Wait … what is my name?

One year as a Pre-K teacher, the first day arrived and we had just begun our welcome back routine. We went outside at 10:30am as usual to let the kids get some fresh air, and shake out those adorable wiggles. My co-teachers, and I, had just introduced ourselves to the children, and of course, I told them, “My name is Miss Barb.”

When we were out on the playground, one child came running up to me and said, “Your name isn’t Miss Barb. It’s Miss Barbeque!” Then she ran off, giggling!!

I have to admit I didn’t like this new name at all so I nipped it in the bud as soon as I could. You know the whole “respect your elder thing.”

However, as I got to know her and learn her story the name grew on me. Her previous teachers shared that she, and her family, had just moved here from Korea in January. And that although she only spoke Korean at first, she had learned an incredible amount of English in eight months. She had become an amazing little sponge as she continued to pick up more and more English.

I also recall my co-worker working with her on Monday mornings, and sometimes asking her, “Are you speaking English?” (Silly me I just thought I didn’t understand her due to my hearing loss.) As her suspicion was confirmed she would remind her parents to use as much English with her as they could at home.

One Saturday morning I saw her again at my church when we hosted a fall festival. We enjoyed creating a craft together and it was obvious that her parents didn’t speak much English.

Later I learned that her dad had been coming to our church to learn English as an ESOL student, and I was impressed by his desire to work hard to learn the language. Ahhh … perhaps that was some added incentive for his daughter.

What strikes me about this story is that it illustrates that kids really can learn way more than they think they can, and that we think they can. When the expectations are high, but not too high, children CAN meet them when properly motivated. I think in this case, this little girl was highly motivated herself to interact with her peers and her teachers. And, oh my, did it pay off for her!

This also reminds me of a little boy I worked with this past year who was frustrated with his kindergarten teacher because she pushed him to practice and learn phonics. As the after care teacher I always had a fun book to read to the class, and maybe my influence helped as well. By Spring, his mom brought him to school one morning looking sheepish. She told us he might be tired and cranky because he had been awake late the night before … R-E-A-D-I-N-G!!!!! Hallelujah! This boy who didn’t think he could read was reading voluntarily and for his own pleasure! By the end of the year he was reading Captain Underpants books and thoroughly enjoying the humor.

I realize there are many children who struggle with reading, and this is an exceptional story, but if children can learn all the names of their favorite Superheroes and all the Pokemon, I do think they can be pushed just a little more with academics in school and at home.

You can bet the stories of these two children have stayed with me ever since. They warm my heart but more importantly they inspire me to reach for my goals.

And, yes, my girlfriends still call me Miss Barbeque!

Hurray for Hanna Anderson!

This is one of those all too familiar “a funny thing happened on my way stories,” because a funny thing actually did happen just this weekend. I had been planning to write a very different post today until this thing came up.

And, it all started yesterday with a pair of sneakers that were getting on my last nerve. After buying myself a brand new pair of sneakers last December, they started literally falling apart. I mean the soles kept coming off after numerous attempts to glue them back together with Shoe Goo. I’m guessing the sneakers were dry rot, or something, because one of the heels actually collapsed on me. Since my summer job has me walking all over a campus and shopping for teacher, and office, supplies I admitted it was time to start looking around for a new pair. Ugh! I hate spending money unexpectedly, don’t you?

As it was a slow day in the office yesterday, I looked online at my local mall to see what shoe stores I might want to visit. As the website came in, so did all the stores that featured amazing sales and events.

One event caught my eye and I got very excited.

It was an ad for Storytime at 11:00am … TOMORROW!!!

Are you familiar with Hanna Anderson, the clothing store for children? Talk about “Oh my goodness!!” The clothes are gorgeous and I wish I were little enough to wear them myself. I am familiar with this clothing line because when I taught preschool I always loved seeing, and commenting about, the adorable clothes my kiddos wore. At times, I’d ask the children if they would mind if I could peek at their labels. Sure enough, often they were Hanna Anderson clothes. I really love the knit dresses because I used to sew some like that for myself. How I wish the local sewing stores sold nicer knit prints. I’d definitely dust off my sewing machine again!

Last night, after I spent considerable time at the shoe store of my choice I went to introduce myself to the woman at the Hanna Anderson store to learn more about this program. What I learned made my day!!

