost importance. these years lay the foundation, set the course, pave the way. and to not have my own "primate" experiencing these pivotal moments in my school, is personally devastating. I'm an early childhood teacher, and I can't provide what I feel is the best educational experience for my own child. it hurts.

And I don't think I could be the teacher I am without believing that. we'll just have to work a little harder, shift dreams and expectations, and set off on different paths.

everything in perspective: I am a very blessed person and I am grateful for all I have and all I am able to give.

where we are going...

I have to say....NEVER have I jumped into a project so deeply and expansively to last an entire school year...and we still have 3 months to go...(did I mention we are extended year...to July...more thoughts on that later...). Our final district mandated curriculum strand is: Insects. We have translated this (using all the standards/essential questions and understandings that are mandated--for all the standards-based-learning lovers out there!)

Our class will explore and learn about insects by focusing on "not an insect"--spiders...conveniently also known as "nature's greatest weavers" in my class. We began with some "spider yoga", in which we discussed what we know about spiders, casually, conversationally...not like a traditional teacher directed discussion (not that there's anything wrong with that!). We did a spider egg pose and a spider egg sack pose--real yoga poses embellished by primates' ideas. Next we looked at some pictures of webs and discussed the differences between spiders and insects: body parts, number of legs, the ability to weave. Older primates led the discussion and provided the facts, along with a song/movement thing to help remember the names of the body parts.

Many primates asked for The Spider and the Fly, the book we read in the fall at the start of the project. They are pouring through bug and spider books during free reading time. And below, we did the work of spiders: creating webs with frame and capture threads--identified respectively by color. We worked with yarn, glue, water, and waxed paper.

Next we will begin a reading/writing project based on the African folktales, called spider tales. We are also reading chapter book as a whole group..I forget the title/author exactly...will post later...it's called something like, "The Spiderweb Mystery", and is part of a series...an old one. They love it--me too--(sharing a long story with a group is fantastic, we exchange ideas, share perceptions, predict, make connections, wonder together--kind of like the adult book group version--we are using reading in a real way--the way adults use it in real life).

We will also create spider models using clay--they must be detailed and anatomically correct. We will continue spider and insect yoga, and as a final product, each primate will choose one species of spider (should be reflective of their clay model--this requires attending to detail and will exhibit individual learning), and will create an information card including specific details on their chosen species of spider. I introduced the term "arachnid", and we will continue to refer to this new vocabulary word in our discussions.

It feels great to STILL feel this level of engagement in this project.

weaving in the real world

Yes, we are still weaving! A wonderful parent brought in sunflowers for us to plant, AND also a new weaving project that has challenged my little experts! Our sunflowers have sprouted and are ready to go into the ground, and our woven sunflowers are worked on daily and are in process of completion. I've noticed real learning with this sunflower loom: it's HARD to weave in a circle, and after several failed attempts, the primates shoved them in their drawers in frustration. Adopting my "Zen teacher" mode, I said nothing, and as days passed by, i noticed the sunflower looms appearing at choice time. First primate to proudly complete his sunflower (and interestingly--he was also the first to give up!) rang the bell (our original tradition when someone completes a weaving project), and the crowd cheered as he showed his sunflower. Since, finished sunflowers are celebrated daily. PERSEVERANCE!

This is just a perfect example of supporting classroom learning from home--and it's not the only one this project inspired! Several parents have purchased and/or made looms for their children at home--at the primate's request! This reinforces the idea that what they are doing in school is VALUED by their family--and those are the people the primates learn most from, and what they learn elsewhere is filtered through their personal lenses, which are developed at home.

The parent who brought in the project and made a connection to the season of spring and the natural world (planting, growing, caring for living things--side note: every morning the primates line up at the sink to individually water their flowers. Some have written and sketched in their journals, some have measured and recorded growth--with NO direction from me!!! THIS IS LEARNING!!!!!! THIS IS MI!!!! THIS IS REAL!!!!)...anyways, that parent teaches us that there is more to learn about weaving and gives us a new perspective on connecting nature to art, via weaving.

The families who have encouraged continued learning at home by providing looms teach us that this skill is valued, and that they are proud and inspired by what we have done. Isn't that the approval from our parents we spend our lives chasing?

Finally, and this was the first "home connection", one parent took her family to the textile museum in Lowell. Her son is a self-proclaimed, "weaving maniac". He brought in his own loom--a different one!--and a book, and this quiet, newest member of our group was suddenly the center of attention. Every primate gathered around him as he showed his loom and the potholders he'd made--they begged for him to teach them, and he did. This also sparked an interest in him to work on our wall loom in the hallway that had been dormant for weeks. Within days, and with the help of others who followed his lead, we had 3 finished pieces on the wall loom, and they were begging for more.

