What a Year It Was!

       Here we were, just coasting along, doing the things we normally would do, when, BAM, that stupid Coronavirus stopped us all dead in our tracks!  On Friday, March 13th, we had a meeting after school to discuss what changes we would be making in the coming week, to get us through until Spring Break.  My students were bringing in their leprechaun traps in the hope of catching that sly, little character. 

     By Sunday night, the 15th, we were informed that the buildings would not reopen for the week of the 16th. We had small, socially-distanced meetings to determine how we could best deliver instruction, moving forward. I am blessed to work with three other ROCKSTAR preschool teachers in our district! We came up with our plan and implemented it with very few hiccups. Our families were understanding and did their absolute best to work with their kids. (Honestly, I think we were all in shock.) We finished the year doing remote instruction.

     Late spring and summer provided me with TWO opportunities to go visit my parents on the family farm and stay for a week both times! After all that was the last quarter of the school year, it was an amazing opportunity to relax, reflect, and renew. I was also able to renew a friendship for high school.

     Also, this summer I was honored to be chosen to be a part of "Navigating Change," which is the state's plan for the reopening of schools this past fall. I met, and worked with people I may not have otherwise ever crossed paths with. It was hard work, but also valuable work.

     We were able to start school, later than intended, face-to-face and have remained in this mode of instructional delivery until now, even with the rapidly climbing numbers in our state and county.

     In November, our daughter, Abbey, was able to get married. Because you never know what the weather is going to be like in Kansas, she was able to get married in the courtyard and the reception was inside. There were roughly 45 people in attendance and Abbey and Alex provided custom designed masks for everyone! It was so much fun to have all three of our kids together again

     The week of Christmas, I received a call from Jacque, our oldest, asking if they could come up here for Christmas. They live in San Antonio. They had plans to go visit some of her husband's family in the Phoenix area, but some of the people there were exposed to the coronavirus. Of course I said, "YES!!"  All three kids back together, again. We ate lots of food, played lots of games, enjoyed each other's company, and laughed until our sides hurt.

     What I need to say is that in the midst of a catastrophic world event, such as this pandemic, there were silver linings everywhere I looked. There is still much to be thankful for!

     In 2021, we are looking forward to the marriage of our son, Luke, to his high school sweetheart. Again, so much to be thankful for!

Screen Time in Preschool

      Our district bought all four PreK classrooms iPads on a cart. There are twenty iPads on each cart, plus one for each teacher, equalling a total of eight-four iPads. None of the PreK teachers even expressed an interest in having classroom sets of iPads. I'm sure if you asked the others on the team, there would be something else we would have asked that money to be spent on. I am equally sure that the reason we got the iPads was due to the pandemic.

     Here's the thing, though. A couple of years ago, I heard the Kansas State commissioner of Education speak at a state conference. Here is a direct quote from a Q & A session with him: "I believe that every child under the age of eight, should have a play-based education." Does that include screen time? I can assure you it does not.

     A play-based classroom has the following:

• Play-based preschool classrooms are set up in sections, usually having a kitchen area, a reading area, a sensory table, a block area, an exploration area, and more. Much of the class time is made up of free-choice centers, where children go to one of these areas in the classroom and “play”.
• Teachers may incorporate academic skills through theme-based activities and may add thematic props to classroom learning centers.
• The main goal is to develop SEL skills by teacher modeling. Students cannot learn these skills from interacting with a screen.
• Students’ progress is monitored by their participation in hands-on activities and observational assessments, not by worksheets and drills.
• The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning rather than a lecturer of direct instruction.
• Play-based classrooms are more about the process of learning and are less concerned about the product. Teachers work hard to create an atmosphere of discovery, exploration and appropriate risk-taking. Screen time does not do this for students.
• Academics are taught by weaving literacy and math into all learning areas. 
• Play is the context in which children can most optimally learn, because it is the most efficient way for children to process information.
• Some experts now claim that one of the greatest predictors of life-long success is a child’s ability to control impulses (self-regulation), which is learned in social environments.  As previously mentioned, social environments are made available through play-based preschool programs.
• A worthwhile play-based program will have teachers engaging or adding on to children’s play, not dictating it.
• Rich language and math skills must be carefully thought-out. 