Hanna Anderson has partnered with a non-profit company, Raising a Reader, to “develop book routines with kids.” When you buy Hanna Anderson’s stripped long johns (PJs I believe) this organization gets 15%. Check it all out Hanna Helps: Raising a Reader

Somehow I missed this whole thing. Who knew this has been going on for 15 years? I guess I need to stop writing so much and get out more often.

Hanna also has an entire line of costumes to encourage kids to engage in imaginative play. Oh boy, I can just see some kids wearing that fox’s tail and pretending to be Max in Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I’m sure he, or she, would let the wild rumpus begin. Okay, that’s maybe what I would do!

Yes, as a semi-retired teacher, I agree that imaginative play IS “critical for kid’s success in school.” Hopefully, the whole Max skit occurs well before bedtime, though, so the child is tired enough to fall right to sleep once the last page in the bedtime story is turned.

So, of course, you realize I had to go back this morning and witness this story time myself, right?  This is Andrea Bloch, the store manager, reading today’s selection to a few little ones. Then the children get a coloring book and a chance to win books. How cool is that?

I took a few pictures of some of the clothes as well because they are so adorable!! Bear with me as I share a few. I felt like a kid in a candy store! My girlfriends know I love the Red Hatters, so when I saw these red and purples dresses I had to take out my phone to snap this photo.

Yes, I even saw a red hat. Go Red Hatters!Check out these darling slippers and fun dresses too. Oh, the potential for the famous twirl factor!!

Lastly, I took an opportunity to ROAR like a dino! Yes, it doesn’t take much to get me excited!

Thankfully, I did get a partial refund for the sneakers and the whole thang led me on this much more fun  journey. Sure, I’ll also buy new sneakers, later!

Click on this link for more information about Barb’s Author Visits and Book Making classes.

Also, come see Barb’s Books on Facebook page if you are interested in entering my Summer Contest. Someone will win a free paperback of one of my books about GG, the water loving kitty.

Enjoy these summer days, with a good book, of course!

What’s Write around you?

Last weekend, I had the sweetest opportunity. I went and paid a surprise visit to a former student of mine who had set up a lemonade stand. (Don’t you just love budding entrepreneurs?) It had been three years since we’ve seen each other, and bless his heart, he remembered me! What fun it was to catch up a tad and to learn that his favorite subject in school now … is reading, and, even better, W-R-I-T-I-N-G. 

Talk about making a (semi-retired) teacher’s day!!

We chatted for a bit, and I shared a video I saw on my Facebook page of a Giant Octopus Kite, and asked him whether he thought it looked neat or if it would be scary to him. (This has been a small research project of mine in recent days and I’ve learned I’m the scaredy-cat not today’s children.)  Later, I shared the video with his mom to suggest that he might want to write about it.

This, and a few other events, got me thinking about the ways we can prompt children to write over the summer.  My husband once said, “You may not be a teacher anymore but you still think like one.” Okay, I’ll admit it. That’s me! Haven’t you heard the expression: “You can take the teacher out of the school, but you can’t take the school out of the teacher.”?

That same evening, my cat and I were hanging out next to each other on my couch when we heard two dogs yapping outside. Although they were next door neighbors they hadn’t really had an occasion to get acquainted since the one is just a puppy and new to our area. They weren’t very loud, and they didn’t frighten my kitty, but they did get our attention. And, I’m sure they were just being playful. At one point my cat, GG, meandered over to our front screen door and watched the dogs. As an eight year old indoor cat, I wondered what she wondered as she watched the cheerful canines.

I almost wished I was teaching children again, or still homeschooling my son. What fun it would have been in that moment to ask children questions like these: “What do you think the dogs are saying to each other?’ “What do you think the cat is thinking while she is watching the dogs?” and “Would the cat talk to the dogs at all?”

What creative brainstorming opportunities to get young children using expressive language skills, and writing stories, right?

My husband and I had also taken a walk around a lake recently and ‘the playful little girl in me’ had to run and get on a swing and pump herself up as high as the clouds. Hey, it was a beautiful summer evening with warm temps and zero humidity. And, it was FUN!

