#SOL16 Day 12 The Clarinet

When I was in the third grade, we were finally allowed to choose an instrument to learn to play. My choice: the drums! My mother's choice for me: the clarinet. She didn't think girls played the drums. So I took clarinet lessons. 

It was difficult. Hard to blow air, move my fingers, make the right type of sound. "Hot Cross Buns" came out slow and torturous, yet the only song I could play. Practicing was hard and joyless and my family likened my playing to a dying duck on its last quack.

At music report card time, I was delighted to see I got all As in clarinet playing! My mother was flabbergasted as to how I earned those grades. She actually went up to school to have my grades changed... to be made lower! She couldn't understand how my clarinet playing earned an A. I was quite unhappy to see my grades changed to the mediocre "C"s. Shortly afterwards, I quit the clarinet, and the hearing world rejoiced, as did worried ducks everywhere who were convinced my clarinet playing was one of their own being tortured. So ends my short chapter as a musician. A door closed, another thing I am not. Not a clarinet player. 

But then again, it was the drummer I wanted to be all along.


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Disclaimer: While my mom really did go up to school to see how I possibly could have earned A's for my clarinet playing, and while my grades were lowered, you should know that this was highly uncharacteristic of my mom, who has always been my greatest supporter. In Catholic Schools, you had to pay for these lessons and I think she felt we were not really getting our money's worth or no one was paying attention to my clarinet playing skills. My mom has been and continues to be a person who is consistently in my corner and helpful to me in every way. I could write thousands of slices for all the ways she has helped me. 

#SOL16 Day 11 One Thousand Books Before Kindergarten

  

Next week, I will have the opportunity to be the mom who brings a story and snack to the preschool class! I asked my son, Alex, what book I should bring to share with his friends. He thought about it and then suggested, "What about the book about the dinosaur who bakes cookies?" 

Alex was referring to Mo Willems' Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct. If you don't know this story, it is about a boy who knows everything about everything, Reginald Von Hoobie Doobie and a popular, beloved dinosaur named Edwina. Reginald could not understand why the townspeople loved Edwina, who was clearly extinct. No one would listen to him....except Edwina who ends up being a listener who lets Reginald have his say.  But is she convinced she is extinct? To find out what happens to Reginald and Edwina, you have to read the book! 

So, Alex's book choice was set. I'm also reading to Megan's nursery school class since it will be her birthday. For her 2 and 3 year old friends, I'll be reading Mem Fox's Where Is the Green Sheep? Her teacher requested a St.Patrick's Day book, but to be honest, I have never found a great St. Patrick's Day book that would hold the attention of such young children. The Green Sheep never disappoints and I think it works for the theme since it has GREEN in the title! 

This got me thinking about our local library's initiative to have children read one thousand books before kindergarten. I enrolled both Alex and Megan in the program, but I have stopped recording each book we read. It would have been cool to have a list of every book, but in our hustle and bustle days, this just did not seem possible. Still, Alex and Megan have been surrounded by Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I Love You Stinkyface, That is Not a Good Idea, The Cat in the Hat, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear, Good Night Good Night Construction Site, just to name a few. 

With all the money that has been poured into the testing industry and teacher evaluation programs that are designed to give a teacher a label (flying in the face of growth mindset, but guess that's a post for another day), how I wish the funds might have been spent getting books into the hands of children and an adult who could read to them. If our kids came to school with a rich literacy background, simply from being read to often, would we be in a better place than changing nothing in a child's life but then testing the daylights out of them at age 8? Which way would enrich a child's life? (Though I can't break the super secrecy of the NYS ELA exams, I can assert that I did not find them enriching in the least). 

I am really interested in the idea of Little Free Libraries and exploring the idea of bringing them to the community where I work. If a Little Free Library was placed near a laundromat, would that change the experience for kids stuck inside there for a period of time? If it was placed near a bus stop, how might that help a parent and child pass the time differently? If books were more accessible, could that change a child's school experience?

