Talking With Children About Tragedy

When tragedy struck on Friday evening in Paris I responded as an early childhood teacher.  Old habits are hard to break.  What will I say to the children in my classroom on Monday?  How much coverage will they have seen over the weekend?  What have families shared with children?

I don't have my own classroom now, and work at an administrative level, so am thinking broadly about how children react and respond to tragic, catastrophic world events.

What's Your Grief? (WYG) is a website and podcast about grief. This lovely post helps us to be intentional as we talk to children about tragedy.  However this guidance is also useful in thinking about how to help children through a variety of events.

A few reminders from WYG for teachers and parents:

• Be aware of your own feelings. 
• Let children lead the conversation.
• Don't think that children's silence means that they don't know what is going on. 
• Be clear about what is being done to keep everyone safe.
• Spend time together and stick to routines. 

This coming week may be a time to slow down, work as if we are in the first weeks of school, and accept what looks like "regression" as an expression of children's worry and confusion. 

Last week's blog post about transitions included a good video that demonstrates the effect of stress on the brain.  For children who have or are experiencing trauma, catastrophic world events can trigger stress responses and impact social, emotional, and academic experiences.  Children's ability to cope with even simple transitions, low-level stresses, and self-regulate could be impacted.

Think about our children who may have recently crossed borders, who have experienced illness, injury, and death in their families, who are homeless or hungry, or whose families are subject to violence.  These children are especially vulnerable - but world events can create confusion and worry for all children.

The Somerville Family Learning Collaborative is an amazing resource for families, children, and early childhood educators. Reach out to them if you need other resources.

Parents and teachers need to take the time to examine their own feelings about these events and prepare to talk with children about topics we would prefer not to address, and wish we didn't have to address.

5 More Minutes!: Mindful Transitions

My own children and the children I taught loved the book 10 Minutes till Bedtime by Peggy Rathman - picture book about hamsters taking over a child's bedtime routine as a father yells the countdown to bedtime. As the minutes tick away and bedtime gets closer, pandemonium ensues as the hamsters' invasion gets more and more outrageous. This book, while funny, always makes me think about transitions in classrooms and how often I hear adults calling out, "5 more minutes!" as clean up time approaches.

What actually happens in classrooms when a teacher signals transitions in this way is not so funny and results in something other than desired behaviors.  We know from experience working with children who have experienced trauma, mindfulness, and effective teacher language that a very different transition signal is needed.

Jennifer Miller, a school adjustment counselor at the Winter Hill Community Innovation School in Somerville, has been giving a series of workshops on the impact of trauma on children and teacher behaviors that support children.  She advocates for developing a "trauma sensitive" classroom where transitions are predictable and calming. Loud, sudden signals actually raise children's cortisol levels, triggering the "fight or flight" mechanisms in the brain and body. This short video demonstrates the effect of stress on the brain. Although the brain is interested in reducing stress, the amygdala, which is responsible for tagging things that cause emotion, can't always tell the difference between a stimulus that is dangerous and one that it not. Our clean up signals may actually be causing children to experience trauma-like symptoms, resulting less than desirable physical and emotional responses in children.

Jeff Goding, a Mindfulness trainer who has been working with teachers in Somerville for the last year, points out that creating mindful language and transitions helps children to maintain a sense of calm that increases their ability to focus on classroom tasks.  Teachers recently learned about the importance of using a whispering voice and non-verbal cues to reinforce positive behavior. A hand on a child's shoulder, moving in close to whisper a direction or praise, can have more impact than the loud announcement. Looking closely at how mindfulness can benefit your teaching practice can have a powerful impact on children. 

