You Don’t Need Much

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Boy I was tired today! Really tired. Thankfully, Not too tired to put some color on my journal images.

In a spare moment, mid yawn, before I washed some dishes, I pulled out a kitchen chair. I sat on the edge, and nestled my toes against the heater by the flour. I pushed aside a myriad of things on the island, and plopped my journal on top of a folder of recipes. I put my reheated tea on top of some notes and cards, next to a bag of heirloom flour. My pens filled the empty spaces between my journal and whatever was just outside the shot of this image.

At first, when I decided to share the adding of color, I thought “Yikes, I’ve got to clean up some of this mess.” But, while I wasn’t too tired to want to be creative, I was too tired to clean up so I could take a prettier picture. This is life. This is where I found a moment, a spot, and the inspiration to create. It really doesn’t take much. We don’t need a big studio, or even a large space. Just a space that can hold our work, and give us comfort.

As I write about what was surrounding me, I’m struck that what looks like mess surrounding me is really life and goodness, beauty and love. The notes are from people who love me. The tea is deliciously healthy green tea from Japan that my brother bought me. The bag of flour becomes many wonderful food items. The recipe folder has a plethora of ideas — some tried and loved, some waiting to be tried. As I look beyond the image in my minds eye, I see more mess. But, each messy, out of place, thing surrounding me, squeezing into my space — is tied to a blessing of some sort.

So, if I’m any example, and I think I am, you don’t need much. Carve out the space and the time. Push aside some of the mess. Perhaps as you touch it to make room for yourself and your work, you’ll discover your abundance.

Here’s to a 2024 of making space, taking time, creating, and living in the abundance of our lives.

 

You Love Us

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The day before winter break I was surrounded by students as we talked about our upcoming performance and I opened various cards and gifts. One of my Kindergartners looked at me and asked “Miss James, why does everyone say you’re the best?” All eyes turned to me as they awaited my response. Genuinely curious I responded “Hmmm … why do you think people say that?”

There was some chatter amongst themselves and then they turned to me and said “Because you love us.”

I responded “Yeah, I do love you. Do you think that makes me the best?”

They responded “Yes.” 

It’s an answer that gets to the heart of the matter. I do many things. I am always thinking, changing, making, trying new things, talking, explaining, laughing, teaching, learning, guiding, and being with them. But at the center of it all is love. I love them.

What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.

Paolo Fiere (https://civiceducator.org/paulo-freire-quotes/)

I trust my love makes it possible for my students to become themselves — their best truest selves. Yes, of course my diligence, my fantabulousness, my work, my thought, makes it possible, but mostly it’s my love. All that other stuff grows in strength, brilliance, and awesomeness because of love.

Funny, I thought this would be a quick post about the power of love in the classroom. But, as I wrote I was reminded of a conversation I had years ago with someone in the educational field who discounted the idea of love. They declared it was only a word and would fail at some point. I was aghast. Love only a word??? Love would fail! Never. Might I fail, yes. Might I be less than loving? Of course. But when I say I love you, I mean it in all the power it can hold. Love isn’t a sentiment. It’s a way of being. It’s a choice.

Anyway, that recollection urged me to look for a way to put into words what I mean when I say I love my students.

Andrea Bonier PhD wrote about healthy relationships in Psychology Today. When I read her article, I thought about my students, my love for them, and theirs for me. Here are her 11 elements of a healthy relationship (and one of mine). Perhaps they don’t contain the fullness of what my love for my students is, but, they are a concrete way to see the love I have for my students.

