Mr. Sam's Blog

Musings from an Early Childhood Educator

[mrsamspeer]

Hello everyone, I'm considering putting this blog on hiatus--perhaps permanently. Frankly, I don't feel that my work is being read, and simply archiving this work online is not motivating enough to keep me going. If you have interest in seeing my blog go forward, please let me know. Thank you for your readership and time, Mr. Sam

[mrsamspeer]

Emerging Classroom Culture

September 25th, 2015:

They say that when we create something new together, we create more of ourselves as well. 

As our first month comes to a close, we see a few hints of unique classroom culture that the Caterpillars have started to create together: 

"Surfboards" are a recurring play theme; piles of sticks or blocks are sometimes called "fires"; a glass Ramuné bottle has been dubbed "the bubble bottle"; and foam stickers have begun adorning everyone's bodies, especially just after rest time.

As we continue to encourage these and other emergent activities, we will also document how these threads unravel in our many days to come. Stay tuned!

[mrsamspeer]

A few more pictures from Bottega Child Development Center during the NAREA Conference in Miami. Thanks again to the staff there, as well as the community at My Little Village. See more: http://mrsamspeer.tumblr.com/post/141464152719/my-colleagues-and-i-recently-attended-the-narea This photo set is more of a general showcase of what living in a welcoming, enriching environment can be like. How do the images of these spaces make you feel?

[mrsamspeer]

My colleagues and I recently attended the NAREA conference in Miami. These are some photos of our visit to the beautiful Bottega Child Development Center. 

Thanks to everyone there for putting their school on display, and special thanks to the community at My Little Village, who made our trip possible! This first set highlights the school’s expert approach to provocation. How would you like to interact with these micro-environments? See more: http://mrsamspeer.tumblr.com/post/141464579274/a-few-more-pictures-from-bottega-child-development

[mrsamspeer]

Inside the world’s best kindergarten

At Fuji Kindergarten outside Tokyo, kids make the most of a magical environment designed just for them. The roof of their oval-shaped school, designed by Tokyo-based firm Tezuka Architects, is an e…

The title is a bit hyperbolic, but this school environment is full of incredible, original ideas. Check it out!

[mrsamspeer]

Learning to Be Caterpillars

September 11th, 2015:

Our first three days as a brand new class have been amazing. We have already learned so much from and about each other! AB loves the slide at Village View playground; AC is super independent about putting on her shoes; EC enjoys dancing and singing at Circle Time; IS is expanding her vocabulary immensely; IO is guiding her friends around by the hand; SG seems deeply into our magnetic blocks and rods; LD is enthusiastic about dinosaurs; JC can introduce himself by spelling his own name; and HC is apparently delighted by every little moment of the day.

These days have had their challenging transitions, to be sure, but there has also been so much joy! We feel so excited and honored to be starting a new year together. We can't wait to see how these Caterpillars grow!

[mrsamspeer]

Our First Day!

After assistant-teaching the Caterpillar class in the spring of 2015, and working a long and lovely summer program, I returned to My Little Village to lead-teach a brand new Caterpillar class of toddlers. Here’s a brief recap of our first day together... September 4th, 2015: On this first morning at My Little Village, the new Caterpillar class had a lovely hour of Open Play Time: AB and SG experimented with our magnet rods; AC collected play food for our baby dolls up in the loft; HC and JC prepared play food in the kitchen; IS brought life to our set of finger puppets; EC discovered the pine cones in our sensory table; IO played with our very messy stamp collection; and LD seemed delighted to walk around and check out every item in the classroom!

Following Cleanup and Circle Time, the Caterpillar teachers discussed the class's very first day. We were pleased that everyone got a chance to explore the room and find activities that appealed to them. Most notably, we saw some wonderful parallel play with the magnet rods, doll house, and play food. We will bring these shares interests back often in the following days and weeks.

Thank you so much for being a part of the Caterpillar community! We are so excited to be taking this journey with all of you.