The language we use to signal any transition might actually not  have any meaning for many children. Teacher language that is full of description and prompts action is more effective that just saying, "Time to clean up."  For example try: "Everyone please put your materials carefully and quietly back in the bins and meet me on the rug." As time goes on other piece of a routine, such as pushing in chairs, putting tubs back on shelves, can be added. A lovely video focusing on a clean up signal from responsive classroom, features Suzi Sluyter, a 1st/2nd grade teacher at Eliot-Pearson Children's School at Tufts University. The video shows how a teacher's modeling of soft voice, quiet signal, and clear language helps children to follow through on an important daily direction, and begin to internalize the desired behaviors.

When signaling transitions try:

• soft music 
• a bell or chime 
• a silent signal such as dimming the lights  
• not to follow signals with a loud voice. Otherwise your signal  just communicates: "I am going to talk in a loud voice now so wait for it as I talk above you!" 
• practicing your signal with the children - they will need the same clear language everyday - do not assume they know what to do.
• limiting interruptions children are exposed to daily - loud buzzers and bells in schools, the morning announcements over the loudspeaker that interrupt work and morning routines. These are often part of school life, but don't add to a child's sense of calm and self-regulation.

The next time you are tempted to yell "5 more minutes!", take a breath, observe what is happening in your classroom, and consider an option that involves close, quiet contact with children, and a mindful approach to your work - calming for you, calming for them.

Observing to See....Children and Each Other

So many videos, so little time.

I am scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when Seeing Children, a video by Melissa Scott, who works at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, pops up.  Hmmm, 11 minutes long....do I have 11 minutes?  Sure.

Watch it now, don't wait.
Because boy is it worth the time.

Scott deftly captures the bind many teachers are in - caught between assessment and authentic interactions with children, between play and work, between observing as an act of compliance and observing to really inform instruction and know children.    Scott moves between her experiences using Teaching Strategies Gold and then reframes the observation of a child to make meaning of who the child is and what he has accomplished.   Teachers in Somerville raised the same questions Scott raises about TSG, and yet they also recognize the importance of collecting good data about children and using it to plan instruction.

We know we need to continually observe children, but what about each other? Teachers at the Capuano Early Childhood Center in Somerville wanted to know more about Peer Observation, craving time to observe in classrooms other than their own, but needed a structure to accompany this work.  And so this week during professional development time, we begin to examine the purposes of Peer Observation.  An article from EdWeek about peer observation frames the risk teachers take by inviting each other into their classrooms as a heroic act.   Teachers love autonomy, but often that means "leave me alone to do my work in peace".   How can we SEE each other's work more clearly?

At the heart of Peer Observation is feedback.  However this doesn't have to mean constructive criticism, or even appreciative inquiry about the classroom you observed.  Visits can be for the observer and a protocol such as First Classroom Visits from The School Reform Initiative can be a powerful, yet non-threatening tool to help the observer think more deeply about their own practice.  Teachers at Capuano will begin by thinking about the how classroom visits benefit the observer - and about how having a guiding question about your work can open the door to new ways of thinking.

• What are your questions about your own work?
• How might observing in a colleague's classroom open your eyes to new practices?
• How can close observation of children's work and play address your questions about your own teaching? 

This kind of thinking doesn't always come naturally in the busy lives of teachers and intentionally surfacing our questions, taking the time to SEE children and each other, is a worthwhile endeavor.

We will let you know what we see.

Designing Classrooms for Learning

This past summer early childhood educators in Somerville took part in a workshop: Creating Beautiful Environments for Learning.  Teachers were asked to think about the question: Where do you do your best work? They tackled topics such as what to put on the walls, minimizing overstimulation and clutter, setting up rooms to provide learning areas, and making materials accessible to children. Most participants said that one of their main goals was to create distinct areas in their rooms, as well as eliminate the "sea of tables" that was usually the focal point of their rooms.

We know that people respond to color, things on the walls, and the way materials are set up. Teachers learned about elements of design that create beauty and a "homey" feel to classrooms - so important in making young children feel safe and comfortable at school. As part of the workshop teachers practiced their new skills by giving four lucky teachers a room makeover. Here are a few highlights from the workshop and the changes some teachers have begun to make, and possible entry points for your room arrangement journey.

