The first week back

What a whirlwind. Being absent mid-week did not help. Going back Thursday with a vengeance and working really hard left me a bit tired today. The kids have adjusted fairly well to being back at school. As always they continue to amaze and inspire me more with each passing day.

One kid came to school with a tin of cookies and note from his mother, thanking me for my work with her child. She went on to say that she knows the cookies are not much but she did want to give us something. Such expressions from parents are rare and her note, written on a lined index card, will be treasured for years to come. The cookies were wonderful but the note was more than enough. Sometimes, usually on my bad, self-criticizing days, I wonder if anything I do all day long really matters. Then something like this thoughtful note comes along and snaps me out of my funk. While I like to hope that I am making a difference for all of my students, at least I KNOW for sure that I am making a difference to one child and his family. Knowing that my work matters, is helping this child in a way that is obvious to others besides myself, is a gift. So thank you, thank you wonderful child and wonderful mother.

Today was the rescheduled winter concert for my class. We sang 3 non-denominational songs: "I'm a little candle" (to the tune of the little teapot) "hats, sweaters, pants and boots" ( to the tune of head, shoulders knees and toes) and Skidamarink, which is a class favorite this year. The students had worked hard practicing the words and gestures that go with these songs. We had made costumes and had rehearsals. I did not want to let all of their hard work go to waste so we invited the parents to come this morning. I also invited the principal. Only two of the eleven families showed up. Would more have come if it was the day before vacation? I don't know, it is hard to say. I was very disappointed that principal did not make it though, as he had told me in the morning that he would be there. Regardless, the kids enjoyed giving a true performance with an audience, however small that audience may have been.

Some of the kids were nervous and stared at me the whole entire time for cues. Others seemed as if they were waiting for this moment. These were the kids were barely audible during our rehearsal, who wouldn't make eye contact and did not do many of the gestures that went along with the songs. For these few kids, this "concert" was there 15 minutes of fame. Quite literally. Suddenly they were the strongest singers in the bunch, full of animation and expression. Following the performance and some technical difficulties, the students and their parents watched a movie. The "movie" was a slide show of most of the photos that I have taken throughout the year set to upbeat music. The kids loved it because it was about their favorite topic, themselves. They were also excited to see pictures of things we had done together that were meaningful and enjoyable to them, but not in their immediate memory. All in all, it was a wonderful morning.

We are beginning our unit on wind and water. One of the science experiments is to have the children make predictions about what the air will move and what it will not. We tested several objects, including a balloon, a pencil, a small paper cup, a play dough cookie cutter, ribbon, construction paper and the basket that holds the crayons. I asked students why the air couldn't move the basket and here are some of their responses:
"The basket is funny"
"If we take the crayons out, maybe the air will move the basket when it doesn't have crayons"
"We need more air to move it. we don't have enough"
"the other things are littler"
Their answers were fairly sophisticated given their age and that this is the beginning of our unit. Their answers led to a discussion of air and weight. I cherish these moments, I value each opportunity where I am able to learn more about their thinking and how they are making sense of the world.

It was an exhausting but highly productive and successful first week back after a long break.