This just reminds me of that cheesy poster, (one that I do secretly believe) that says something about throwing a pebble into still water to create a ripple, that creates a wave...etc....this blog makes me increasingly aware of exactly how sappy and sentimental I can be...I suppose it balances out the cynical, defeated teacher I have been known to play at times!

2much good stuff

My primates visited the exhibit several other times throughout the week with other classes, which gave them the opportunity to practice talking about their work and the whole experience. One of the kindergarten classes wrote us a beautiful thank you and asked if we'd teach them how to weave. My primates were impressed that the little ones were so excited about learning to weave, so we wrote back saying yes, we'd be happy to teach them. I sent 2 primates to deliver the note, which the K teacher read in front of my primates, and when they returned to me, they were white as ghosts and said, "They ALL want to learn how to weave and this is going to get crazy!" Still makes me chuckle...we passed crazy awhile ago!...ahh the joys!

more exhibit

I loved watching the primates examine and consider their own work and the work of their peers as we listening to Yo Yo Ma and nibbled on cookies, fruit, and cheese. It was quite the sophisticated event! I made a little yarn-ribbon pin for each primate, so they would be recognized as the weavers/writers featured in the exhibit. Yes, colors reflected our "Pride" theme! (see THIS is why I love Martha so--kindred perfectionists!)

We also provided a "guestbook" for visitors to sign. Of course, it is filled with beautiful sentiments from families (most endearing are the entries from older siblings and grandparents!) and others who admired our work throughout the week.

exhibit cont'd

Each primate's typed story and woven piece (some in progress still!) was displayed on a board. Some primate's chose to type their own stories, while others preferred I type. Either way was fine, but I ended up including my typed version on all since the primate versions still contained inventive spelling. I feel allowing them to work independently without my facilitating dictionary spelling (aka correct spelling), produces work that illustrates their ability authentically--and that is what I prefer to see. We had nine boards in total that displayed the work of 22 primates.

good 2 b back

LOTS to catch up on...it's tough to know where to begin, so this may be a bit out of order, but I'll start with our WONDERFUL exhibit...

These are the first and last of 6 documentation boards that chronicle the journey of teaching and learning our group traveled this year...so far! Rather than post pics of each board, I'll copy/paste some of the text with pics, but the effect of all the boards together was amazing for me...I felt astonished by the evidence of where we began, the different paths we chose, obstacles we faced, and successes--so many successes we achieved.

And YES, those are PRIDE colors forming the color scheme for our display. The colors of Pride symbolize the caring, effort, teamwork, and responsibility we utilized throughout this project, and reflect those same four precious values that drive our school. Here is data evidencing these values at work.

As I was dismantling the exhibit, (which was on display at the college for a week), a professor stopped to tell me how inspiring the work was...that is was "the buzz" on campus all week..great to hear that feedback. Then she asked me what research project I was part of....as if things like this only happen in research projects....and sadly, I realized, for the most part, that is true. We never see or celebrate the journeys our teachers and their students travel in a year. We look at numbers to make us feel good. I am not part of that "we", and I take tremendous pride in the fact that no, this is not a research project, this is what you get in 1st and 2nd grade with me as a teacher. This is what "WE" should all be doing, because amidst this terrible school year, THIS is what sustained my passion, energy, enthusiasm, curiosity, and joy. And without all that, teaching is a deeply depressing thing to do in this country.

quick reflection

I hope to blog later tonight in more specific detail...but right now I am engulfed in preparing my documentation boards of this project for Monday night's exhibit--a task made THAT much more difficult thanks to my perfectionist tendencies...however...

I have to stop for a moment and just reflect on the profoundness of this project for myself as a teacher and learner. I am literally typing through tears of wonder as I sort through pictures, student work, observational notes, etc starting back in September. For me, this work is a beautiful illustration of a journey I have taken with a group of magnificent children, and I am so proud to be a member of their learning group.