The Early Education Department in Somerville is available to help Somerville early educators with their classrooms via our instructional coaching services.  Contact lkuh@k12.somerville.ma.us

1.  Conduct a Furniture Inventory

As teachers worked, the furniture piled up in the halls.  Everyone was amazed to see how much they didn't need and that less was indeed more. What can you do without?  How many chairs do you need, beyond one for every child?  What are you holding onto that you can put into storage, or offer to another center?

 

Without all the extra furniture the room took on a more open, expansive feeling. It also created a "clean slate" so that children's work could be the foundation of the decor. This more minimalist approach can feel strange given the preponderance of catalogue decorations, but it allows children's work and learning to be the first thing we put up. 

2. Create Inviting Spaces - Boost the "Cozy Factor"

The over abundance of furnishings made the group reconsider the need for chairs at every table. Tables where children can kneel help develop a stronger core, more children can fit around them fostering collaboration, and the space is more inviting.

  

Placing materials in clear containers and carefully sorting makes the shelves more attractive, less cluttered and draws children to the space.  Aa an alternative to posters, choose something simple that is calming to the eye creates a soothing environment. 

3. Bring the Lighting Down - Create a "Homey" Feeling 

Small table lamps are a wonderful contrast to harsh or dull fluorescent lighting. Teachers reported increased visits to areas with this kind of lighting. 

4.  Make Displays Authentic and Reflect Children's Learning

 

Which of these photos might help children better understand the properties of a triangle? What can you create with children to display rather than spending money on catalogue items?

   

While it is easy to put all children's identical work in a grid-like arrangement on a bulletin board, think about adding photographs that show how children created the work, hang things from the ceiling, lose the colorful borders and overly bright backgrounds to make children's work "pop".

When teachers thought about the question, Where do you do your best work?, they said things like uncluttered spaces, good lighting, comfortable furnishings, quiet, time to work, and places to be creative.   Don't our children deserve the same?

The Curriculum Starts Today!

A few years ago I was working with some new teaching assistants who had little classroom experience.  About 3 weeks into school we were having our weekly team meeting and I could tell they both had something to say.  Finally one of them broke the tension.  "What we want to know is.....when is the curriculum starting?"

They were surprised to find out they had already been "doing curriculum" for weeks, and actually even before the children arrived.

For young children, curriculum means more than reading, writing, and mathematics - core areas we most often associate with curriculum content.  While activities associated with the more commonly known areas can emerge days or weeks into school, certain routines and concepts need to begin right away so that children know how to use materials, routines can be established, community built, and practices experienced and repeated.

Introducing Materials

           Guided Discovery

Balance Lesson - a bit long but gives you the general idea

           Presentation and naming of materials

           How to take something out and use it

           Intentional teaching about a material

           Steps for engaging in a game or activity

          

Routines

           Coming to the rug for Whole Group

           Sitting on the rug for Whole Group – Multiple seating positions

           Leaving the rug and going to a center

           Pushing in chairs, moving chairs, getting in and out of a chair

           Treating the classroom and materials with care.

           Carrying materials

           Cleaning up and putting things away

(Clean Up Time video)

           Practicing independent work without an adult

           Free exploration of materials

Walking around the building, classroom spaces

          

Social Emotional  

           Building community

           The classroom belongs to all of us

           What do children do when they want to say something?

           How do you interrupt or ask for help?

           How to share space and materials with others

           Asking reflecting questions – "How did you know that?"

 

Early Math Content

           Collections and sorting, ordering objects, grading, classifying
           Real Graphing, Morning questions (link)
           Building, blocks (table top and on rugs)
           Connecting things and taking them apart: 

(collage, manipulatives, construction materials)
           Counting – ANYTHING!  ALL THE TIME!