[mrsamspeer]

“Bad Queens”

August 11th, 2015 If ever a student were to refer to another student as a "bad guy" outside of pretend play, we would definitely step in and explain the nuances of "helpful deeds" and "hurtful choices", etc. Our intention is always to encourage kids to view the real world with compassion rather than fear, and this has to start at home and in preschool. The term "bad guy" is not, however, inherently cruel--it can be a useful shorthand when explaining the players in a story. The good news is that we've observed the children using this term not in hurtful ways, but as a part of positive, creative, cooperative play... Deep into our morning open play, LA, LL, VI, and JN were walking around the Caterpillar classroom with their own fashioned "wands" (made of TinkerToys). LA announced that they were "bad queens". I asked, "What does that mean?" She explained, "We're bad, bad guys!" The queens marched into the Butterfly classroom and turned RC and [my co-teacher] Chris "to ice". Chris laughed and "froze" in place. RC and JO beamed and started following the queens.

"[LL], [JN], and me are bad queens. We're bad, bad guys!"

JO declared, "I am the Bad King!" RC growled at [my other co-teacher] Judy--LL explained, "He's a creepy monster--creepy crow". ZD also joined in as his own monster, giggling and bouncing behind the older kids. Now a group of seven, the kids continued their reign of icy terror, moving together to "our attic" in the Treehouse. Despite being "bad guys", they each left their wands under the stairs, observing our safety agreement banning hard toys from the Treehouse.

On her way up, LA sang, "Pets pets pets". The game crystallized: RC and JO became LA’s "pets". She and JN fed the boys "monster bones" before they escaped--JO explained, "They forgot to give us leashes, but we DO have collars". LA came down to retrieve RC, who said, "I feel like being a anaconda", and later, "a tarantula". This prompted LL to exclaim, "Guys, there's a tarantula in our house! He's coming!"

The group journeyed back to the Butterfly classroom, donning capes, crowns, belts, and toy scissors. When they came back, JO and LL rode at the front of their "horses" (our green plastic rockers) while their passengers gave them "haircuts". Back up in the Treehouse, the play returned to "bad guys" taking care of JO and VI as "doggy pets". At one point RC, a hissing monster, kindly asked LL, "You need help putting up the curtains?" and paused to lend a helping hand.

My observation of this "Bad Queens" game is that it was collaborative, inclusive, and fair. Despite calling themselves "bad", the students never did anything hurtful, and in fact followed our school's agreements to a T. 

The children were calling each other and themselves "bad guys" constantly, and it was clearly understood that it was a fiction. Rather than appearing hurt, the players seemed delighted to be "bad". It added dimension to their story and seemed to do nothing to impede this diverse set of learners from coming together.

So yes, sometimes it is important to discourage the use of certain phrases for the positive growth of our preschool community. But other times, it can help to question our assumptions about this same language use, and see whether the children are in fact already taking it to a place of compassion rather than fear.

[mrsamspeer]

July 16th, 2015: This summer afternoon, I offered a student some paper and markers. He responded, "but I can't draw". I encouraged him to give it a try anyway, and he produced the piece above.

[mrsamspeer]

Setting Our Butterflies Free

June 8th, 2015 Many schools around the country celebrate spring by raising caterpillars, watching cocoons, and setting butterflies free. At My Little Village, this tradition takes on other layers of symbolic meaning, given that our younger class of Caterpillars is also maturing into a class of big, strong, beautiful Butterflies. 

This morning, with a scant 12 days left in the school year, we visited Tompkins Square to let our terrarium-full of grownup caterpillars fly free, as well as to let our class of grownup Caterpillars play free. What a journey we've taken together--and it's only just beginning!

[mrsamspeer]

Revisiting the Treehouse

June 3rd, 2015:

A successful teaching environment is designed to educate all on its own--the Caterpillar classroom is our students' "fourth teacher", so to speak. With this always in mind, we must continually reevaluate our classroom space and question what it is teaching our students. Let's take a look at one of the first things anyone will notice in the Caterpillar classroom: our very large ‘Treehouse'. If the classroom is a teacher, what is the Treehouse teaching our kids?

The gross-motor coordination and proper etiquette for walking up stairs

The social-emotional strength to play safely and make the right choices in the (relative) absence of teachers

The motor AND emotional control to have fun in an elevated space without putting themselves or others in danger

Unlike most other spaces in the classroom, the Treehouse is fixed and nonmalleable. This means that it HAS to do its job--it has to be a space which is conducive to teaching the above three lessons--or else we have to close it off, essentially declaring that the classroom environment is partially ineffective.