Before I had my children, I was on a committee through the Nassau Reading Council to provide books for babies. The group met with teen mothers and explained the importance of reading to children and then provided them with books. I'd love to get involved with that type of group again or figure out other ways to help get the word out that the more you read to a small child, the better you are preparing that child for school success as well as building a curious, empathetic, kind child. 

Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct and Where is the Green Sheep are both fantastic stories filled with rich language. My children are better for knowing these stories. Shouldn't all kids get that chance?

#SOL16 Day 10 This is the Girl

This is the girl who wakes up with a fluffy mess of blonde waves, like a halo around her head. This is the girl who was the baby, bald as a cueball, who I adorned with giant flower headbands until she was old enough to yank them off in protest. 

I also sometimes made her wear hats with large flowers.

This is the girl who watches me apply make up and wants to put some on, too. The girl who laughs hysterically when I flip my hair over while drying it and when I flip up with a mess of curls not so different from her wake-up hair. The girl who exclaims with glee, "I FOUND YOU!" as her little face appears in the bathroom door, as if I wasn't just down the hall with her a few moments before. 

This is the girl who looks at my feet and tells me I need lotion. Who stares at my nail polish and wonders if my nails will ever go back to the way they were and can hers get colored too please? Who runs her tiny hand over my blouse and says, "Silky!" and loves to touch any jewelry I remember to put on. 

This is the girl who was the toddler just learning to walk when the orthopedist said she would need to wear a brace again as her hip was sliding out of place. After weeks of fretting about how we could possibly do this to her and how she would adjust to a clunky brace, this was the girl who started crawling moments after being put down in the brace, who learned to stand in it, and walk, and even do tricks on her bicycle. This is the girl, currently brace-free. 

This is the girl who last year could not begin to climb the spider web at the playground, but today kept trying until she mastered it, reaching the top with a triumphant, "I did it!" Then did it again, and again. 

This is the girl who wants me to be happy and asks me over and over again, "Are you happy, Mommy?" at moments when I'm clearly not. This is the girl who perceives others moods and wants everyone to be happy, a trait I must have passed down but one I wish I didn't. It's hard to worry about everyone's happiness, to feel responsible for others moods. This is the girl who cares about how people feel. 

This is the girl who sings nursery rhymes, who sings "Too Ra Loora Loora" (even the part: "Me Mother sang this song to me in words so sweet and low")  and our variation of "Baby Come Back" (we changed it to "Meggie Come Back" and she promptly sings "Any kind of fool could see, there was something in everything about  you...."). This is the girl who remembers lines from books we've read, word for word. 

This is the girl who I was sure was a boy, after getting over the shock of an unexpected pregnancy. This is the girl who was the baby with acid reflux, who I held all night long sleeping on the couch because she slept better upright. The baby who had special formula delivered to our house and who sat in her bouncy seat in front of the microwave vent, the white noise soothing her. This is the girl who was the baby that loved to walk outside, who calmed down at the sight of sky, trees, and grass. Who laughed with glee when her brother came near, the brother she called "Agex" as one of her first words. 

This is the girl who turns 3 next week, who likes to pick out her own clothes and snuggle with stuffed animals. This is the girl who insists on cooking scrambled eggs and then won't take a bite. This is the girl that will start ballerina classes. This is the girl who still says "lellow" instead of "yellow" and tells me "sharing is caring" when she wants something of mine.  

This is my baby. This is the girl. 

#SOL16 Day 9 The Me I Dream To Be

The me I dream to be wears clothes several sizes smaller than the me I am. Sleeveless dresses reveal toned arms on the me I dream to be. The me I dream to be can pick anything out of the closet without fear it will not fit or emphasize the wrong features. Everything looks good on the me I dream to be.

The me I dream to be never has to search for a working pen- there are plenty of pens that work, stored in organized places. The classroom is bright, cheerful, orderly, and full of perfectly prepared anchor charts for every subject. There are no piles or papers out of order in the me I dream to be's classroom. The me I dream to be has perfectly organized digital files too and an inbox with only the most recent messages. 