Here are a few of the concerns about screen time, especially with young children, and the list continues to grow:

• What we can hypothesize is that screens could inhibit certain aspects of a child’s development by narrowing their focus of interest and limiting their other means of exploration and learning,” says Dr. Jennifer Cross, attending pediatrician and a developmental and behavioral pediatrics expert at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital. “If young children spend most of their time engaging with an iPad, smartphone, or the television, all of which are highly entertaining, it can be hard to get them engaged in non-electronic activities, such as playing with toys to foster imagination and creativity, exploring outdoors, and playing with other children to develop appropriate social skills.
•  Young children learn by exploring their environment and watching the adults in their lives and then imitating them. Excessive screen time may inhibit a child’s ability to observe and experience the typical everyday activities they need to engage with in order to learn about the world, leading to a kind of “tunnel vision,” which can be detrimental to overall development.
• Language development expands rapidly between 1½ to 3 years of age, and studies have shown that children learn language best when engaging and interacting with adults who are talking and playing with them. There is also some evidence that children who watch a lot of television during the early elementary school years perform less well on reading tests and may show deficits in attention.
• The blue light from screens inhibits melatonin, which can delay sleep. And watching TV or playing games also keeps our brains and bodies more alert and activated and less ready for sleep. (Tablets and smartphones will suppress the melatonin more than TVs because the screen, and that blue light, is closer to the face.)
• Keep bedtime, mealtime, and family time screen-free. Don’t use screens in the car except for long trips, and consider setting a curfew or an agreed-upon time when your family shuts off all screens. Balancing online and offline time is extremely important.
• Limit your own phone use. Kids will do what they see their parents doing. At a young age, their parent(s) is the most important person in their life, so they will model whatever behavior they are seeing. If they see that you’re behind a screen all day every day, then they’ll see that it’s acceptable and will want to do the same.     

     In addition, we've had these iPads for two months. TWO MONTHS!! Do we have any PreK-appropriate apps on them? We do not. This is in spite of creating and filling in a spreadsheet with the name of the app and the site to go to in order to load the apps onto our iPads. So, currently, these iPads, on the cart, are basically taking up space and are completely unusable by my students. FOR TWO MONTHS. In my very humble opinion, they are nothing more than an unwanted waste of money and space.

Rejoice

     Meet Rejoice! Our class adopted Rejoice through a program called "Discovery Dairy." This program pairs a classroom with a dairy farm, typically in the same state. They also provide lesson plans and updates.  I am so excited to share this sweet baby with our class tomorrow!

     The meaning of her name is not lost on me. With all of the questions and turmoil this school year has brought to all of us, I am rejoicing that we have been able to maintain face-to-face instruction, so this calf's name is very fitting for this school year and our class. This year is going to be about rejoicing every day that we're able to be together!

     I decided to do this as a part of teaching my class about animals, habitats, where their food comes from, an appreciation for their environment and nature, in general.

 

The Deep, Dark Hole That is Covid-19

      I was lost for awhile.  I had fallen into a deep, dark hole that is Covid-19. If you're a teacher, I know you can relate. It's not a good place to be. It's a scary and overwhelming place to be. I felt like nothing I was doing was good enough for my students. I didn't feel like I was giving them my best. I was crying every single day, sometimes even at school.  It's just too much!

     I hate that there are plexiglass dividers on all of my students' tables.  We have to clean them daily, sometimes more than once because of food, boogers, Play-Dough, and any other variety of "unmentionables."  There are larger, taller plexiglass dividers in my block area and in my manipulative area. One step down the hole...

     At the beginning of the school year, our district sent out guidelines for a "gating criteria" that showed how schools would function based on the positive testing rate for our county.  Guess what? We're not following it. Another step down into the hole...                                                                                                                              I needed to remind myself that these were just "guidelines" and not gospel.  Because of our building's number of kids choosing remote learning or being homeschooled, we didn't need to change all that much, except for only have one classroom at a time at recess, not the whole grade level.  Part of me was really angry about not following the gating criteria, the other part of my knows that I would much rather be in the classroom with my kids and my classroom aides than be teaching remotely. I hated that this past spring!