Then, there were the 15, or so, ducks munching on grass on the side of the lake as we passed them. Being the silly willy that I am, I looked right into an adult duck’s eyes, and said, “We’ll just walk right by you guys. We promise, we won’t harm your beautiful babies.” (And, yes this amuses my husband!)

Maybe I’m just a crazy creative teacher chick but I used to get the creative juices of my students flowing with fun ideas like these. And, yes, children can be encouraged to write over the summer to practice, and improve on, those skills.

Even though most children are on summer vacation they can still read, and write, to keep those skills sharp. Parents can encourage this too whenever they have the chance.

Hey, it would be beneficial to encourage a break from screen time anyway, too, right?

Children can also be encouraged to write about their experiences, whether they too enjoy riding on swings or walking by a bunch of ducks. From my teacher perspective, the opportunities seem to be everywhere, especially as I recalled some of the events I had just experienced this past weekend.

Here are some other ideas that might get those brain waves jiggling enough to write some fun stories:

My first summer concert

My first camping trip

The Pop Up Summer Thunderstorm

Field Trips, or road trips, to places like these: pirate ships, amusement parks, beaches, pools, and/ or playgrounds. (In my area, there are several playgrounds and one is brand new. Maybe they would like to hop from one to another and contrast and compare them.)

I also just recently learned of two groups that come to schools and share their activities:

One group shares food, kitchen supplies, and recipes to encourage healthy eating and reading with a purpose while another one brought a huge mysterious truck. In this truck, children were able to sift through sand to find hidden gems and minerals. Posters hung above work spaces so the children could positively identify their findings.

Aren’t those great activities for kids to practice verbalizing those experiences and then writing about them?

And then there was the child in my Book Making class last year. She wrote about her family’s cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. She used photos from her family trip and wrote about the fun places they visited. I admit that I challenged her but she did a great job!

Whether they are inspired to write about our furry friends, their field trips or just fun times, I hope we can encourage children to write stories just for fun.

Click on this link for more information about Barb’s Author Visits and Book Making classes.

Also, come see Barb’s Books on Facebook page if you are interested in entering my Summer Contest. Someone will win a free paperback of one of my books about GG, the water loving kitty.

Enjoy these summer days, with a good book, of course!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer is about to begin and children will gain so much from

Summer Reading programs in local libraries

Read recipes …make homemade ice cream

write about the activity

 

Let’s scramble up some eggs … not our kids!

I saw familiar truck in traffic recently, and a had a good giggle. Every time I see a UPS truck it reminds me of  a precious four year old boy in one of my Pre-K classes.

Each time we would go outside to play he LOVED watching (and hoping) the driver of that truck would pull up near our school. He may very well become a driver himself, or become CEO of that company someday!
He’d yell, “Miss Barb, look the P-U-S truck is here!”   You realize he’d say each letter because he wasn’t reading words yet. Busted us up each time!!

It sure demonstrates the importance of teaching about the correct sequence of letters in words, right?

The little guy got the thrill of his life when I ordered something that was delivered to our school, a few months later, and he actually met the UPS driver!!

It is an important lesson because as children learn to read they will learn the correct order of letters in words when they see them often. However, when they are expected to write words, and sentences, the spelling sometimes comes out a tad all scrambled up.

I can see it clearly (Okay, I remember it clearly) after going to the zoo with second graders years ago.

I was a big hippopotamus.  No dear you should have written it this way:

I saw a big hippopotamus.

Obviously, there is a BIG difference in what those sentences mean.

Do you see the problem won? I mean ….

Do you see the problem now?

One day driving home from work, a laughed again as I saw another UPS truck. And, then I saw a license plate that got the creative juices of ‘my former teacher self’ all excited. The license plate looked like this one, with numerals on either side of a letter.

However, the same three digits in each numeral are in a different order. So I said to my self, “Hey Self, why don’t you write a post to encourage parents, and teachers, with an easy way for kids to learn and use numbers, and maybe letters?”

Generally, before children are able to write numbers, and letters, they begin by correctly identifying, and matching them. As an educator it is second nature for me to develop meaningful lessons from everyday life. If the digits are in a different order that car might belong to someone else!

As I saw that license plate, I thought, “What a fun way to have children identify digits (individual numbers) and numerals, and then recreate what they see.”

