Maurice Sendak

My first encounter with Maurice Sendak books was Where the Wild Things Are.  In my undergraduate children's literature class we read all the Caldecott and Newbery books.  Since this book had received the 1964 Caldecott Medal, it was on the list of books to read.  I was captivated by the bold and imaginative illustrations!  I had no way of knowing at that time that I would read this book to my kindergarten classes every year, and it would always be a favorite!  I was happy when the film version came out in 2009.  We had great classroom discussions about why the movie was so much longer than the book.  My advice is always to read the book first, then see the movie.
Chicken Soup with Rice is another enjoyable book!  The book is set to music by Carol King.  This book helps children learn the months of the year.
An alphabet book featuring alligators is Alligators All Around.  One Was Johnny is a counting book.  The book Pierre is charming!  Any child who has a hard time making choices should hear this cautionary tale!  The Little Bear books were illustrated by Maurice Sendak.  The pictures are so warm and loving.
Mr. Sendak, we will miss you very much, but your books will live on!

Winter Break Ideas

Here are some things you can do with your child during winter break!

Clean out backpack
Read all the books in the backpack
Do all the worksheets in the backpack
Play a board or card game every day
Go to the public library and get a bag full of books
Go to a zoo or museum
Listen to some music
Take a walk, shovel snow, build a snowman, go sledding or skating
Bake or cook something delicious
Write thank you notes
Write and illustrate a story about Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa
Do something kind for someone else
Clean the house
Put away holiday decorations
Go through closets and drawers and take out clothing that no longer fits
Tell your child some stories from your childhood
Practice putting on snowpants, boots, coat, hat, and mittens

Gingerbread

If I could rewrite "The Night Before Christmas", I would change it from visions of sugarplums to visions of gingerbread!  At the beginning of December I made large gingerbread people so each child could have one to cut out and "decorate" with tempera paint.  I would have several other gingerbread projects throughout the month, culminating with decorating gingerbread people cookies for the holiday party on the last day before winter break.
There are many gingerbread books that I enjoy sharing with children!  It is fun to read several versions of the story and find things that are the same and different in the various books.
THE GINGERBREAD BOY by Paul Galdone is a classic. To me this is the most authentic gingerbread story.
THE GINGERBREAD MAN by Jim Aylesworth and Barbara McClintock is similar.  There are different people and animals involved.
THE GINGERBREAD BABY by Jan Brett has beautiful pictures, along with hints about where the gingerbread baby is!
THE GINGERBREAD GIRL by Lisa Campbell Ernst has a girl as the main character.  She has many adventures!

Thanksgiving

Since Thanksgiving is coming next week, this is a good time to think about Thanksgiving in kindergarten.  It is good to help young children think about things they are thankful for.  This is a great time to make a class book where everyone makes their own picture of something they are thankful for.  The child can then write words, or can dictate words that the teacher writes or types on the computer.  Then all the pages from the entire class are put together to make a book.  Another project is for the teacher to make a large turkey and then each child writes what he/she is thankful for on a tail feather.  I also enjoyed doing a fun turkey project where children glued pieces together to make their turkey.  Sometimes we also had a modified "feast".
Here are some books that I loved reading to the children to prepare them for the holiday.
OH, WHAT A THANKSGIVING!  by Steven Kroll
David imagines what it would be like to be a Pilgrim boy at the first Thanksgiving as he participates in his own present-day holiday.
THANKS FOR THANKSGIVING by Julie Marks
This book depicts many things that children are thankful for.
OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOOD by L. Maria Child
I think every child should learn this song!  Seeing the pictures help the children understand the words.
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY:  A COUNTING BOOK  by Laura Krauss Melmed
I always liked to share books that involved a skill I was trying to teach, such as counting!

Courage

There is a Mary Engelbreit illustration that has great meaning for me. It is a picture of a teacher in her classroom. The room is obviously ready for the first day of school. Above the clock is a single word-- "Courage".

It takes a great amount of courage for a person to become a teacher. I still remember challenges I faced both as an elementary education major in college and as a student teacher. Having subsequently worked with many student teachers, I know that becoming a teacher is increasingly more difficult.

Then once a person obtains a teaching position, there are countless situations that call for great courage. Being in charge of a class is only part of the scenario. There are always dialogues with administrators, school board members, and fellow teachers. But some of the most difficult involve interactions with parents. It is challenging to tell parents things about their child that may not wish to hear.

At the end of one's teaching career, it takes great courage to make the decision to leave teaching. Cleaning out a classroom is not a simple spring housekeeping task. It is seeing your entire life as a teacher pass before you. The notes, photos, mementos, lesson plans, books, and all the teaching materials are full of memories. It is important to know what to keep for happy reminiscing in the next stage of life!

Halloween Fun

For most little children, Halloween is one of their favorite holidays! What could be more fun than dressing up as your favorite character and getting lots of candy? For teachers and parents, there are legitimate concerns about how to make this a fun and happy day.

As a kindergarten teacher, I always started out with some rules to make the day go well. I always loved to have the children come to school in their costumes (dressing an entire class before the all school parade was not my idea of a good time!). However, I always had the rule of no masks, no play weapons, and no sharp or pointed objects. This helped keep the children safe. My other rule was no sweets for the party snacks. I knew the children would be getting lots of candy when they went trick or treating, so I asked the room parents to provide healthy snacks. They had very creative ideas such as vegetable skeletons and steaming apple cider. We also enjoyed cheese and crackers or muffins.

There are so many fun Halloween books! One of my all time favorites is HUMBUG WITCH by Lorna Balin. This is a great story for children who may be afraid of seeing their classmates show up with wings, fangs, tails, and scary faces!

A DARK, DARK, TALE by Ruth Brown is a great book with repetition. It has a surprise ending! There are other versions of this book that are fun to read and then discuss the similarities and differences.

CAN YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?: ON A SCARY, SCARY NIGHT by Walter Wick has lots of details in the pictures for children (and adults!) to look for.

THE HALLO-WEINER by Dav Pilkey is a wonderful story about Oscar, a weiner dog. In spite of his silly costume, he is able to help his friends.

Great Things About Kindergarten

Now that I am no longer teaching kindergarten, I have more time to reflect on the amazing life that I had as a kindergarten teacher. Here are some of the great things that I loved so much!

1. Activity time--Some teachers call it play time or choice time. Children learn to play, share, and negotiate. It is interesting to observe what happens! Each child has his/her favorite activity or center, but they also need to try out some new things. Also each child has special friends, but needs encouragement to work and play with other classmates.

2. Reading--All kinds! Story time where I read books to the class, shared reading with big books, and quiet reading time where children chose the books they wanted to look at or read.

3. Math--Math stations were always amazing! I loved letting children choose math activities. Every year I would see children use the materials in ways I had never seen before. I also loved days when we did math graphs, the estimating jar, or played math games.

4. Science--When I began teaching kindergarten in the 1980's we did not have a science curriculum. I had a wonderful time making up my own science projects and activities! When I was cleaning out my classroom I felt very nostalgic as I went through the tubs of items from those days. But when we had a more structured curriculum, I still totally enjoyed our units. It was also exciting to bring in some of my other ideas from time to time!

5. Writing--Few children enter kindergarten as writers, but everyone who left my kindergarten was a writer! It is so exciting to see children begin to put their ideas on paper!