Out of what by far has been THE most difficult year I have ever experienced in my teaching career has evolved the most amazing work I could ever imagine. And in this documentation I see the struggles, the laughs, the questions, the discoveries, the mistakes, the success...and the love I have for what I do. Just want to appreciate how lucky I am to love what I do and be able to share this enthusiasm with others. Would this project have the same results if the individuals in this group were different? No, because this work is reflective of THIS group of individuals. Not to say if I repeated this project it would be any less, just different, and keeping in mind one of the themes of learning in my classroom--different is good--I am happy this work is what it is, and I am so proud and excited to share it with the extended members of our learning group, our families on Monday.

update, but not quite

It really is killing me to be away from the blog for so long...but life has just been getting in my way! Despite having the past week off, I've filled my days with house projects, family time, and planning for our BIG SHOW--exhibiting our weaving project at the local college. I'm kind of locked into figuring out the details and making sure we've got adequate documentation of our projects--not an easy task. Anyways, I'm afraid I may be consumed by my "to do" list once again this week, but wanted to post before the whole month gets away from me.

Hoping to catch up on weaving & writing soon, with more pics & some really great primate quotes!

assessment ideas

Very busy in the world of weaving these days! It's crunch time as we are preparing our work for display at a local college. All writing stories were completed today and primates made the choice of typing their stories using Stationary Studio in the computer lab, or having me type them. All but five primates chose to type their own. Reflection of pride in their work? Although I don't feel those who chose not to type their own stories lack pride in their work, but maybe they are just finished with the whole writing process.

I have much to update on projects and my observations, but it's late and I just want to get an idea down for assessment of this project. I find myself thinking more and more about individuals and what I have observed about them as learners through this project. So I am thinking of writing a paragraph (at least) about each primate and specific skills, abilities, proclivities, I observed as they worked as weavers and writers. I'll have to think about how I want to frame these written observations: around specific skills? general observations? intelligences? maybe a combination of all three...

I'd also like to write each observation as a letter to each primate from me--personal feedback. And I'd like to conference with them and read the letter together. I'm so proud of each and every one of them and the gains they've made, the effort they've shown, and the growth I've noticed.

As we near the end of this project, I feel a bit sad because it's been such a wonderful experience. Weaving will definitely continue to be a choice throughout the day, and who knows where it may lead us next. Several primates have told me they asked their parents for looms so they can weave at home. This transference of school to home is real world learning that I do believe they will carry with them.

a truly beautiful day

We had an amazing day of weaving today! YoYo Ma on the ipod, weaving and writing pieces scattered everywhere, weavers and writers working together, independently, purposefully, enthusiastically, and seriously. I have so much more to write, but this was a rare occasion for me to capture these lovely moments on video, so that's what I am sharing tonight. (please let me know if you have trouble viewing!)

not wasting my mistake

This one goes back to January 20th. We had been officially weaving for only a week or two, and one of the primates was working intently on weaving short, single strands of yarn through the warp of the loom. I could clearly see that this was not going to hold together off the loom, and the primate wasn't following the direction about making sure the warp is not seen after you comb the weft. I said nothing and let him continue.

Now I'd love to say I intentionally let it go, fully expecting what happened next, but this blog is about teaching and learning, and sometimes, the truth is ugly. Having said that, as I noticed this big mistake I walked by because I was busy and overwhelmed with the throngs of other beginning weavers shoving their looms and needles in my face. I also felt bad--he was obviously working so hard and feeling successful, and I just didn't have the energy to gently redirect him. So I rationalized that I was witnessing a mistake that will be painful to undo after all the effort this primate exhibited, but it would be a chance to refer to our big idea this year--don't waste your mistakes, with a real world experience. And I moved on.

The day quickly came when this primate brought his unwoven weaving project to me and I had to make a choice again: do I tell him it's all wrong and that he has to start all over? OR do i attempt to somehow remove the piece from the loom, and then ask him to identify what went wrong? I didn't have the heart to do the former--I was too afraid to crush his pride and accomplishment. But I didn't have time to do the latter, so I told him to leave it on my desk and I would work on it later.

Days went by and I tried to figure out some possible way to preserve this work, but ended in failure. I had no choice but to face the primate honestly. I sat with him and we looked at the piece which I did manage to remove from the loom in a heap of unwoven strands tied together. I explained why it hadn't come off the loom right--the warp was showing, and there was nothing to bind the edges because he had used single strips. I paused as the disappointment flashed on the primate's face momentarily, then he looked me in the eye and said, "I have to start again?" I nodded and said, "But don't waste this mistake! Think about how you can do it differently so this won't happen again." And off he went to begin his next project. He finished today. And I could never have imagined how powerful a learning moment would sprout from my just walking by.