  • Trust – I operate from a place of trust. I trust in their word and their abilities. I live in a way that enables them to trust me. I encourage them to trust themselves and each other.
  • Communication with openness and honesty – We communicate a lot — sharing our feelings, our ideas, our wondering, our apologies, our needs and wants. I do my best to model the best form of communication — honest, respectful, and powerful.
  • Patience – Phew. Every relationship requires patience. Relationships in a classroom often seem to require more. I do my best, but when I fail, I apologize and try to do better. My students do the same.
  • Empathy, healthy conflict resolution, and individual boundaries – I’m always trying to increase our Emotional Intelligence. Are we self aware? Are we socially aware? What are we feeling? What might they be feeling? Have we talked with each other? Have we really listened to what is being said? What did I hear? How might I behave because of what I’ve heard and know.
  • Affection and Interest – Love is action, but there is also feeling, emotion, and affection — even in the classroom. Learning to navigate that is a huge part of loving well. And interest — oh my yes, we all want to share about ourselves. We want others to be curious, interested, even amazed. I always operate from the position that nothing they do or are can be relegated to the “Oh that’s so cute.” category. There’s always more — it’s hard work, it’s imaginative, it’s creative, it’s fantabulous, it’s worthy of my time and attention.
  • Flexibility – Whenever it’s possible I am flexible and give choice and wiggle room. For me it goes back to trust, empathy, and affection.
  • Appreciation and if I might add valuing – I appreciate and value my students and let them know. I appreciate and value their hard work, their humor, their thoughts, their courage, their love, their willingness to try, and much more.
  • Room for Growth – Gosh yes, this is a huge part of love. We always have to give others the room to grow and change. We are not who we were yesterday, or for that matter even a moment ago. Allow for growth and when appropriate, communicate about it.
  • Reciprocity – There are many opportunities for reciprocity in our learning space. Learning from one another, doing for and with one another, supporting one another. These are not just roles that I fill. I encourage my students to teach me, to show me, and I let them know that I’ve been inspired or learned from them. I accept their help with grace and gratitude, even when I know I can do things faster and or better than they can. I check in with them often, and I relish the moments they check in on me.

Companions of Truth, Process, and Creativity

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling weighed down by the demands and difficulties of life and work. I’ve been feeling exhausted, worn out, and unsure. Stress, tiredness, and burdens, are annoyingly loud and obnoxious companions on our journey. They constantly speak. At times they slap us in the face with their loudness, at other times they whisper incessantly. Like all deceivers, they sound like they’re speaking the truth — but they’re not.

The truth is I am weighed down, I am tired, I am feeling a bit unsure — AND I am strong, brave, and deeply loved, with a big beautiful brain, and awesome heart, and some life-giving creativity. So, I’ve been choosing to make time these days to rest, to restore, and to be creative.

My affirmational art journaling continues this year. It’s helping me stay grounded in the truth. Each day I actively look for the story I want to tell myself. I search for the truths I want to save in my journal so I can read them now and in the future. And, I take time to create.

The entries look so different this year. I started in September with a compass, and a favorite pencil, eraser and fountain pen. I love using these tools, and the concentric circles are great canvases for ideas. It was interesting to watch as they developed individually and as a group. Each time I drew, constraints and possibilities greeted me. Sometimes I loved the results, other times not so much, but I always enjoyed the process. I’ve decided to keep the images black and white in order to emphasize design rather than color.

December I switched from concentric circles to ones that are separate or interlocked. My plan is to introduce color into the designs as well.

I did 66 different concentric circle designs. So far I have done 27 circle designs. Will I be able to think divergently — with fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration — and create many more circular designs? So far I see fluency, originality and elaboration. Now to allow myself to move from design elements I find pleasing, to discover other satisfying possibilities. No matter how many I make, or how divergently I am able to think, I continue the process and that is good.

I hope you too engage in a process that blesses you during these beautiful days of winter.

Creativity for the Win

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It’s the beginning of the school year, and as is always the case, there is a lot to learn — for my students and for me. This year, the load of learning was stressing me out. The stress I was feeling wasn’t fun, and it wasn’t helpful, so I decided to try another way. I embraced my creativity, my love of words, and my love of singing, and decided to craft some song lyrics and a chant to help with two of my current challenges.

My first challenge is cleaning up. Sometimes cleaning up in the classroom is a real struggle. A song would give me something to do, might lighten the mood on the tough days, would give my Kinders time to clean, and would hopefully be fun. Now to think of a song to use.

