"Save my work!"

 "It is time to clean up."  For some children these words evoke excitement - a signal that it is time to move onto something new.  For other children, clean up is something they dread.  Stopping something you are enjoying or engrossed in can be difficult.  Part of this difficulty is related to a child's ability to self-regulate, but for many children, especially those with attachment issues, letting go of work and play experiences can be wrenching.   And yet, we must move on to lunch, to recess, to the next activity.

 

Having a way for children to save their work helps children to move on, knowing that they can return to an activity later in the day or the following day. This predictability, knowing that their efforts were worth it and the chance to return is calming for many children.

A basket of name cards with children's photos is always available
 in this classroom so children can save their work. (Eliot-Pearson Children's School)

These name blocks have Velcro on them and can be
moved to various places in the classroom where there is a
Velcro piece. (Capuano Early Childhood Center)

These gallery spaces are a place for children to save work
that is either finished or in progress. (West Somerville Neighborhood School)

In some classrooms saving work becomes part of the learning experience.   In a preschool classroom at the Capuano Early Childhood Center a teacher created a Save My Work book.

The directions in the box are:

1. Print my name on the cover.

2. Make something first.

3. Draw a picture of what I made.

4. Put the book in my white box (a box each child has, but could go in a folder or communal basket).

5. Show to my teacher when on the last page.

 

Save My Work books available in the classroom.



Drawing or Recording her efforts, this child saves her work.



Children often want to save playdough, but drawing or
 photographing is a way to save it.
  

We try to remember to save our work on our computers, find places to put projects in process at home, and recognize the comfort of returning to something we found enjoyable.  Let's find ways to extend this same experience to children!

Using Provocations to Inspire Learning

Somerville preschool teachers just finished some professional development related to the Building Blocks math curriculum.  Questions came up about how to extend learning experiences for children who "get it", children who need more help, and how to make some learning experiences in the teachers' guide more interesting and sustained.  Central to this conversation is what can be referred to as a kind of improvisation - taking advantage of teachable moments and having things "in your back pocket".

A professional learning community of Somerville early childhood educators is working with the The Beautiful Stuff Project and has also been thinking about this idea, but is using the word provocation in their conversations about intentional teaching. This term, often used by those who follow a Reggio Emilia approach, puts a different spin on what and how we offer learning experiences.  This link to a website on the power of art has a good definition of provocation - here it is:
Provocations: deliberate and thoughtful decisions made by the teacher to extend the ideas of the children. Teachers provide materials, media, and general direction as needed, but the children take the ideas where they want. This allows children to develop skills of creativity, inventiveness and flexibility in thinking, planning and reflecting.
And the dictionary definition:
Something that provokes, arouses, or stimulates.
Synonyms for provoke:  excite, stimulate, pique, quicken, impassion, incite....and the first cousin of all these word - inspire.

From East Somerville Community School Kindergarten

The question also arises:  What is the difference between a provocation and a center?  A provocation is intrinsically child-directed.  The adult offers the provocation and then observes carefully to see what the child will do, and this in turn informs future practices. There certainly can be scaffolding and directions for a provocation - it isn't only exploration - but a center often has a more finite goal and children may come and go from a center without the possibility of extended and varying learning experiences over time.

Sometimes a provocation is a material or tool - it could be something familiar that is then used in a new way, like the popsicle sticks below. Sometimes a provocation is a question:

 

The kindergarteners at East Somerville Community School grappled with some very intentional questions posed by teachers to expand children's thinking and inspire problem solving and experimentation.

Preschoolers are learning to choose their own
activities during center time at Capuano Early Childhood Center.

Sometimes provocations are planned, other times more improvisational - and teachers need provocations in their back pockets. Children in a Somerville preschool classroom choose their own work during a center time block. Then a teacher dropped in the provocation of white boards when she noticed children counting while using the tong transfer activity.  Suddenly addition was happening and children were representing quantity in multiple ways without being told to do so.

Transferring pompoms with tongs becomes addition.

And sometimes teachers need provocation too. Getting inspired by new ideas like this Facebook Page from Loose Parts and Intelligent Playthings, or the Somerville Early Education (SEE) Pinterest site are ways for educations to breathe new life into their work. 

Experiencing Joy in the Classroom

....tidings of comfort and joy

A familiar refrain from a seasonal song.  As we enter the new year I have been thinking about what the words 'comfort' and 'joy' might mean in our classrooms. 

Comfort:  What does this mean to you?  Where do you do your best work and play?  Does the first photo work for you, or the second?  What do you need?  We'll wait while you think.

Now think about whether we provide these same things to children at home or at school. Hmmm.

We want to create comforting and caring spaces for young children.  For many this means thinking carefully about the environment and offering soft spaces, natural and low level lighting, neutral calming colors and uncluttered space. In the new year, how can you create such spaces at home or in classrooms?   Somerville teachers can reach out to the early childhood department for help with this and we will come and help think about the classroom environment.

But now onto something that is a bit more abstract.

Joy:  What brings you joy in your work, in your daily life?   Ponder that for a moment.

How are your children, at home or at school, experiencing joy? I began thinking about this as some teachers in Somerville began using a Vivian Paley inspired movement called Story Telling Story Acting. This very short, inspirational video of Vivian Paley talking about the importance of establishing relationships with children highlights the value in connecting with children. Children first dictate a story to an adult, then the group acts out the story without props or rehearsal. Story Telling Story Acting is a simple yet powerful way for children to express narratives, develop language and expression, and to see their stories acted out quickly and effectively.   I will post more about Story Telling Story Acting in the new year as preschool teachers in Somerville try it out in their classrooms.

Aside from all of the obvious links to the literacy standards, teachers and administrators also noticed something else happening while children acted out each other's stories.  Children were unusually well-regulated, sitting at rapt attention as the teacher read the narrative and watching their friends act out a story or waiting for a turn to be an actor. 

Part of the children's interest and attention was something less quantifiable - the light in children's eyes, laughter, glee of being an actor and being on stage.  It made me think about the "joy ratio" in our teaching.  Are we erring on the side of activities that don't necessarily bring joy and delight to the learning process?  I know I learn something better when there is motivation to enjoy the process and I feel involved and personally connected.

A teacher in Somerville recently asked her children what joy meant.   Here are their responses in the form of a poem. 



Now things get a bit less abstract!  Here is a very concrete list from a group of 4 year olds.  While we can't make everyday be a birthday, we can help children to feel a sense of pride, to sing, feel calm, develop a sense of anticipation about learning, and be held both literally and metaphorically within the classroom.

Commit to comfort and joy in the learning experiences you offer this year!

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?