This primate's work is evidence of learning--from the rumpled heap, (which by the way is hanging on the board with all finished pieces) to the tightly woven, carefully combed finished mug rug (a gift for his mom). This learning came from him making his mistake, sharing it, and not giving up--but trying again. And from me, allowing him the space to do this. He was beaming with pride and excitement--not only to be finished, but to share his work with the class--who clapped & cheered in support.*more on this later

I made a mistake--I don't like feeling like I am too busy or overwhelmed to meet every need of my primates, but I am human, and we humans make mistakes for a reason: it's how we learn. I can't always be on top of every little and not-so-little learning moment in my classroom--and that is OK, because if you nourish the soil properly, if you care and it shows....things will grow. Beautiful moment today.

Look at that tight weave!!!

weaving progress

We are moving right along with our projects, which I will blog about later.....but for now, this is where we were at just before February break..........

the process of processing

Last Thursday I read a book about why people read by Todd Parr, and asked the primates to illustrate and write an answer to the question, "why do we read?" (A colleague asked us to do this so their work can be displayed at a local teaching conference.)

I read the story to the whole group on the rug, after lunch & recess, so it was quite.....let's call it, 'exuberant' on the rug as I read...very interactive. The primates loved the colorful, bright, child-like illustrations, and delighted in reading the various signs, labels, words embedded in the illustrations. I wrote the question, "Why do we read?" on the white board and asked them to think about it as I read the story. After reading, I asked the question again and instructed them to draw & write their answers.

I noticed several primates wrote the question on their paper preceding their answer. This is interesting. And is not the first time I've noticed it. I suppose this is an instance where it is as important to notice what they do without being told vs. what you've directly asked them to do.

As a teacher influenced by MI vs. general intelligence theory, (and just a note--general intelligence--what traditional education including standardized testing is based on, IS in fact a theory with far less scientific evidence behind it), noticing this spontaneous occurrence reveals something about process and processing.

The primates who wrote the question, 1. heard me ask it, 2. read it on the board, 3. wrote it down, in their process of processing what I asked. Their answers were on topic, thoughtful, and creatively illustrated. One example: the primate wrote:

"Why do we read? Because it helps us use our imaginations."

**I substituted dictionary spelling for inventive...we are beginning writers!)

And drew a picture of a mermaid sitting on rocks above crashing ocean waves, reading a book.

Another wrote: "Why do we read? To learn and discover and to read signs."

This primate's drawing was a boy reading a book and sitting in front of a red stop sign with the word 'stop' written inside.

I hypothesize that added step of writing the question provides more time, more depth of understanding to the primate, thus resulting in a truly authentic answer to the question that shows what they really know. Now what I find most interesting is that I never asked them to write the question--they did it naturally. However, we do a lot of reflective writing where I ask a question for them to answer in words & pictures, and I always include the question I asked--usually printed on a label. Did their idea to write the question down sprout from this practice? Maybe they did it because I wrote the question on the board? I can't be sure...maybe something else entirely.

I think this is an important skill, though....and to put it in terms of MCAS, they are learning to really THINK about the question being ask before formulating their answer--a strategy many primates seem to lack when answering MCAS questions. hmmmmm, I'd like to think about this more.....

I do think this is important to recognize...and it makes me also think about how to individualize observational assessment--in a way that works with 22 primates in a class. A kind of "learning portrait"...what I notice about how they solve problems and what products they create....and their work as evidence of this......

what's important

Each session I ask the primates a question in small groups, record their responses, and post them on the bulletin board outside my room in a speech bubble next to their photograph. Visually, it is quite interesting...as are the responses! Primate responses reveal:

- how they are thinking (critical, concrete, higher level)

- what they are thinking about (personal associations they make with the ?)

- how they respond to others' responses (i.e., some repeat answers, some incite giggles or additional comments)

- how verbal linguistic they are (short-n-sweet vs. really looooooong answers!)

Plus it is a great community builder as we share our answers together and with the school community by posting it outside the classroom.

This year the focus of my questions has been on MI:

Session 1: How do you solve problems?

Session 2: What products do you like to create?

Session 3: What problems and products matter to you?

I'm phrasing the questions around Gardner's definition of intelligence (simplified): the ability to solve problems and create products that matter to society. This last question really illustrated how truly important semantics become when trying to assess what a primate knows--or in this case, thinks. No one had a response to this question, which I asked as a whole group since we were so short on time this session(see last post as to why!). In the moment, I realized I better rephrase quickly or I'd lose them, so I restated the question as: What things are important to you? This yielded beautifully revealing responses, posted below. If a primate doesn't connect easily to a question, they can easily get lost in A.) trying to figure out what you mean or B.) trying to figure out what you want them to say. The specific words we use are critical to drawing out THEIR thinking, and not what they think you want to hear...or what's right or wrong.