As I was driving to work one morning it hit me — the Hokey Pokey! We’ve been singing the Hokey Pokey song ( laughing at the various things we put in — winner for most laughs was our armpit) so the Kinders were already familiar with the melody. And, yahoo, I could alter the words to allow me to sing about what my Kinders are already cleaning up, or to give direction when needed.

It’s a good thing I commute alone, because it took several rounds of the Hokey Pokey before I was satisfied with my work.

We pick some _____ up, we pick some _____ up, we pick some ______ up, and we put them all away. We work together every day. We’re fantabulous in every way. That’s what it’s all about!

We’ve been singing it for the past week, and it has accomplished all I hoped for and more. The best part — other than the cleaning up — is when I hear them singing “We work together every day. We’re fantabulous in every way. That’s what it’s all about!” I think I need to sing that part to myself over and over again to remind myself that yes indeed, that is what it’s all about.

Next I set my mind to a chant to begin our various learning periods. How might I help my Kinders prepare to learn? I love the idea of affirmations — rewiring their brains to believe in their own fantabulousness — but I wanted something with a beat that they could learn and repeat without my help. Inspired by my awesome Kinders, I reworked our usual affirmations into our ready to learn chant.

I’ve got a big beautiful brain and an awesome heart.
I’ve brave. I’m kind. And, I’m mighty.
I can do hard things, and I’m ready to learn.
(whisper) Oh yeah, I’m ready to learn.
2 snaps, hands in our laps.

I’ll be testing our chant out in the weeks to come, and will report back with any observations. I’m going to let my Kinders know that the chant is to help me as well. I always appreciate the reminders. I’ll keep you posted.

Build On With My Parent Questionnaire

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Recently I posted about the postcards I sent to my Kindergartners. It was the first block I set to establish our classroom culture and community, and the first step in building relationships with the families and learners in my class. Wednesday, I set the next block.

To be fair, I’ve been thinking about, researching, and creating this block for quite some time. It’s my parent questionnaire. I considered what I wanted to know about my learners, their parents, and their families. I spent a considerable amount of time drafting the questions. I wanted to begin sharing our classroom culture and some of my pedagogy: the importance of relationships, communication, and positive, affirming language, as well as the power and primacy of the voice of the learner no matter how young.

I’m super grateful for the plethora of educators and educational institutions that posted their parent questionnaires online. They were each valuable to read. It was interesting to read, not only the words, but the tone, and the message that was implied, or perhaps that I inferred, from the way the questions were worded.

After several drafts, I finally had my parent questionnaire set for this school year. My families are connected to our school electronically, so I chose to use a google form rather than a hard copy form.

In a spirit of gratitude to the others who shared their questionnaires online, here is mine. My voice and style may not work for you. Your voice is the one you want to share with your learning community. None-the-less, I hope imy questionnaire helps you create your parent questionnaire in a way that establishes relationships, sets your classroom culture, and helps you have the best year possible with your new students and families.

Hello fantabuous parents! I have the pleasure of having your children in Kindergarten James this year. YAY!

I’m excited and honored to partner with you on your child’s amazing learning journey in Kindergarten. I know we have all year to get to know one another, but I’d love if you would take a few moments to answer the following questions. My hope is to get to know you, your child, and your family — just a bit — even before you step into our learning space.

When you have a moment, please fill out this parent questionnaire. Hopefully it will be painless, and perhaps even enjoyable! I’m looking forward to reading your answers, and learning a bit about you and yours, prior to the start of Kindergarten. I’d be grateful if you completed the form by August 31. Thanks in advance.

Have a wonderful day!

Getting to know you. You are an important part of our classroom community!

  1. Your email.
  2. Your name(s) as you prefer to be called.
  3. What are you looking forward to with your child in Kindergarten?
  4. Would you be interested in sharing skills, traditions, or customs with our class this year? If so, what might you like to share?
  5. What are your hopes and dreams for your daughter this school year?