I started by asking the children to identify the digits to the left (of the letter K) and then the digits on the right. (And, of course, encouraging them to identify from left to right is  a good way to remind them that we read from left to right as well.) It also helps them to say those numerals aloud so they can hear the difference.

Once they have read them correctly, then I would ask if they look exactly the same.

“Does 356 look like 536?”

Then, I would give them cards, and ask if they could rearrange the digits so they would look like the numeral circled in red. (See photo below)

You could give an example like this, and ask if these are arranged correctly to match what is inside the red circle. Which one matches?

         

I decided to use cards from the Set game because they are nice and large but you can use whatever you have available.

Find a variety of ways to practice this with lots of repetition. In November, we would do this with a fire truck because fire fighters are so exciting for kids. Holy Smokes!

(Get it? I couldn’t resist, sorry.)

Kids love the fire fighter unit! Let them correctly arrange the digits, and the words, on the trucks.

While you teach about community workers or transportation, it’s good to include road signs. And, all kids seem to recognize the famous S-T-O-P sign.

Encourage them to place the letters in the correct sequence

Oops, read that word to them so they understand the problem. Give them another chance now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As children learn the letters in their name, it is important that they learn the sequence of those letters too. I mean Tom is not Mot, and Brian shouldn’t be spelled Brain.

And on a personal note, although, I prefer to go by Barb I do occasionally sign my full name on certain documents. But, I promise you I do not spell it like some Barbra’s. I know many folks use that spelling but I’m a much happier camper without BRA in my name, thank you very much. Talk about embarrassing! Well, for me it is.

Whether you help children with the correct order of digits, numerals, or letters, it is all worth it because we wouldn’t want anything like this to happen to our kids, right? Hopefully, no one turns in a book report with such a mistake.

With children so into electronic screens these days, encouraging them to read and write has become my passion. Maybe this is true because I struggled in school, and I believe it is important to encourage this generation of students to become thinkers and excellent communicators.

Click here for more information on Barb’s Author Visits and Book Making classes

 

Springing into action with books … and maybe more?

While working in a supportive role in an elementary school, I had these two conversations with very young children in recent weeks:

1). After an unusual looking fox ran in front of my car one evening, I shared the story with my Kindergarten children the next morning. I asked them if they’ve ever heard of a brown and gray fox. Several of them told me, with the greatest confidence five year old children possess, “No! Mrs C. foxes are red.”

“I know that’s what I thought too,” I replied (tongue in cheek), “but this was definitely not a red fox.”

After they shared “their wisdom” on foxes, I asked, “What can we use to find out more about foxes?”

These were their suggestions:

“Videotape them.”

“Ask a scientist.”

“Look on the computer.” (“Okay, I get that,” I muttered to myself.)

Sadly, only one child said, “Look in a book.”

2). Another day while escorting them down a hallway, I reminded them, “Follow who is in front of you and eyeballs forward please.”

A few of them questioned, thinking I was surely off my rocker, “Eyeballs?”

When I explained, “Yes, didn’t you know our eyes are like little balls?”

The next question piqued my interest, “What are eyeballs made of?”

So guess what my little (semi-retired) teacher self did next?

I went to my local public library and I borrowed a couple of NON-FICTION books.

We have been learning so much about foxes and we are about to learn about eyeballs. (I promise I will be very selective, though, about sharing pages of ‘other parts of the human body.’)

The reason I love working with young children is because they become so curious and ask great questions. The best question came from one little girl who is about to become a big sister. “How does the mommy fox know if her baby will be a boy or a girl?” Of course, her mom had a sonogram done months ago to reveal the answer they aren’t going to wait to learn in the delivery room. I can assure you I chuckled, for quite a while, at the thought of a fox having a sonogram.

I am so passionate about encouraging children to read for many different reasons and for their families to participate in all that their public libraries offer. I guess my adult son is correct in saying, “Mom, you’re old school.” And, I proudly admit that’s true. I grew up going to the public library, researching through encyclopedias, and books found in the card catalog, to complete book reports in school and even larger papers in college. I am learning all I can about this new techno world, and trying embrace all it has to offer. (Well, okay most of it.) And, I’m on a mission to redirect children back to books. Books ARE fun!!

