Teacher Appreciation Hits Close to Home on Mother's Day

During Teacher Appreciation Week, I thought about all the teachers who have inspired and encouraged me as well as challenged and supported me.  I also through about the physical spaces in which I learned and how those impacted my experiences.

I thought about Mrs. Reppucci, my preschool teacher at The Old South Church Preschool Program, who calmly helped me understand why I should not be chatting away during rest time with my best friend, Tammy. (I still remember the feel of the vinyl cot material on my cheek as we lay there facing each other.) Going to preschool in an historic church meant some fun moments of exploring! I loved this mysterious building.  My appreciation for the people who gently help us see a path (along with my understanding of the lines between social time and play time). 

Old South Church
(masshistoricbuildings.com)

I thought about Marjorie Bakken, my teacher at the open classroom, alternative school, called the Liberation School, which I attended for 1st and 2nd grade. She recognized my strengths and weaknesses and celebrated me as an individual. It was a community-run school organized under the Committee for Community Educational Development (CCED) which became part of the Massachusetts Experimental School System. The school was located in an old garage/repair building.  It was this funky, wide open space with movable cubicle-style walls that defined learning spaces.  My belief that everyone is an individual and sense of self were fostered here.

The school was torn down and no longer exists
but was located in Dorchester on Geneva Avenue.

I thought about Lynn Weissberg, my teacher at The Bancroft School. She knew me as a student and as a person. I never formed a connection with another teacher as I did with Lynn. She patiently sat beside me through math problems knowing that I plowed through DRA boxes at an incredible speed.  This was a completely differentiated school environment. Bancroft was an open classroom, community-based school.  (We left the school building and went to cooking classes at a parent's house a few blocks away!) I loved not only the academically innovative learning environment, but also the physical environment. This alternative school was housed in an old school building that had eight rooms and four grades. We moved from room to room as we needed for math, social studies, science and English language arts. My love of learning was fostered here. 

Photo of Rice school in 1876
The Bancroft is the building on the right
(openarchives.umb.edu)

I thought about many teachers at Boston Latin, who challenged me to be the best person I could be.  The transition from an innovative learning environment to a traditional one was rough, but I persevered and learned to adapt. Again, it was the math teachers who stand out in my memory because they needed to spend extra time with me.  My comfort with public speaking grew here. Monthly public declamation for six years makes speaking in front of crowds a breeze. The physical learning environment was once again a part of this experience, walking the halls and sitting in the classrooms of this building carried with it the former students and history -- the sense that you were carrying on a legacy.  My academic drive and my desire to achieve the best from myself were grown here. 

BLS entrance on Avenue Louis Pasteur
www.bostonpublicschools.org

There is one teacher who stands out more than the rest. her influence cannot be relegated to any one physical structure because she has been with me every step of the way.  She is the ultimate teacher - my mother --I was a student in her head start program. My mother taught in her first head start program in 1966 and continued working with children through her time as a child care director in the 1990's. 

My mother has inspired and encouraged, challenged and supported me.  She planted the seeds for all the experiences that came later.  She is the person who read to us for hours and who built amazing block structures.  She is the person who read papers and book reports.  She is the person who listened to public declamation speeches.  She is the person who listened.  She is the person who talked about current events.  She is the person who played games.  She is the person who hiked, skied and swam along side us.  She is the person who recognized the joy of unsupervised, unstructured play.  She is my teacher. She is my mother.

To the best teacher I know, and 
to all the mothers and 
all the teachers
who inspire and encourage
challenge and support 
learners of every age.

Hooked on Poetry

...brought to you by 5th graders!  To learn more about this project, check out this post: Get Hooked on Poetry.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes

Awesome Forces by Bransfield Graham

Abraham Lincoln by Myra Cohn

Yuck by Shel Silverstein

Milk by Jack Prelutsky

Watch Me on the Wing by Arnold Adoff
 
Eyeballs by Jack Prelutsky
 
Lying Larry by Shel Silverstein

Here Comes by Faith Long

Allow Me to Introduce Myself by Charles Smith

My Mother Makes Me Chicken by James Stevenson

The Poodles by Douglas Florian

Wavy Hair by Shel Silverstein

Exploding Gravy by X.J. Kennedy

Arithmetickle

Man from Snowy River - Part I

Man from Snowy River - Part II

I've looked at this from both sides now

...and I have an incredible appreciation for what I ask my students to do!