The me I dream to be is equally good at every subject and enjoys teaching every subject, differentiating various components of the lesson for diverse learners. The me I dream to be meets everyone's needs in ways that still makes learning joyful and relevant. The me I dream to be tracks data using technology and uses that to inform the next day's instruction. She keeps parents up to date often and even sends home "good news reports". 

The me I dream to be comes home from work right away with renewed energy to play with Alex and Megan. She encourages fresh air, outdoor play instead of giving into the peace and quiet of everyone on their separate devices. The me I dream to be knows how to cook food that is nutritious and delicious and involves the children in preparing the meal. She does educational activities after dinner and gets the children in their own beds by 8:00 the latest. The me I dream to be has time to breathe deep yoga-like, zen breaths. 

The me I dream to be keeps in touch with her friends by sending thoughtful cards and making regular time for get togethers. The me I dream to be puts post-its in the books she reads for articulate book club discussions. The me I dream to be has lovely date nights with her husband and does not talk about the kids at all. Her cheeks do not get flushed when she drinks wine. 

The me I dream to be easily makes conversation at other kid's birthday parties, introducing herself confidently and engaging the other moms in sparkling conversation. The me I dream to be never stands in the corner and stares at her phone. 

The me I dream to be does not let laundry pile up into insurmountable mountains and never leaves baskets of clean clothes sitting for weeks. She never forgets to RSVP to parties. She never eats the day old cupcakes sitting on the faculty room table. The me I dream to be could easily speak in front of a large crowd with poise and intelligence. She writes beautiful daily Slices that are poetic and meaningful each and every time. 

The me I dream to be somehow gets it all done with grace, kindness, organization, beauty and charm. 

The me that I am has some serious work to do, except it seems I'm always working, yet getting farther and farther away from the me I dream to be. 

#SOL16 Day 8 Clean Up Captain Saves the Day!

It's 2:10 and dismissal inches closer. My classroom floor is littered in pencils, books, papers, textbooks, reading bags, snack bags. Each day I feel my blood pressure rising a few notches as I try to remind my third graders to pick up their things over their gleeful, packing up chatter. It's always messy, it feels chaotic, and it's in sharp contrast to the organized, peaceful way our day begins. 

This year, after reading Paul Solarz's Learn Like a Pirate, I've given up more ownership of the classroom to the students. My desk is now their desk- truly. It's called the Student Supply Center and we all have access to the materials on there. I don't sit there, not that I ever sat at the desk when it was MY desk anyway. I've assigned them many jobs I used to do and it is a good, positive thing for all of us. Still, dismissal has remained chaotic and the classroom left messy.  

Today, I stopped them before they could begin packing up. I explained we were adding a job to our board- the Clean Up Captain. The Clean Up Captain would first remind everyone what they need to pack, then walk around the room and remind children what to pick up off the floor. By the time the C.U.C. got back to the first table, he would pick up any items left on the floor and put them in the large, brown box on the carpet. Students would need to pay 1 Class Dojo dollar for every item of theirs in the box.

The Captain willingly took on the task, saluting me to the laughter of my class. He inspected each table and removed a couple of items left behind on the floor. The room was spotless by the time we lined up to leave for buses. 

If you have a lovely, peaceful way to get your students to pack up neatly, I would love to hear it! If you've been struggling with a crazy, messy dismissal, let the Clean Up Captain save your day, too. 

#SOL16 Day 7 What Does the VOX say?

My son Alex calls it my "talking club" but it's really so much more! Voxer has been a game-changer for me in terms of personalizing my professional development and strengthening connections to my friends across the miles. Voxer is an app for your phone and I've also accessed it from my desktop. It is a way for you to share your ideas orally with a person or group. People listen as they have the chance and then share back. You can post links and photos. 

Just tonight, I posed a question to my "All Things Literacy" group, including JoEllen McCarthy, Susan Dee, Aliza Werner, Kristen Picone, and Jason Lewis. They are a powerhouse group of knowledge and passion when it comes to literacy! I trust that when I'm struggling with a question or issue, they will listen and offer sound advice. They know their stuff, and they help me think through my questions. How amazing, at the press of the button, to be able to talk to such gifted professionals, at any time of day. How fortunate I am to have these generous, gifted educators willing to share their knowledge and ideas with me!