Getting to know your child. Good relationships begin by getting to know each other. We’ll grow our relationship each day, and this will help us get started.

  1. What is your child’s full name (first, middle, last)?
  2. What does your child prefer to be called?
  3. What are your child’s strengths?
  4. What would you love your child to get better at?
  5. What fears does your child have? (big or small)
  6. What is the most important thing I should know about your child?
  7. Ask your child: What are you really excited by, or interested in?
  8. Ask your child: What do you want Miss James to know?

Getting to know your family. Our families are super important — at home and in the classroom.

  1. Who else lives with you (siblings, grandparents, pets, etc.)?
  2. What, if any, holidays or traditions are important to your family?
  3. In which language(s) are you and your child comfortable conversing?

Anything else? Here’s your chance. What else would you like to tell or ask me?

  1. What haven’t I asked, that you’d like to tell me?
  2. What questions do you have for me?
MAJames 8/2023

Let’s Take An “Oh, look!” Walk

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This morning I had the pleasure of watching a short film with artist Vicky Thomas about being fascinated by nature. At one point she laughs at how many times she says “Oh, look!” I laughed as she said it, because I hear myself saying “that “Oh, look!” over and over again as I hike.

I’m thinking about my Kindergartners as the new school year approaches, and thought — OH! An Oh, look! walk would be a great things to do with my Kindergartners. As I said it, I wondered what we might find as we wandered around our campus. I popped out on my patio for a mini Kindergartner-less trial run.

First, I noticed the many different colors of green in our fig tree sapling. As I looked more closely, I noticed the veins and some sort of white dots. Then I took a photo of some sprouts from an unknown bulb my brother found and planted in a small pot. When I looked at the photo, I noticed something that made me go back for another look and another photograph.

A tiny little water droplet that I missed when I looked the first time. If you look even more closely at the first image, you might see a reflection of me in the water droplet! WOW. The second photo gives you an idea of the size of the water droplet.

Inspired by the little things that I missed on my first scan, I began looking for small wonders. I love the swirls of the unopened marigold. Again, they are much smaller than the photo suggests.

Why would I want to take my Kindergartners on an Oh look! walk? Here are some of my first thoughts:

  • We practice and learn to look, and then look again, perhaps more closely.
  • We look for big things, and then little things. We come to notice the value the second look and the small wonders.
  • We are affirmed that our findings, thoughts, noticings, wonderings are valuable and worth sharing.
  • We discover we are brave enough to share them.
  • We practice living the fact that the things others share are valuable and worthy of being listened to.
  • We notice we are kind enough to take a breath and listen.
  • We learn the importance of patience.
  • We discover the importance of compromise — perhaps a butterfly that might fly away should be shared before a flower that will wait for us.
  • We begin to experience the okness of impermanence. If the butterfly flies away, you still experienced it’s beauty and can share what you saw.
  • We recognize the value of conversation. How and what do you share? How and what might we notice, comment on, or question about your sharing?
  • We get some fresh air, movement, and hopefully a nice dose of Vitamin N (nature).

All these things are essential components and habits of learning. I’m excited for our first Oh look! walk.

Oh, one more thought. Once we get comfortable with our Oh look walks, we can add elements of sketching, note taking, labeling, and documentation.

Questions and Thinking

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Looking to be entertained and inspired as I begin to think more deeply about the school year ahead of me, I picked up James E. Ryan’s book Wait, What? — and Life’s Other Essential Questions. I’ve recommended it before, and do so again. It’s easy reading, filled with good ideas, and always makes me chuckle.

Today I’m reflecting on James’ suggestion that we reflect our student’s questions back to them.

I really love this idea for a few reasons:

  • It values the student’s question.
  • It encourages us to listen, rather than doing the lion’s share of the thinking, planning, and answering.
  • It affirms our students’ ability to think.
  • It demonstrates our confidence in their ideas.
  • It amplifies student voice.
  • It models curiosity.