So here’s where I get bold and courageous and ask you to consider “springing into action” yourself. My husband and I have been sharing one laptop for about six years, and he needs it more for his line of work, so I need one myself now to make my dream business come true. (Oh, and, if you yourself are trying to grow a business, check out this new book.) I just started reading it this week: Business Boutique.

Anyway, in an effort to raise capital to buy a laptop and a projector, I just added this new post on my Facebook page.

And, I know my blog is new to the WordPress community but if you are at all inclined to support me, or share this post, I would be eternally grateful.

If you are not on Facebook, here is the post and my photos:

This is GG, my water loving cat. I’ve written two children’s picture books about her.

Here is your Fun Feline photo: Did you know kitties have whiskers ABOVE their eyes? How did I learn about that? I read it in a nonfiction BOOK. Yippee for facts one can read and learn about, right? Promoting literacy, motivating children to read, and inspiring them to write their own picture books has become my passion. Would you please consider donating to this campaign of mine, if you are able? I am hoping to take my business to the next level and impact MANY children!! https://www.gofundme.com/BarbsBooksAV4Kids

 

Thanks for reading. You’ve heard folks say, “You can take the teacher out of the school but you can’t take the school out of the teacher,” right? That’s me!!

Get them outside for the WRITE reasons

Here is a great way to encourage children to get off the screens for a while, and write a book!!  Many of us are concerned that kids aren’t getting enough physical exercise, but this post hopes to encourage cognitive exercise:

We had a snow and ice storm in the Northeast this past week, and I thought it was the purr-fect opportunity to encourage elementary school children to write a class book. Yippee! We actually had a day off, even though the veteran teachers told me, “This school never closes!”

First I read the book,  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I asked each of them to tell us what they did on their day off. Everyone had a chance to share and think about how to verbalize their thoughts. I gave them each a piece of white paper and explained that I wanted them to draw a picture of what they did that day. Some of them drew pictures of themselves sledding, others drew dads snowball fighting with them and their siblings, and, of course, they drew their little snow angels. One little girl even drew the tracks she made in the snow with their feet. Cute, right?

Younger ones can explain what’s happening in their picture so an adult can write it out for them. And, of course, older ones can do the writing themselves on the back of their picture. I gave them an added incentive, and told them I would put a “special stamp” on their picture if they worked really hard! And, that was just what they needed. They did a great job. Now I have pages for our new class book. I am applauding!!

Homeschooling families can do this as well, perhaps with siblings or within co-ops. When I homeschooled my only son, we made books in a binder so we could keep a record of all of his writing. “Mama” added some fun pages too, just to role model and keep it entertaining for him.

I have also used photographs of spring trees and flowers to encourage children to write books. Last year, I had third graders thinking about the early signs of spring and what flowers bloom. We learned about the flowering trees and those gorgeous first flowers. I had encouraged them to write non-fiction books, as they learned about pear trees, redbud trees, daffodils, forsythias, snapdragons, and violas. They learned a lot of new vocabulary and how to write about factual information, and how to make it interesting for readers.

With children so into electronic screens these days, encouraging them to read and write has become my passion. Maybe this is true because I struggled in school, and I believe it is important to encourage this generation of students to become thinkers and excellent communicators.

Click here for more information on Barb’s Author Visits and Book Making classes

Let’s turn on the January Juice!

As I went back to the kindergarten class after the holidays, as a substitute, I decided to allow the children to write thank you letters to Santa Claus. (Of course, if they didn’t celebrate Christmas they could have written thank you letters to relatives, or anyone they wanted to thank.) I was excited to do this activity because I know they love to share about the gifts they received so why not make it an educational activity as well, right? In this particular school, it’s pretty well understood that children aren’t allowed to bring in their own toys for show and tell anyway. For obvious reasons, I think that’s a very good idea.

The children were excited to share that they received the usual things like games, (UNO is very popular in this group), dolls, stuffed animals, colored pencil sets, winter hats and even a remote control car. Then, I heard that others received a wrestling stadium, Hatchimals, a Doc Mcstuffings Doctor Bag set, miscellaneous Pokemon things, Super Hero thangs, and of course Star wars everything. Oh, and let’s not forget about everything, and anything, created by Legos. (I have to admit I like Legos myself! One day I will buy myself a Lego train set!)