In fact, the Treehouse has been less than effective lately: students often go up there seemingly just to evade the rules of the classroom, either by screaming, throwing hard toys, or disrespecting each other's bodies (by pushing, grabbing, etc.). Importantly, these students will almost always come down from the treehouse the moment we tell them to, and the problematic behavior quickly comes to a stop. This is good for overall classroom harmony, but in the end, the students have had insufficient time in the Treehouse to learn the lessons we want them to.

How can we improve this space?

Recently, Kelsey suggested that we try provoking a different kind of play by replacing the emptiness of the Treehouse with blankets, pillows, and other soft items. I've been doing exactly that for about a week now, and the results I've observed have been remarkable: when the soft items are up there, students are sitting and laying down, role-playing, conversing, singing, and pretending to eat or sleep, rather than instantly resorting to breaking the rules.

Will this new regime last? Will our simple material provocation transform the Treehouse and allow it to be an instructive space again? Let's watch and see!

[mrsamspeer]

Fostering Independence

May 26th, 2015: In my previous piece, I highlighted the important lessons we are teaching the Caterpillars regarding enculturation, socialization, and interdependence. The necessary complementary lessons would be fostering our students' sense of self-sufficiency, personal strength, and independence.

As usual, this work takes on many diverse forms in an emergent classroom. Here are just a few examples from the past few days...

Above we see DZ wearing the same dress with wings he wears every day. Below that, OJ, GJ, and VG are inventing their own ways to get pom-poms stuck and unstuck from cardboard tubes. Directly above, IE is refusing help to put on her own shoes. Directly below, the kids are using paintbrushes to paint their fingers and THEN apply paint to the paper (and no one “corrected” them). And far below, we see the toddlers conquering a climbing structure that has challenged them for months.

How do you see the Caterpillars growing as independent, unique individuals? What are your thoughts on developing independence in toddlerhood?

[mrsamspeer]

Caterpillars in Spring

May 12th, 2015: This spring, the Caterpillar class as a whole is getting ready for what future seasons will bring us--the important work of becoming a class of Butterflies or senior Caterpillars has already started. Surely, each unique student has his or her own goals and milestones in-front of them, but Kelly, Kelsey, Olivia, and I also see shared areas of growth that inspire our activities and unite our goals this season... 

The social components of physical interaction are a vital aspect of socialization, and a topic we teach explicitly with this age group. Using tools like sing-alongs and dancing games, we are drilling concepts like "personal space" (or simply "space") and "keeping our bodies to ourselves", as well as how to appropriately interact with high-fives, back pats, and hugs.

Our class constantly rehearses proper social etiquette, speaking in "indoor" voices while indoors, and using (arguably over-using) polite phrases such as "please", "thank you", and "excuse me". We extol students heavily when they treat others politely, explaining that not only is doing so "nice" and "friendly", but also "the right choice" to make. It is our hope that these practices will help the Caterpillars to foster healthy relationships in their many classrooms to come.

Practicing patience might be the Caterpillars' most nuanced and challenging work of the season. Our students are negotiating "plans" with each other, refraining from grabbing, waiting for their names to be called, and using phrases like "can I have that when you're done?" Beyond simply teaching more advanced social etiquette, this work also develops a toddler's identity as part of a community in which each individual counts equally--an expression of our society's core values, and a milestone in our children's development.

[mrsamspeer]

Seeing the Forest

April 27th, 2015

Building communication skills with preschool students can also be seen as teaching young people how to be part of a community. This work doesn't always reveal itself during peer-to-peer interactions--for some toddler students, quiet observations reveal where we are making progress...

VG is a student who “parrots” quite a bit more than his peers--he will talk in seemingly nonsensical lines derived from his parents, teachers, and television. When these lines fail him, he sometimes gets upset and lashes out physically. We are looking for ways to help him develop organic communication skills.

First thing when I arrived at school this morning, VG was delighted to help me clean out and dry our water table. We then filled the table with a "forest" of items: rocks, pinecones, sticks, and three magnifying glasses. VG magnified a chunk of wood, reporting, "There's some caves in here". He later said, "I'm building big towers--just like you!" 

VG found some bark in our "forest", saying, "Bark comes from the park". I asked him to please stop tearing apart a particularly large cone, so it could be saved "for everyone". When he ignored my request, I calmly removed the cone, explaining that I would hold it "until you show me you can be gentle with it". I put the cone back a few minutes later, and VG commented, "We touch our friends gentle", then he gave me a big hug.