Early Literacy Content

Looking at books

Listening to read-alouds at story time

Free drawing

Writing words on children's pictures

Writing children's stories as they dictate them

Offering a variety of writing materials: 

(various sized paper, little books at choice time)

Lots of fine motor opportunities:

(pegs, beads, eye droppers, tongs, etc.)

Choral reading morning messages

Helping children recognize and write their names

(copying and tracing)

Part of the development of curriculum lies in the relationship between teacher and child, and the transfer of responsibility and ownership from teacher to child. These are elements of good teaching.

I asked the children, “Whose room is this?”  There was the usual consternation as they tried to guess. Finally I said, “I’ll give you a hint. It doesn’t belong to the adults.”

“It belongs to the kids!” they said incredulously, exchanging looks of disbelief.  

This is a special moment in the beginning of each class for me. The children’s faces and tone clearly show that I am presenting them with a new experience in their lives.

“Yes, it is yours, to work in and take care of, and I will show you how to take care of it.”

(Paula Polk Lillard)  

The curriculum for a group of children moving up from one classroom to another in a child care or center-based program, or those beginning the first day of school in a public school, begins on day one. The first smile from the teacher, the first "Good Morning!" is where curriculum in early childhood starts. 

Summer Learning for Teachers and for Children

Much has been written about the concept of summer learning loss for children. Somerville Public Schools provides programming for over 1000 students of all ages, combining fun experiences and keeping the learning going in order to start the year off right.

But the students aren't the only ones learning and having fun. Our teachers are learning too.  In early childhood, teachers often work all year - either in summer programs, or in childcare programs that provided care for working families year round. And, teachers take the time to further their own learning during the summer.

This spring and summer, SPS offered a small catalogue of workshops open to early childhood educators from across the city.  In any given workshop, Head Start, family childcare, center-based program, and Somerville Public School teachers learn side by side.   Offerings from May-August include:

• Spring Into Science - Worms and Insects
• Using Personal Dolls to Promote Anti-Bias Education
• Music for Transitions - Self Regulation and Play
• Using Photographs with Children and Families: Making Learning in Your Classroom Visible
• Summer Science Academy: Explorations with Water
• The Art of Loose Parts in the Classroom: The Beautiful Stuff Project
• Understanding Trauma:  Getting your Students Back on Track for Learning
• Preparing Early Childhood Classrooms for Learning:  Creating Beautiful Environments

The photos below illustrate just some of the learning that has been happening!

Teachers learned some of the techniques to take high quality photos of children and practiced with each other.  They also brought photos from their sites and practiced make displays of photographs that communicate student learning to parents, children, and the public.

Mary Rizzuto, science educator, spent two days making teachers feel like scientists themselves.  Teachers engaged in experiments related to properties of water such as surface tension, bouancy, absorption, and cohesion.  All of these apply to work children can do in the classroom in sensory tables and in more intentionally designed experiences.

Mary Rizzuto gives the next directions 

for a sink and float activity.

Changing the variables of objects, like using these density cubes (same size, different materials and weights), helps teachers and children make predictions, observe phenomena, and come to a great understanding about why things sink and float.

Teachers make predictions about which objects will float and which will sink.

Making the time to take a workshop and actually getting there (getting a sub for your students, making sure your own family's needs are attended to, taking time off work) is half the battle in professional development. But the hardest part of professional development might be what happens after the workshop is over.  Research shows us that the transfer of professional development activities into actual practice is scant - why so?

The busy lives of teachers and competing demands make it hard.  Once teachers go back into their classrooms, it can be difficult to make room for new practices. What makes a difference?

Teachers find that making a commitment can help.  This means accountability to a group in the form of written plans, new habits, materials. Sharing even one small new way of working can help instill a new practice and inspire others to do the same.  We included content on planning and follow up in our professional development workshops to help teachers stay on track with new learning.  Padlets, DropBox, follow up emails all encourage teachers to share their work with each other and we hope to post some of those new practices here in the coming months!