There’s so much power in a rather simple statement and question. That’s a good question. What do you think? Using it, our students learn and grow, and so do we. What do I know and understand? What don’t I know or understand, yet? Who is this person in front of me? What can I learn from them? What can I teach them? What do I think? Am I more capable and knowledgeable than I thought? Do I have courage? What might I work on, think about, and/or do? Great stuff for me to reflect on as an educator, and to teach and model for and with my students.

One last thought for today. James suggests that we listen carefully and generously. I would add — for myself at least — Listen patiently, with curiosity and awe.

Stress — Friend or Foe?

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I recently came upon a link for Kelly McGonigal’s TED talk — How to Make Stress Your Friend. I chuckled at the title and clicked.

My life has been feeling quite stressful for what seems like a very long time — cancer, doctor’s visits, elderly parents who need more care, the many things I don’t know and can’t control, teaching, coaching, finding a good work/life balance, and more. For sure, my life is filled with goodness and blessings, but those are some of the things that can be fodder for angst and stress. If I can make stress my friend, I’m in! Not surprisingly, part of me was a bit incredulous, and with a wrinkled brow and raised eyebrow, asked “Make stress my friend? Get out. How about we just not have it?” Interesting, but highly unlikely, so making stress my friend, it is.

Kelly shared some of the things that happen in our body when we are stressed — including having a rise in oxytocin. A rise in oxytocin? Wow! I had no idea our body released oxytocin in response to stress. The rush of oxytocin — Kelly says — encourages us to seek out support, and helps protect our cardiovascular system. It even helps to heal and regenerate heart cells.

The story we choose to tell ourselves about stress and our response to it, is incredibly important. We can tell ourselves stress is bad and is killing us. Or, we can do what Kelly suggests, and choose to view our stress response as positive — our stress response is our body preparing us to meet the challenge. When we choose this story, says Kelly, our body believes us, and our stress response becomes healthier. Amazing, right?

So I continue all sorts of practices to help my body, mind, and soul be peaceful and happy. I breathe, pray, do yoga, hike, rest, hang out with friends, make art. And, I remind myself that stress, and my response to it, need not be negative.

Guess what I’m thinking now? You guessed it. How will I integrate this information into my day to day (moment to moment) teaching practice and relationships with my Kindergartners? How might I help them begin to make friends with stress and their response to it?

Definitely check out Kelly’s website, and listen to her TED talk. It’s worth the 15 minutes.

Play and Learning Resources

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My seatmate on the train noticed me playing games in a magazine as we hurtled along at speeds up to 140 miles an hour. He commented that it looked much more fun than what he was doing. One thing led to another, and we ended up talking about play and learning. He is an adjunct professor and also teaches people at his workplace, and wants to incorporate the notion of play as a powerful learning tool.

He got me thinking of so many resources:

I’m amazed by the connection between play and learning. I love to play, and I love to learn. In my humble opinion it’s one of the best (if not the best) ways to engage and learn.

Ages ago, playing with paper at the PEM Makerspace

I’m going to take some time to read, listen, and play. I hope you do the same. I’ll be back to do some blogging!

Setting the Culture

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I got permission to design my welcome to Kindergarten postcards this year. I considered many possibilities — and didn’t like a single one. Then I thought about the postcards I’ve sent or collected over the years. I would spend hours looking at the postcards. I always chose the ones that were beautiful, and captured the important and amazing elements of where I was vacationing. My choices told the best story about where I was and what I was doing.

That gave me a great starting point. What is beautiful and important about Kindergarten — my Kindergarten in particular? What story do I want my new learners and their families to hear when they get the postcard?

I settled on this for the design.

And this for the message:

Dear fantabulous (name),

Can you believe we are going to be in Kindergarten together? I’m so excited to be your teacher!

Get ready to laugh and learn. It’s going to be amazing!

Lots of love,
Miss James

My intent is to begin setting our culture from my very first communication. As individuals and as a class, we are all these things. No one is not these things. We are a community filled with laughter, learning, and love. Get ready, it’s coming, and it’s going to be amazing!