Front Door Investigation

There's been a lot of talk around the lower school lately as we transition from a history curriculum toward a social studies one about what exactly that means...and more importantly, what it could look like.  While many of those big questions still linger, one thing I know for sure is that the concept of identity has come up over and over again.  Along similar lines, I always have Angela Maier's teachings running through my head about humans' inherent need to matter.  So, helping kids think more deeply about who they are, where they belong, and what they stand for - along with my commitment to helping kids realize they truly matter - have both been at the forefront of my mind.  

Squirrel Investigation

It's been a long time since I've blogged about an investigation.  Admittedly, I'd been stuck.  Stuck between this place of having gotten pretty good at the "investigation" process with young children while at the same time feeling less and less sure it was always the best use of their time.  

Since first discovering Ken Robinson's work 10+ years ago, I've been a HUGE believer in the importance of curiosity and creativity in learning.  So much of my work with young children is centered on these ideals.  The last several years, though, more and more of my reading has been pulling me in the direction of valuing agency and impact too.  Lately I'd been realizing much of the focus of our investigations was on acquiring content.  We aways started with inquiry, but so much of what happened after that was learning the content that answered their questions.  Yes - it was hands on, and yes it was joyful - but at the end of the day, so much of it was about content.  And I kept finding that I was having a lot of trouble getting out of the cover-it-all rut.  

The Self Driven Child

Whittling this book down to my biggest takeaways was almost impossible, because this book spoke to me in SO many ways. I’ve read a ton of teaching and parenting books over the years, and this is one of my all-time favorites – for so many reasons.  It’s already impacted my teaching, my parenting, and my own personal “living” too. Here’s my best attempt at a top 5, but they don’t fully do the book justice…

So what's the big deal with kids and outdoor play?

If we work from the premise that play is an invaluable part of childhood, then why does it matter so much if kids play indoors or out? The truth, of course, is that both types of play are indeed valuable. Unstructured outdoor play, however, provides important avenues for growth and brain development that can rarely be replicated through indoor play. And for a variety of reasons, it doesn’t happen nearly enough anymore. So why do we need more of it?

Why Kindness Ninjas?

We’ve been talking a lot about our Thanks and Appreciation Tool this year in kindergarten, so what better way could there be to cultivate a caring and empathetic mindset than by recognizing and appreciating the people around us?! That’s how Thankful Thursdays was born…and I was blown away by how effective it has been in cultivating this mindset of appreciation. Not only has it helped the kindergartners build connections and relationships with members of our community, but it has also encouraged them to notice people around us doing important work – taking care of books in our library, fixing the leak in our ceiling, working hard to teach us math, helping wash our dirty dishes, etc.

The Benefits and Challenges of (Reasonably) Risky Play

(Reasonably) risky play is thrilling and exciting and incredibly important for kids. So why aren't kids getting enough of it these days? Well, the main answer is US - we're often the ones holding kids back from engaging in risky play. Let's be honest - it can be SO hard to watch those little people we love so dearly do something that might cause hurt. So. Very. Hard.  

Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

This book is powerful. It rests on the premise that today's teens are measurably 40% less empathetic than they were 30 years ago and that today's culture values "me" more than "we." As long as you can look past the excessive usage of acronyms, I HIGHLY recommend it. I discovered concrete explanations for why developing empathy in children is so important...

"Empathy is the root of humanity and the foundation that helps our children become good caring people, but the empathy advantage also gives them a huge edge on happiness and success."

I also discovered that empathy is highly teachable...

"Empathy can be instilled, and it is composed of teachable habits that can be developed, practiced, and lived."

So here are my 5 take-aways...

Life Tools for Social, Emotional (and Intellectual) Development

The longer I work at this whole teaching (and parenting) thing, the more convinced I am that it's (almost) ALL about social emotional development. I think great teachers have known this all along, and now the emerging field of neuroscience can overwhelmingly support this notion.

So this year I finally decided to do something about it. I decided I'm no longer okay with leaving SEL up to chance, fitting it in occasionally during a morning meeting, or thinking of it as something that gets in the way of the other more important stuff. As a kindergarten teacher I have firmly committed to the notion that it IS the important stuff.