These spontaneous observations and disparate connections showed me that VG can be a strong communicator of his own organic thoughts. I will watch for moments where he puts this skill into practice with his peers--and hopefully strengthens his sense of community--in the future.

[mrsamspeer]

Using Tools

April 15th, 2015:

One striking feature of any toddler classroom-- including ours--is the developing set of communication tools that students employ at any given point in the school year. The moments when these diverse skill sets interact--usually around a certain game or plaything--often become valuable moments for learning.

This morning, BV was sifting through a bucket of play tools, repeatedly asking, "What's this?" When we got to the crank-powered flashlight, I allowed her to turn the crank and discover for herself what this tool could do. When the flashlight's LEDs emitted their first pale light, she said, "Look, [IE]! Light!"

At that moment, IE sat to my right, pretending to hammer a plastic screw into the wall between classrooms. She seemed to be engrossed in her own work, paying little attention to BV’s flashlight demonstration.

BV left the flashlight and grabbed a hammer at IE’s feet. Apparently surprised, IE said, "No! I'm using that!" I quietly reminded BV to ask IE for the hammer without grabbing. BV asked, "Can I have this?" IE paused and answered, "When I'm all done."

This moment blossomed into an opportunity for BV to develop agreements with IE, work in cooperation for the next several minutes, and ask complex, self-generated questions like "Can I have this next?" and "Can I use this right now?"

So much of the work we do in a toddler classroom looks just like this: providing subtle nudges and suggestions to bring out happy play and healthy communication. I am looking forward to helping IE, BV, and the other Caterpillars develop their skills with these communication tools--and in the process, growing as a classroom community.

[mrsamspeer]

Teaching at My Little Village

In August of 2014, my first and only year at Amazing Magic Beans came to a close. The school was shrinking by one pre-K classroom, and there was no room for me to stick around as a lead teacher.

So I took some time off and eventually found my way to a tiny preschool on the Lower East Side filled with beautiful people and a group of colleagues I have come to see as close friends: My Little Village.

‘MLV’ has two classrooms: the 3-5-year-old Butterflies and the 2-3-year-old Caterpillars. I am currently the lead teacher of the Caterpillar class. As I will soon be posting documentation from an ongoing school year, I will be extremely interested in reading the thoughts you may have about our work!

Thank you so much for reading,

Sam

Click here to read about my fascinating year teaching pre-K at Amazing Magic Beans in Queens: http://mrsamspeer.tumblr.com/search/amb

Click here to read about my two formative years of teaching preschool at Hilltop Children’s Center in Seattle: http://mrsamspeer.tumblr.com/search/hilltop

[mrsamspeer]

Designing Flags

August 15th, 2014:

The Eagles have spent a large portion of the summer studying countries. This week, the illustrated atlas 'Maps' made a return to the classroom, becoming a favorite pick for many students' quiet reading time. On Tuesday, AP discovered the pages at the back of the book displaying flags of the world. Many Eagles have used these pages, along with a poster we have on the same subject, to create their own versions of flags with paper, felt, and glue--a few students have even taken to designing their own flags!

Mr. Jake led a discussion about the meaning behind the colors of a flag. RD said that orange meant "kinda small, like a small flower". ZC said that blue made her "feel sad". JB said that blue made him "think of the ocean, and it's our Magic Beans shirt!" Among many other responses, JD said that brown made her "think of seeing the flag of Qatar". How quickly the Eagles pick up new things!

On Monday, we sat down for another discussion of countries and flags. To get everyone up to speed, JD explained, "A country is a part of the world." 

We invited the students to close their eyes and imagine their own countries. Then we asked the kids to draw their thoughts on their own country. JB drew the flag of "a city named '[JB]'", AB drew the flag of "Crazy Land", and CJ drew "the Dzoonookwa house--she lives in her own country!" SB made "the American flag", CG drew the flag of "Mexico, and the other side is Germany" [worth noting: her father is Mexican and her mother is German], while AP drew "a flag--it's a real country". 

Through this work, we see the Eagles displaying the combined passion for facts and imagination that they’ve shown all year: whether it was on werewolves, the ocean, outer space, or flags and countries, their appetite for facts has fueled their capacity to imagine, and vice versa. We hope this will take all of them far in their school years to come!