Sunny Kinders

  handshake-2009183_1280 by  John Hain  from  Pixabay   Our current unit of inquiry is about members in a community living and working together. Our grade level usually takes turns going on a walking field trip to the local fire station, but cannot this year.  I have reached out to a couple of parents from previous years for virtual tours and Q/A sessions. Our local Chick-Fil-A proprietor is meeting with us on our school-approved M.S. Teams platform next Thursday. *All* of our students have been there, so there will be interest.  Additionally a veterinarian has agreed to come each morning next week, for better interaction. This is going to be such a treat! A good third of our students already want to be vets. I'm sure 3/4 of them will afterwards! We are going to do some pre-interview activities, so that the students will be prepared with the expectations and format. We would also like the students to generate and ask the questions. One of  the teachers on our team is a native of B

group-3354366_640 by  by  Gerd Altmann  from  Pixabay   This IB course I'm taking is "making me" do all these assignments to become a connected educator. I say that tongue-in-cheek, because I am not really just working to get it done, but I really do want to learn how to effectively use these technologies. I'm just really overwhelmed at the moment. (Post-COVID issues in KG, like students who have never been in school, unidentified potentially SpEd students and new l_o_n_g 1:1 BOY assessments are kicking my behind!) So...I guess you could say that I was procrastinating participating in a live Twitter chat by not understanding how to join one. I could not find a live #PYPchat, but found a #Kinderchat one. I didn't know what I was doing, but chimed in anyway, and am so glad that I did. Now that I'm on the other side of it, I can say that it was an absolute delight! I actually have more energy afterwards, because of the encouragement, ideas and new connections I m

  Photomontage-1514218_640 by  Gerd Altmann  from  Pixabay   Disney has that song that repeats "It's a small world, after all." It's so true. And the reality is that the world is getting flatter/smaller every day at an exponential rate. At first the internet allowed everyone anonymity. But now, people are finding that they are leaving digital footprints which are traceable, and there are life-long consequences. Just as good manners have to be modeled, practiced and tweaked in real life, so does netiquette. Awareness and habits are learned through experience and guidance. learning and sharing in ways that make sense listening with understanding first, then commenting clearly and courteously demonstrating respect for other's privacy, opinions and work accepting of differences valuing other's feelings and thoughts as important as our own doing and speaking beyond our comfort zone broadening our perspective and understanding thinking about others' perspective

 wisdom-666135_1280 by    John Hain  from  Pixabay I feel that real learning, like anything genuine, happens organically. Of course, there are things we can do to promote and guide the growth, but it takes time and there are prerequisites to each stage of development. Since all of this is new to me, I am having to read and reread the materials. I am even looking up and reading background texts, so I can understand all this new information. I believe that with experience and time, the new practices will become a part of my repertoire. I had forgotten how hard learning something new can be! This experience is providing me with a timely reminder of what my students are going though, when everything can seem so overwhelming. I didn't realize on how much I was missing out by not being "Twitterliterate." Discoveries and innovations are not only taking place in real time, but so is the publication of these findings. I can no longer rely on others to refer me. I get to be the a

Laptop-3317007_1920 by Darkmoon Art , licensed by Pixabay I *love* to learn! Why be in education, otherwise? I like this image, because it includes all that I need when I am learning: computer with a ton of bookmarks notebook/pen because I'm a kinesthetic learner drink (I'm always dehydrated.) snack (Late nights bring on the munchies.) phone because I need reminders because I can't remember anything sticky notes (What did I do before them?) Last year I taught students virtually. I had to use a lot of images and videos and this is how my district required the attributions. Like any new process, there was a learning curve, but I got used to it. Anyway . . . My problem with the internet isn't difficulty finding information. My problem with the internet is that there is too   much information ! I get easily distracted, and *TIME* is no teacher's friend. I have found a few favorite bloggers that help me narrow down my searches to what I can really use. Here are some of

“ All learning begins when our comfortable ideas turn out to be inadequate. " —  John Dewey   from John Dewey Quotes , licensed by Quotefancy Can you relate to this?     I'm just a blog consumer. What can I add to what's already available? This is patently NOT the way to start a new blog, but this has been me. I am taking an IB class about engaging in authentic global learning processes, and this is my first assignment. So, I am choosing to be a risk-taker. I love to learn; otherwise, why be in education? This will be a place where I can reflect and grow. I welcome your thoughts and look forward to joining others in this journey!