This in itself is a distinguishing characteristic of MI teaching from traditional teaching: The traditional teacher knows what s/he wants to hear-- there is a pre-determined "right" answer. Sometimes there is....although shouldn't there ALWAYS be room for different perspectives, alternate interpretations, outside the box thinking? The MI teacher spends time developing the question--making sure the semantics will inspire thoughtful answers that truly reflect what the primates think. Maybe there are no wrong answers, just different interpretations? Is that so bad in a world made up of unique individuals coming from diverse backgrounds? Doesn't that provide more learning opportunities for all as horizons are broadened?

The responses:

*please note I record responses as spoken by primates--grammatical errors and all.

"I think nature is important because if we didn't have nature we wouldn't have some types of food, and we need water and we need food.

"I think nature is important too. Building is important because we wouldn't have houses."

"Animals and children. I think water and plants are important because they help the environment and without water we would be suffering and everything would be dried."

"Art."

"Plants are important."

"I think science is important."

"I think friends and family are important. Trees because trees give us oxygen and without oxygen we won't be here."

"Important to me is my baby brother."

"Nature."

"I know this is weird, but playing with Q and Z everyday after school."

"I think math is important."

"I think earth is important because we actually wouldn't be able to be in a comfortable school if there was no earth!"

"I think that pets and family are important. I think parents are important."

"I think music is important because I really like to sing."

"I think recycling is important."

"I think friends are important."

"I think houses are important because if we didn't have houses when the rain keeps falling you would get really wet and sick and you might dies. I think water and food are important because if we didn't have them, we could get really sick and you could die."

"I think that a school is important because then we wouldn't study wheels and we wouldn't have cars."

"Love--it's because my dad says it's the most important thing in the world."

"I think the sea is important because without the sea those animals in the sea wouldn't be alive because they need water to breathe. And I think air is important because air helps us breathe and because without air we wouldn't be able to breathe."

Me: "Finding out what is important to my students is important to me."

ending on a good note

wow....I can't believe it's been so long since my last post, and I wholeheartedly blame the testing mania that suffocated the last few weeks of school prior to vacation. It's extremely discouraging to waste time on testing methods that are clearly out-dated and provide no valuable information on student learning. I used to hold a more politically correct stance that there is some, limited value in standardized testing, but really, honestly, there is not!

**I promise this post ends on a much more uplifting note!

I was mandated to administer a mid-year math exam to 6 and 7 year olds that was heavily literacy based--ie, if you can't read, you can't do the test independently...and if you are a beginning reader (which most are at this age), it is not appropriate to be expected to use reading as a tool to figure out other problems--the problem beg readers are focused on is reading!!! So I--one human being--had to read directions one by one to almost half the class. Having said that, even my fluent readers did not perform well because the test also included mostly "trick" questions--inappropriate because primates who have only been introduced to new material within a few months prior do not possess a deep enough understanding of the content to think about it flexibly enough to answer "trick" questions. And finally, a word about multi-step directions--it is not developmentally appropriate to expect children at this stage of development to first complete an incomplete chart of data (that has no personal relevance), analyze the data, and then answer three wordy questions about the data. Did I also mention the test included a fill in the bubble for the correct answer question? And that the answer to the question (which was about completing a pattern--circle, triangle, square, circle, triangle, square--the correct answer being circle--so most of them colored in the circle rather than the bubble next to the circle.

So my question is, if we all can at least agree that the validity of information these types of standardized tests is limited, then why are my primates and I forced to sacrifice so much valuable learning time to prepare for, administer, and then correct these tests? And even better, I can look forward to even more wasted time "analyzing" this inaccurate data so it can "inform" my instruction. Give me a break!

OK, testing frustration aside...because there really is nothing I can do about it and probably shouldn't be blasting it so openly, but some truths just cannot be silenced!...I got a lovely e-mail from a primate's mom today. They took a family trip to the American Textile Museum today and got to work on big looms, learn how fabric is made, and the mom also mentioned that her child spoke very eloquently about our weaving project--using vocab learned in class. Really wonderful to hear about this family's interest in our project & how they are extending the learning outside the classroom into the real world. Despite the hopelessness surrounding bus availability (and affordability), I am going to look into a possible trip to the museum with the primates. It would be a wonderful extension of the project--if it doesn't happen, though, I strongly encourage a family trip! I plan on making one with my family!

New Survivor began last week, so I'm taking a break from my obsession with the Winter Olympics (has it been fabulous or what?!) for at least an hour tonight.