     We have three meals a day in our classroom. In the past, students came to our classrooms between 8:05-8:10, after eating lunch in the cafeteria and whole-school morning announcements. Now they come straight to the classroom at 7:40 and eat breakfast there.  We also have lunch and an afternoon snack in our classroom. Sometimes when I come into school in the mornings, I have to clean sticky spots on the floors or tables that the custodians have missed. Further down the black hole... My amazing classroom aides and I clean the room better than the custodial staff most days. We do it for the kids and each other, even though it's not our job. I could go on about the cleanliness of the room, but it serves no purpose. We do what we need to do for the kids. Every single day, I am grateful that our classroom is still tiled. Most of the other classrooms in the building are carpeted. Gross!

     I have a handful of students who show up without masks every single day.  We're on Day #27. Masks have been mandatory since school opened in September. Some of those masks are disgusting, as only a preschooler's mask can be. Despite many reminders about keeping masks clean, it still happens. Going deeper down the hole...  So, we now have disposable masks in our classroom, labeled with the students' names. If a munchkin comes in with a mask needing to be washed, we wash them, and the child wears the disposable one until their cloth one is cleaned.

     We've had several adults out at our building, either quarantining due to exposure or because they have actually contracted Covid. This causes people to have to cover for them, at times, because the number of Guest Teachers (substitutes) has dwindled considerably. Another step further into the dark...                                                         I feel like, in the building where I teach, everyone has gone above and beyond to help each other out. That doesn't mean it's not exhausting. It's what an amazing group of caring, compassionate educators does! As one of my colleagues said, "We rise by lifting others." I truly believe that we do that at NES.

     After a particularly tough day (aren't they all anymore?) a very wise confidante said to me, "Why have you changed? Why have you stopped doing what's best for your kids? This isn't who you are, as a teacher."  Even though it stung a little, it was the reality slap I needed.  So I've climbed out of that hole, for now. I'm back to closing my door and doing what's best for kids!  Much like flying, which we are all doing, by the seat of our pants, since this is new territory for everyone in education, I'm putting on my own oxygen mask first.

An Unprecedented Start to a School Year

     Covid can go away! I know it's not, but, sheesh! When you've been teaching as long as I have, you tend to think you've seen and experienced it all. Boy was I wrong!  Many of my followers know that I served on the State Department of Education's "Navigating Change" back-to-school implementation committee and the school district's reopening committee. The State Department of Education put out a very thorough guideline packet of information. School district and counties were then tasked with using those guidelines to formulate a plan for their particular county and districts within that county. Our county devised a "Gating Criteria" which includes different levels of delivering instruction, based on the county's positive testing rate.

     School was "supposed" to start August 12th.  That week, teachers came to their buildings to learn of the district's plan for reopening, some other professional development, and to plan for what each teacher would need for their classrooms to enhance social distancing.  Those items were then ordered and a start date of September 3rd was given.

     The school year started in "The Green Zone." Full class sizes, full school day, masks being worn when social distancing could not be maintained.  Within the first two weeks, we were in "The Yellow Zone." The Yellow Zone is class sizes under 15 students. Masks. Students being released at 1:10.  Guess who had the only class over 18?  The decision was made to move three of my students to the PreK-3 class. We did this by the birthdays closest to the August 31st cut-off date.  Two weeks later, we were in "The Orange Zone," which says, class sizes of 10, masks at all times,  students leaving at 1:10, no mixing of classrooms or grade levels on the playground. At this point, the determination was made to move four more of my students to the PreK-3 class, which is now a mixed class of 3s and young 4s, putting both classes at 13 students. Because our numbers are so low throughout our building, we were able to keep students at school for the full day, which is a huge benefit to our students.   As I write this, last week we were Yellow, but will be Orange this next week.

     I don't think that anyone dreamed that we would get to Orange as quickly as we did.  At a couple of points, it felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants, which is true for school across the country.  My little people and their families have been amazingly flexible and understanding as we navigate "Ridiculous Covid."  I feel like, after 18 school days of craziness, learning routines and procedures, not knowing who was going to be in which class, we can now move forward with the reality that is this school year and with flexibility, perseverance, and grace.  Grace, first and foremost, with our kids, then their families, our colleagues, and our administration.  With grace, compassion, and understanding, we can get through our new reality of what the school year will look like.