"What are you referring to?" You ask?

Why standing in front of a flip camera and sharing what you are thinking in a manner that is appropriate and conveys meaning.

Yesterday, I decided to tape a message to a colleague and her students, thanking them for a signed brand new book they had sent us.  I also wanted to thank them for inspiring us as readers.  
Let me just tell you, it was much harder than I thought. 

I will get up and speak in front of any crowd and have even taped myself teaching or had someone tape me, but this felt different.  The next time I pick up that flip, I'll appreciate what my students are going through (although seriously, they only ever need one take!).

And THAT'S a wrap!

"Appreciated I did feel."

Okay, I am still having way too much Star Wars fun since, "May the fourth be with you" and "Revenge of the fifth."

Yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day and the parents in my school did an amazing job of making me and my colleagues feel appreciated, really appreciated, encompassing all the word means, which according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is:
a: to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of

b : to value or admire highly c : to judge with heightened perception or understanding : be fully aware of d : to recognize with gratitude 

The lunch is incredible (check it out below!), but it is all the ways that the parents support us that makes us feel appreciated, they: volunteer in our classrooms; find the time to write thoughtful cards; and, remember to share kind words. A huge thank you to the parents for all you do!  

Now, check out our 60's themed lunch:

Mango spritzers reminiscent of Tang 

Messages from students

45s, books and knowledge cards

 

 60's Games

 Movie posters!

All coordinated and organized by two awesome moms!

...in 60's gear no less...

Thank you!

"We should be careful with nature."

Today, we were finally able to read The Curious Garden by Peter Brown.  We loved this book!  

We have a school garden that the students plant in the spring and then take care of all year.  I hoped this would be good timing as planting days start next week.





The difference between the dreary city at the beginning of the story and the beautiful green city at the end caused the students to think about how important it is to be a gardener and take care of the Earth.

"It is important to have trees because they help us breathe."

"This book reminds me of the Lorax."

"We should be careful with nature."

After reading the book, we visited the High Line Website. We enjoyed learning about the real railroad in New York City that inspired this book. 

We compared pictures of the old railroad on the High Line website with how it looks now as well as comparing the pictures at the beginning of The Curious Garden with the pictures at the end.

We also watched snippets of the videos, High Line History, High Line Construction and High Line Green Up.

This was a wonderful morning of #booklove.

Other resources:

The Curious Garden  

"Don't judge a book by it's cover....

...look at the spine label stickers to be sure what type of book you have in your hand."

That's the conversation I was having with my kindergarten students today.  This was a review lesson for the kindergarten students.  We've been learning about where books are located in the library and how to identify them.  

I used the book, Just Ducks, written by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino, to bring home the point. This beautifully-illustrated book may look like a picture book, but it is a nonfiction book full of information about ducks, specifically Mallards.

Not only were there many fun and informative conversations about ducks during the lesson, but also fun and informative conversations that derived from the illustrations.  The students were using their visual literacy skills to decode information - how to tell what time of year it was, how animals camouflage, and how to distinguish the young girl and her mother from the other characters on the bridge.  I would include an illustration here, but the book is already in a student's hands!

Since this was an information book, we talked about what we had learned and how these books help us answer those wonder wall questions - "I wonder who...I wonder how...I wonder why...I wonder where....I wonder when..."

Here is what my students learned today:

AND...here are two new wondering questions they came up with:

"When ducks are upending, I wonder how they what is food and what is not."

"I wonder if they eat fish."

I WONDER.......

I know just the student(s) for this book...

We were on school vacation the week before last.

I had an incredible time.  I went swimming, biking, walking, and paddle-boarding; and, I played tennis and board games.

Oh wait, and I READ....  

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean

Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson

My Life as a Stunt Boy by Janet Tashjian

I could not wait to get back and put these books in the students' hands. The best part of reading books for my library is thinking of a student or a number of students in whose hand I want to place it. Let the reading journey begin!