Somerville Early Childhood Teachers: Following Children's Interests and Supporting Development

Over the past year, early childhood teachers in Somerville Public Schools, Head Start, and center-based community programs have been engaged in professional development focused on play and learning. One thing they found was that when they carefully prepared the classroom for play, children had richer experiences socially and intellectually. There was more language (vocabulary and communication exchanges), children stayed in a role for a longer time (which builds self-regulation), and they developed more complex play themes demonstrating higher level thinking and problem solving.

Photos & text from seed catalogues

Refrigerator turned store conveyer belt

For example, ECIP (early childhood intervention program) teacher Joan Duffy set up a garden center in her Capuano classroom in conjunction with a unit on the study of plants.  She noticed that the children wanted to buy plants and were trying to mimic the set up of a real store - they needed that conveyer belt that moves the groceries along.  The teacher turned the play fridge on its side, covered it with poster board and ta da! - a new element of the garden center inspired by children's needs.

Making signs and money

At the same time, Mrs. Duffy engaged in some district and city-wide practices - incorporating literacy in dramatic play. Children naturally wanted to make money and signs - and so writing became a part of the play experience.

Artificial flowers in styrofoam

Garden centers were popping up in classrooms all over the city - at the Bigelow Cooperative preschool children made flower arrangements with artificial flowers and a styrofoam base.  This simple activity gives children the chance to practice color sorting and fine motor skills. They also started their own plantings as part of a life sciences unit - combining real world activity and play.

Another teacher in Somerville took a different approach to scaffolding play experiences that support cognitive development and build on children's interests.  Nelleke Harris, kindergarten teacher at the East Somerville Community School, had children work cooperatively in small groups to engage in one of their favorite activities, building with Legos.  She took photos of children's constructions as they worked and then projected the creations onto the classroom SmartBoard.  After children finished building they gathered on the rug to compare the constructions, describe what they built and how they built it (an important cognitive skill - reflecting and reviewing), and then received feedback from other groups on their work.



This all happened in "real time" - it was part of a warm up activity children did when they arrived (the lego constructions), and then moved into a meaningful morning meeting with sophisticated exchanges among 5-year olds!

Finally, this is also the time of year for us to revel in children's explosion into writing.  Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are driven to put marks on paper.  Those scribbles you see are really a child's attempt to communicate in writing.  Somerville teachers engaged in the Literacy Coaching Group have focused this year on fine motor skills, exposure to print, real-life opportunities

The playbill for a version of Caps for Sale at the

Argenziano SMILE preschool program

for writing, and building writing centers into their classrooms.  This group received monthly and weekly visits from district Early Childhood Coaches, and met 3 times during the year as a professional learning community to share and learn about new practices. 

One of the unique things about this group is that it is made up of Somerville Public School preschool teachers, Head Start teachers, and teachers from center-based community programs at the YMCA Preschool and the Elizabeth Peabody House.  These kinds of groups are a way to create alignment between the activities happening in SPS and those in the community across Somerville - teachers learn from each other and our city comes closer to developing shared practices that benefit all children. 


Sometimes a small book, 3x3, is more enticing 
than a large piece of paper

A teacher shares a child's story in a little book

While the Somerville Public Schools come to a close this week, early childhood education continues throughout the summer, particularly in the birth through age 4 range. Children whose parents are working require care, and our formal and informal providers in the city work year-rounds to serve children and families.  In addition, Somerville provides some programming for children who will enter kindergarten in the fall and would benefit from a "get ready for kindergarten" program.  In addition, summer is a time when teachers engage in concentrated professional development and this year SPS is providing 6 free early childhood workshops to teachers from all kinds of programs on topics such as music, art, documenting children's work, helping children who have experienced trauma, science, and preparing classroom environments. So the good work continues, year round, and stay tuned for more from our Somerville early educators.

Happy Beginning of Summer!