Let's Talk About Twitter!

      I know what some of you are thinking. "I don't need Twitter." Let me tell you something I learned very quickly: You DO need Twitter, and here's why.

     About five years ago, I was attending a conference in Houston. It was an amazing conference, filled with amazing educators! Can you say Gerry Brooks? Ron Clark? An opportunity of a lifetime! I have pictures!  One of the breakout sessions was lead by Kayla Dornfeld of Top Dog Teaching, and the North Dakota Teacher of the Year in 2019.  Her presentation was nothing short of AWESOME!!  Afterwards, I went up to her to pick her brain about all things Early Childhood. She asked me if I was on Twitter because she shares a lot of pictures and ideas there. I told her I was not and was actually digging my feet in on setting up an account. In her usual excited way, she encouraged me to jump on the bandwagon, start an account and follow her.  I had my laptop with me and she even talked me through it.  Friends!  I'm here to tell you, DO IT!

     In the past five years, I have met amazing people that I can only pray to meet in real life!  In Twitter-verse, I have been challenged, lifted up, and cheered to move forward with an idea.  On days when I've questioned my calling into teaching, I have been encouraged.  I have a couple of favorite stories:

     A few years ago, around Christmastime, I was participating in a Twitter chat and mentioned that I asked for "Trauma-Informed Schools" by Jim Sporleder and Heather Forbes. Back Story--I heard Jim speak, locally, and thought, "Yes!  This is always what I've thought education should be!" and I followed him on Twitter just so I could read his words about trauma-informed teaching. Fast-forward to the Twitter chat.  When I said that I was asking for the book, I tagged Jim in my tweet. I received a direct message from him...WHAT?!?!? I have it saved. It said, "Isn't there something else you'd rather receive from your family?"  I replied with "Receiving this book would mean the world to me."  He said, "I'll send you a copy. Ask your family for something else."  Again, WHAT?!?!  Friends!!  My copy of the book is AUTOGRAPHED!!  Since that time, I've actually talked to Jim at national conferences twice!  In the education world, we have heroes. We call them Edu-Heroes. Jim is mine!

     Another story about connections through Twitter is this one:  I was participating in a Twitter chat and the moderators (people posing the questions) asked for people to submit stories about why they became and educator. (My story is further down in my blog somewhere).  I thought, "What the heck?" so I submitted my story.  A while later, I received an email from them, asking if they could publish my story in a book! The book is full of stories from educators across the globe and I am honored to have mine as one of them,  The book is called, "Stories is Edu: Sailing With a Fleet" it was compiled by Jason Bretzmann and Kenny Bosch. I even did a podcast with the two of them!  Fast forward to a conference where Jim Sporleder was speaking. He had a slide that quoted my story from this book! Mind blown!

     When you join Twitter, you can "lurk." Lurking is when you find a chat that sounds interesting and you just follow what all of the other participants are saying, and that's okay!  You can participate by "tweeting" out your own thoughts and ideas. This is so validating to me, as an educator, because then others "like" what you've said or comment on what you've said. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I have been in the dumps and these chats have lifted me up, personally and professionally. You can also moderate a chat.  Many times a chat will ask for Guest Moderators.  All you have to do is volunteer!  I think, at this time, I've moderated five or six, and have another coming up in the Kansas Teachers twitter chat next month. I have my favorite chats set on the calendar on my phone. I don't participate in all of them all the time, but if I'm not doing anything, I will definitely chime in. I have a few that I would never miss! That's how motivational they are!

     I started out "following" Kayla Dornfeld, Jim Sporleder, and some local friends that were already on Twitter. I only use it for educational purposes and to follow my college football team. Since that time my network, or PLN (personal learning network) has grown! If you like what someone says or if they teach a similar grade level, "follow" them! Share your ideas! It's a great way to collaborate outside your local area!  When others like a comment or idea that you've shared, they can "follow" you, too. Just because they follow you, doesn't mean you have to follow them.  For example, in the past five years, I have acquired 3,095 followers and I "follow" 1,340.  Sometimes, people or entities I follow, don't follow me back or don't share very often and that's okay, too.

