“So, tell me about the new kid,” a kindergarten parent said. “New kid?” I questioned. “You know, Jerry. All we hear lately is Jerry and the cool things he’s doing.” “Jerry Pallotta?” I laughed. “He’s not a new kid. He’s the author we’re studying – the one coming for a school visit.” On his author […]
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“You just had to be there.” How often things happen that we simply miss. The importance of “being there” happened with my six-year-olds in September of 2007. We had spent several days soaking in Byrd Baylor’s picture book, I’m In Charge of Celebrations. There, Baylor recounted her Southwestern childhood memories, illustrating how she created her
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Kindergarten classroom birthday ideas can be simply magical. Consider the power of a celebration with a bunch of children all focused on one five-year-old. Yet kindergarten birthday celebrations are much more than several dozen cupcakes, balloons, or goodie bags. These days families have a variety of health considerations and dietary expectations, not to mention concerns
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It’s usually one of the first questions I hear: How do you host Writing Workshop – in Kindergarten? And the answer is: We just start. We start making books on the first day of school. Kindergartners (and their parents) are always shocked to discover this fact. During our very first Writing Workshop, why, you can
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When creating your kindergarten classroom setup, consider your values as a teacher. What is most important to you? Your philosophy (perhaps as an inquiry-based learning specialist,) your passion for the best books at the beginning of the year, or your desire to showcase available tools for children’s use. Knowing who you are and what you
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Valentine’s day kindergarten ideas come and go. Over 30 years of teaching, I’ve definitely seen them all! During that time, I realized that some Valentine’s Day kindergarten ideas were much more substantive and long-lasting than simply one chaotic day of giving store-bought cards to each other and gobbling as much candy as possible. Even young
Through reflective kindergarten self assessment practices, young children can design and accomplish life-changing student led conferences for their parents. The power of reflecting on our past coupled with creating goals for the future transformed and invigorated my classroom. For more than 20 years, I worked alongside almost 500 youngsters as they uniquely planned for their
What are student led parent teacher conferences? Exactly what they sound like. In individual conferences: Students reflect across the year on the powerful learning that changed them. Parents sit in awe. Teachers support children as needed. Discover the secret of student led parent teacher conferences and how to successfully pull them off! Since 1999, I
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No one could believe where my 20-year tradition of decorating our school garden came from. After all, who would ever dream a family tradition that my mother started over 50 years ago could still impact children these days? Mom had no idea she was engaging in inquiry based learning with her 5, 8, 10 and
Your School Garden: How Can You Actually Live Your Best Life There this Winter? Read More »
Join my kindergartners as they discover what inquiry based learning is. It started with a simple water dropper on the first day of kindergarten. Shuffling twenty-two droppers into outstretched hands, I asked the kids to explore the garden using the droppers and pointed to some scattered water buckets. They rushed off, excited to be first
What Inquiry Based Learning Is: How Could Thoughtful Kindergartners Impact a Village? Read More »