I've also loved using Voxer for Two Writing Teachers. We had a book club in the fall to discuss Lisa Eickholdt's book, Learning From Classmates. The discussions helped push my thinking about what I was reading. Having the author, Lisa, as part of the conversation was incredible. I've never had the chance to interact with an author like that about her work. It was a gift. We recently created a Voxer group for helping promote the notion that educators should be writers. The conversations have sparked so many new ideas. 

In addition, I've been in a Voxer group for #cyberPD friends who wanted to keep the learning going after the summer session ended. This is a dynamic group of educators, trying so many forward-thinking ideas! Heidi Weber shared how she is using badges with her students and it completely inspired me to try badges for the Classroom Slice of Life Challenge! I think I will incorporate badges into the 40 Book Challenge next year as well. I never would have thought of trying it if I hadn't heard Heidi's enthusiastic voice sharing her new learning with the group!

I was also in a Voxer group last summer for Jen Serravallo's Reading Strategies book. It was amazing to hear the conversations from educators all over the country as we read through this book and discussed the different strategies. I learned so much from the conversations. 

On my drive to work, I love listening to my "voxes" (my Voxer messages). It's like talk radio, but with friends as the broadcasters. Sharing my thoughts through Voxer helps me process my own thinking differently than when I write. It helps me know more deeply what I believe or what questions I still struggle with.

My students love Voxer, too. We created a Voxer group to discuss Fish in a Tree with other classes during the Global Read Aloud Project. The kids loved listening to the messages and also sharing their thoughts. Voxer is an easy tool to use in the classroom for flattening the school walls and encouraging more real-world conversations and connections.

I've also used Voxer to keep up with non-teaching related friendships. One of my closest friends lives in Delaware and our schedules are totally opposite. When she has time to talk, I don't and when I have time to talk, she's not available. Voxer has helped us stay connected. It's not the same as a conversation, but at least we can hear each other's voice and share what's new in our lives. I'm trying to recruit some of my other friends to sign up!

Mostly, though, Voxer has been a professional development tool for me. I think Voxer is an amazing tool for educators who want to learn from each other and talk through those challenging classroom moments! It allows you to be self-directed and find those conversations that you need to help you be a better teacher. I am most certainly a better teacher for having been part of these Voxer chats. Can't wait to hear what Voxer will say tomorrow! :)

#SOL16 Day 6 The Story Behind the Songs

Back in the day when I was a single teacher, I drove a Saturn SC2. It had 3 doors (a quirky feature I loved), was sporty, low to the ground, and small. Nowadays, as a married mom with two little kids, I drive an Acadia. It is big, with three rows, and it's high off the ground. I never thought I would like driving such a large car, but now it would be hard to downsize after getting used to it! There are also some features that make driving the Acadia lovely. Onstar is awesome for people like me with zero sense of direction ("Yes, please update directions since I turned at the wrong time!") and we also have SiriusXM. I've been delighted to discover that Billy Joel now has his own SiriusXM station! 

This morning, I listened as Billy Joel described the story behind some of his songs. He spoke about trying to emulate other styles of singers. In particular, he mentioned "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Addicted to Love." I thought it was so interesting how his own songs where inspired by the sound of other songs and songwriters. It made me think of how writers are inspired by all that they've read. How those words live in us and stay with us, long after we've turned the last page. That all of us are creatively influenced by each other and there is beauty in something new that came from things before. 

Last weekend, my mom, sister and I saw the play "Beautiful" which was the story of Carole King's early years of songwriting. The music was incredible and the story was fascinating. I loved knowing how "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" came to be and it was so interesting to learn more about Carole King's life. Her talent was amazing.  

I was reminded of a scene from the movie "Music and Lyrics", with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. At one point, Hugh Grant's character speaks about the talent of songwriters, and how the first lines of "My Girl" can bring a smile to someone's face faster than many award-winning novels. 

Just think about it: "I've got sunshine on a cloudy day. When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May..." You are singing and smiling, right? The power of songs and stories.