Since I enjoy talking with these little people anyway, I started asking questions like, “What is a Hatchimal?” and “Who is Doc Mac .. did you say Stuffings?” “What do you actually do with a wrestling stadium?”

Well, they could talk about such things for H-O-U-R-S!! And, you know they have so much information to share on these topics!

So how it is that these same people return to school in January and don’t remember the days of the week, or the current month, or where we keep supplies, or what our schedule is each day, not to mention anything academic they were working on in December?

Are these the same children that can talk about all the latest and greatest superheros, or Pokemon characters,  TV shows for children, not to mention their favorite dinosaurs? Some children have an amazing amount of dinosaur knowledge, or Star Wars movies, and characters at five years of age…. whoa!!

Isn’t it amazing how much children CAN learn when they are motivated?

 This is our opportunity as teachers, even home educators, to instill in children that they can learn so much more than they think they can. If they can tell me all kind of details about all these different dinosaurs, and superheroes, they sure can learn what they’re supposed to learn in school!

This is what I call “January Juice.” Juice them up, motivate them, and encourage them!

Years ago, there was a movie I watched that inspired me to become a teacher and encourage children to learn, and succeed in school. What I remember most about The Marva Collins Story was this teacher’s passion that children CAN learn!! She had to fight to keep her school open, and to convince people that children, even those with learning difficulties WILL learn despite the many limitations and obstacles that were in their way. This was a true story about this teacher who started her own school, and method of teaching. I highly recommend it!

Let’s get those kiddos learning, and reading again! Also, check this post out about how to help your child in: 

Finding the Right Book

 

 

Sharing the Gift of Generosity and Understanding: Part 2 (Updated)

Hi everyone! I wanted to give you an update from my last post. In it, I described a plan to encourage Kindergarten children, and older children, to be more “other directed” this month, rather than focused on what they will get as gifts this holiday season.

Since reading Crazy Hair Day, the children understand that they can make someone feel good after a ‘difficult situation’ arises. So I drew my own version of ‘Stanley’ and created a cover for the book we will be working on for the next few weeks.

We also read A Chair for My Mother and they were SILENT as I read about the fire which created much devastation to the home of the family in the story.

I gave them the challenge to watch each other and see who is being kind, generous, helpful or understanding during the day. As I left them, I gave them the idea that they could write thank you letters to people who are being extra kind to others. I explained that those thank you letters would become the pages in our book.

Right afterwards, as they were playing in our gym during indoor recess, a little boy was crying because someone yanked a football out of his hand. The poor guy doesn’t exactly have the same throwing and catching skills as the taller more experienced guys do, so he often feels left out as they run faster and can catch the ball more quickly. After I had the appropriate conversations with those involved, another child (who was listening) threw the ball right to him so he could practice catching it.

And, yes, I capitalized on that moment!! I very loudly praised her in front of everyone, and encouraged the boy to thank her. I also asked him if would be willing to write a thank you letter to her for our book. He worked VERY hard on that letter this morning, and I couldn’t be prouder of the two of them!! Thus, we have our book started, with page number one complete as a great example!! I have also created blank pages for the book with the starter sentences; “Thank you (another child’s name). It was so kind of you to ________________________________________________________.”

And, it just so happens that one of our teachers was very sick this week, and we started creating a very large “Get Well card” for her. This morning, I saw a little boy bring in a picture he made for her at home yesterday, and he presented it to her today upon her return. I am hopeful that someone will write a letter thanking people for encouraging our sick teacher.

We will continue removing links from our paper chain as the days go by this month, but not to get excited about the holidays, but to celebrate our becoming much more kind to each other. After all, aren’t we to spread peace and goodwill?

Since I have written this post, I found two need book titles I thought I’d share that I feel encourages kids to think of others:

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson  (A very creative way of dealing with someone a child might not like.)

The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson  (January is a great month for this book since MLK Jr day is fast upon us, and very young children can benefit form learning about the lessons we have learned from our history, and, of course this amazing man, Martin Luther King, Jr.)

We have about 7 pages in our book. Although this was a good challenge for them I am hopeful I can refer to it, or create a sequel, as I continue to encourage children to think of others.