     Interested in starting a Twitter account, following me, or learning more? Hit me up! I'm happy to share what I know.

The Teachers Are Not Okay

   
     In less than a month, school is supposed to start. The starting date has been pushed back until after Labor Day by our governor. This week, the state school board will vote on whether or not to uphold the governor's decision.(Why that's even a thing, I have no idea)  With all of the uncertainty created by Covid, this will look different all across the United States, actually even district by district. Right now, it is really difficult to be a teacher. I have had to step away from reading anything having to do with schools reopening and here's why:
1. Teachers want to go back! We miss being in our classrooms and being with our colleagues. For me, personally, I feel like I'm missing a part of my identity right now. Teaching is what I've been doing for over half my life! I miss those smiles, the funny things the kids say, my amazing classroom aides who make me laugh every single day. I miss the hugs and those ornery smiles that make you wonder what a kid is going to do next. I miss the collaboration with my peers and all of the smiles, laughs, and inside jokes.
2.  When schools shut down last Spring, teachers were given no warning! None!! On Friday, March 13th, we met, after school, as a staff, to talk about what precautions to put in place, regarding cleaning and social distancing to get us through the week leading up to Spring Break. We were good to go. Then Sunday night we got a robo-call saying that schools in our district would not be opening on Monday and to expect an email about what was next. We met in grade-level teams and planned how we were going to make our way through uncharted waters doing something none of us had ever done before. And you know what? We did it! We adapted our lesson plans. We shared resources and activities. We did weekly one-on-one video chats. We had Zoom sing-alongs (which were life-giving, I think, for all of us!) We did our best to maintain relationships with all of our kids. Did some interest drop off after awhile? Yes. But we never stopped trying!  Our district provided devices to families that didn't have one. They provided hotspots so families could connect.
3. I get so tired of hearing, "but not PreK." When we made the shift to distance learning, all the rest of the students had been assigned district email addresses...but not PreK.  All other classes could use the Google Suite of tools and applications....but not PreK.  We had to make due with what our families could access. Fortunately for my families, we had been utilizing a classroom Facebook group for everything going on in our classroom, so I just continued to share information there. It worked out fine and families were familiar with it, however there were things within Google Suites that would have enhanced the students' learning, had they been able to access it.
4. I am not willing to take the chance, and make my classroom a petri dish of a science experiment to see how children spread the disease. "Children can't get it." False. Children can also be asymptomatic carriers, bringing it in to the classroom for others to take home to family members who could be immunocompromised. Last year, I had a student diagnosed with leukemia. If another student had been a carrier of Covid, that would have been a life-or-death situation for my munchkin with cancer. And then there are all the kids with asthma. Their little lungs are already compromised.
5. What if I caught it? Is there some special dispensation for putting my life on the line just to do something I am so very passionate about? Will I have to use my sick days to self-quarantine?  Currently, teachers are flocking to their attorneys to assign Power of Attorney and write Living Wills. It shouldn't be this way! Teaching has never been considered a hazardous job. But, right now, that's what it is. Teaching has never been about the money. Those who teach do it because they have a passion for it. That passion shouldn't cost them their lives.
     Teachers deserve to feel safe. It's bad enough that we have to practice for an active shooter. We go to bat for our kids every.single.day. We love on kids who may only hear "I love you" at school. We give our kids healthy foods three times a day. We give them the safety and security to learn, make mistakes, and grow. We listen to them. We hear their stories, and sometimes those break our hearts. We teach them how to resolve conflicts without fighting. We teach them how to share, take turns, cooperate, and so much more! We genuinely care about each and every one of them.
     Don't think for one single moment that your child's teachers are not struggling. Please don't blame the teachers and don't get mad at us. We aren't the ones making the decisions right now. We're just like you, waiting for the next proverbial shoe to drop. We don't know what's coming next, but whatever it is, please know that teachers will continue to go above and beyond for your child. We're scared, too!