In celebration of Reading Month, today’s blog was submitted by feature author Sara Libby. She recently published a picture book Kula the Cat Travels the World. (This piece was also posted on Literacy Connections.)
What do you do when you have teachers and young kids, alike, who are bored at home and dealing with uncertainty all around them? Feed your imaginations and escape into the children’s picture book, Kula the Cat Travels the World. In it you can journey to faraway places, meet unique native animals, and take a lesson from Kula as he learns to appreciate all the beauty in the world – even the beauty he rediscovers in his own backyard!
Kula the Cat is a not only a lovable, fuzzy protagonist that will delight pre-school and primary school-age readers with his whims, but his colorful adventure can teach children about the joys of travel and the delight in experiencing environments outside of their own. In the book, Kula visits exotic locales in Mexico, Peru, France, Australia, and Hawai’i, and befriends native animals like a whale shark, a llama, and a kangaroo. The book would pair nicely with lessons about awareness of differences in habitat and animal life outside of where we live.
In addition, Kula’s self-discovery throughout his journey also reinforces the message that we can find beauty and wonder and excitement in our daily lives, if we look for it. Even the ordinary can be extraordinary if you change your perspective! This is a lesson that we can all take to heart.
One school’s effort to support and motivate teachers doing virtual school!
Ms. Latin returned to her classroom this week trying to muster up courage and motivation after her district decided to go back to a virtual learning environment in order to reduce the spread of Covid19 in their community.
Like most teachers this year, Ms. Latin has had to pivot learning environments multiple times — going from virtual, to hybrid, to classroom, and now back to virtual teaching. This stress of bouncing from environments has taken its toll on teachers, schools, parents, and of course the children.
Today, however, Ms. Latin walked into her physical classroom to prepare for her day of virtual teaching to find 24 faces in their seats smiling back at her. Not as good as the real thing, but what a joy to see her students in their seats. Taking its cue from the NBA, a parent volunteer created cardboard cutouts from the school pictures of each student. Then they snuck in early and placed the cut-outs in their seats, so that Ms. Latin could have a little bit of extra motivation and connection to her students!
“My heart was so full! Especially after the ups and downs of having the kids in and out of the classroom so much this year and the lack of consistency. . . Then to have them at home again full-time it made the classroom feel so empty and sad. Now I have them with me every day again at least in this small way.” – Ms. Latin, 4th grade teacher.
Ms. Latin, a big basketball fan, by the way, said she turned her monitor to show her students on zoom the cardboard cutouts, “They were so excited this morning to see themselves sitting next to one another, unmasked, side by side.” She added that the children have been so resilient through all the changes and that they have become quite a family though it all.
When the pandemic started back in March, I created a video with some basic tips for parents who found themselves in the teaching role unexpectedly due to school shut downs. Fast forward 9 months later, and many of us find ourselves in the same situation, as schools delay the return from winter break due to rising Covid cases. While this was created back in March, the principles still apply, even if you are only filling in for a few weeks.
How to share with just friends.
Posted by Facebook on Friday, December 5, 2014
We all have had to adjust to a number of changes during this past year. For schooling, children (and their teachers) have gone from a full classroom environment, at home learning, hybrids, zoom & Google classrooms, varied schedules. Often the changes are swift reactions to the pandemics’ volatility in your community without adequate time to prepare the children (and ourselves) for the change. This lack of consistency has been difficult to navigate, especially for learners who are sensitive to change. So remember to be patient and kind to your children, your teachers, and especially yourselves.
1. Create a Learning Space
It is important to identify a consistent area for school work to happen. This can be the dining room table. Just make sure you clearly delineate between meal times and school time. You know your child best and will know what is the best environment for them. If you have more than one child, you will need to assess whether it is better for the kids to be in the same space or in separate areas.
2. Set a Schedule
Set a simple schedule for time for the basics like reading, math and science, but also add in those “specials” like PE, Music and Art. Be sure to not overwhelm your schedule with too much. Remember learning at home does not require the same blocks of time that learning at school does.
3. Build in Breaks
This will be important for you and for your children. Take a walk, have a dance break, get up and move, allow free time, or time to veg-out! Music can be a great way to transition to and from breaks.
4. Get Moving
The tendency when working on school, is to be sedentary. To sit at a desk and work, but, movement can really solidify learning. So make sure that the day is active. Don’t forget about PE. Create a dance move while learning multiplication facts or the ABC’s. Learn about the anatomy of muscles and bones and then put them into action!
5. Find Materials
This can be a challenge for parents. We recommend starting with the school where your kids attend. If your child’s class has a website, you may get some clues there. You can also find tips by looking at the Common Core Standards for your child’s year. No need to break the bank, you likely have many materials in your home already at your fingertips.
6. Be Creative
Refashioning what you have at home and your daily routine can be turned into incredible learning activities. For example, teach a math or science lesson while cooking dinner. Plant an indoor garden and discuss how plants grow. Sort laundry by size and color. Allow your child to help with a home improvement project. My niece’s daughter created a home business selling buttons! What a great way to teach math and economics! Missing your family members? Have an art class making cards for them, then teach geography by finding their homes on a map. Then, calculate how long it would take to drive or walk to their home. The possibilities are endless!
7. Be Sensitive
Because this is a tough time, your children may be reacting to the anxiety and stress of these times. Look for cues from your children and adjust your plan accordingly. Build in some mindfulness practices to your day. Remember that behavior is the language of emotion. When your children start to act out, be sensitive and flexible to address their emotional needs.
8. Be Patient with Yourself
This is hard work, that is why teachers are so important! There will be days where you feel more like Cruella de Vil than like Mary Poppins! That’s okay and that is normal! Making sure you are taking care of yourself is crucial. You cannot give what you do not have!
Like most of the 2020 year, November proved to be a difficult one. With cases of the Coronavirus on the rise, many of us, already fatigued by the events to the year, were overwhelmed with the realization that our holiday traditions and celebrations were not going to be the same this year. Yet, one of our Songs for Teaching artists reminded us that there are still so many things for which to be thankful.
Kymberly Stewart posted a series of videos to her YouTube channel called The Thankful Box to express gratitude. Kymberly has a very special box inside of which she keeps some of the things she is thankful for. Each episode welcomes a special guest who shares what’s inside of their thankful box with Kymberly and her viewers.
I grew to look forward to these episodes to see the much loved items, enjoying the many special guests which included musicians, performers and teachers. It became a bright spot of joy in my November. While these videos were well suited for November and Thanksgiving, it is clear The Thankful Box can be a year round tradition reminding us that we must approach our days, no matter how dim, with gratitude for what we have.
How to Make a Thankful Box
Teachers and parents, take a look at Kimberly’s videos and create your own Thankful box with your children & students. It can become a simple tradition for your classroom or family.
Find a box and decorate it!
Take turns placing something that you are thankful for in the box.