 

 

Sharing the Gift of Generosity and Understanding

Over the years and as the holidays approach, I have typically created a paper chain for elementary children to patiently count down the days, as we cut off one link a day, sharing in the joy of the season. However, this year, a new idea popped up in my semi-retired teacher brain. I can’t wait to try this and see how it impacts my students! Maybe you’d like to try this as well, in some way for a classroom setting, or within a family.

As I am in a supportive role in two schools this year, I have not requested books from my local library in time because, honestly, I only need a few this year. Most of the fun holiday books I usually reserve have already  been put on hold by other teachers, and although I was a tad disappointed, I realized they probably need them more than I do.

Then I thought, “Maybe I could do something different, especially for my kindergarten class?” Many of them are excited to share ‘Santa will bring me a new bike, or a pretty doll or the newest Nintendo game system,’ or whatever their little hearts desire. And yet, I know several families that have lost loved ones this year, and in one case, I know of a boy who was seriously injured and is in recovery.

Since my heart has been saddened by these events, why not use this time to read aloud books that will encourage children to become more other directed? Perhaps we could have some conversations about being more  generous, empathetic, understanding, and just kind to others.

And then, simply because I forgot a the book I wanted to read to my kindergarten class last week, a child suggested we read Barney Saltzberg’s Crazy Hair Day.

What a perfect book to start with! You see Stanley was so excited that it was Crazy Hair Day until he arrived in school to find out that it was really School Picture Day. The way his classmates thought of him, and encouraged his heart is so endearing and has already started some good conversations about helping others.

To date I plan on reading these sweet stories:

A Chair for My Mother

The Invisible Boy

The Carpenter’s Gift: A Christmas Tale about the Rockefeller Christmas Center Tree

If you need some more ideas, your local librarian can help you find similar books, and that is my intention as well. Also, a friend posted this on Facebook this week, and I thought that it was pretty timely:

Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar

As I close for today, I wonder if you are interested in entering my Kitty Caption Contest?
What a great time to win a children’s picture book for young child, right? Written in rhyming text by a semi-retired teacher my books are great for children learning early reading skills, and they will be enchanted by the adorable photographs of the water loving cat. Give the gift of reading!!

You have one more week left to enter to win one of my books for free at Barb’s Books !

Also, I’m thrilled to share that there is an update to this post now. Click on Part Two

Educating kids can happen on nature walks, naturally

As we are officially in fall, or autumn, what a great time of year to get kids outside into the fresh air to experience the change in seasons, and new sights. As you gather with children in about 12 days for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, here are some fun ways to make an outside walk educational. From fallen leaves in gorgeous new colors to acorns on the ground there is much to see when seasons change.

By now children may have enjoyed visiting a favorite pumpkin patch, cooler temperatures, and maybe even experienced a little jack frost nipping at their noses. On a recent visit to a farm with some children, I was able to photograph this pumpkin to show them how it actually grows on a plant. Then, we saw the seeds several pumpkins left behind as those pumpkins rotted away. Children love to explore seeds, and acorns up close if you have a magnifying glass.

(*) See below for more on gardening with kids.

On a recent walk, I noticed some branches that could be used to help young children identify or create letters, and maybe they could be used to create words. (Keep reading!)

Funny looking sticks might be used to form letters, with a few tools. Just snip away what you don’t need to reveal a capital letter E, and you can probably see how the bottom parallel stick could be removed to form the capital, or uppercase, letter F.

I was even able to find enough sticks with letters to create one of my favorite words:

Also, a while ago I went for a walk with a Pre-K child in a neighborhood, and we looked at the various shapes in the houses. In this house I created online, look at all the triangles, circles, squares, rectangles, and even trapezoids you could help a child find as you walk around.

Interested in sharing with kids how our food grows on plants?

Don’t miss our second trip to Miss Janet’s garden.

If you have enjoyed this post, click here to receive Barb’s monthly Educational Newsletters for more teacher tips.

LIKE Barb’s Books on Facebook too, to get in on Barb’s next contest.

It’s a great time to win a free children’s book, right?

On the subject of books, here are some of my favorites for this time of year:
Possum’s Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey

Happy autumn!! Go ahead, rake up those leaves and jump in with your kids!!