It's All About Trust!

It's tough to trust.  I have been talking and giving treats to our little "Peanut" for the last few weeks at home now.  So... are you wondering who Peanut is?  Peanut is our new little classroom hamster I purchased with a coupon from Pets In The Classroom (I got his cage and toys for free as well)!  I figure when I bring him into the classroom we'll decide between the name "Peanut" and "Pumpkin", as he clearly LOVES to eat peanuts and pumpkin seeds!

Yes, I was taking these photos AND holding Peanut!  He got so brave while I was
snapping photos that he climbed right up to my head!! and down my back!!! 

This afternoon was the FIRST time he climbed right on to my hand...and promptly nibbled on my finger...he clearly was still a bit worried about things!  After I recovered from nearly dropping him, he peeked out from his burrow to see if I was still patiently waiting for him and came right back up to the open door and sniffed!  His curiosity got the better of him! 

Eating a peanut...on my hand! :)

He climbed right out and onto my hand, stood on his back legs and sniffed at me!  Yesterday, he was even brave enough to come and climb on the side of his cage and sniff at my dog's nose!!  Silly hamster...that's pretty dangerous territory!  My hand is clearly safer than the dog's nose!

By the way, Peanut is a "Winter White" hamster.  As it gets colder,
his fur is supposed to start turning white!

Peanut has been hanging out at my house for the past month or so.  Before I trudged to school with a scared little hamster, I wanted to make sure he felt he knew and could trust at least one person!  I think we're just about ready to make the dangerous trip to the classroom!  Of course, people are a lot more complicated than hamsters, but, really, it's still all about trust!


Please don't fall, please don't fall, please don't fall!

I have some children in my classroom who have a tough time trusting.  I have one little guy who often will peek into the room after I've been gone for a day...just to make sure I'm back where I belong in the classroom! 

Run little guy, run!

I witnessed this little guy literally hang on to the doorway screaming as his parent tried to drop him off for school one day (this was when I had a month off during the summer- don't ask...it's the schedule we're given).  This was the last day that I was gone on vacation.  I technically was just dropping stuff off, but felt so bad, that I simply sat holding this little guy for about 10 min. until he finally calmed down, looked at me and smiled.  I swear, he was so upset I don't think he even knew who was sitting with him until he calmed down!



 He's climbing on my shoulder!  How DID I get this photo!?

We really do need to look at it though from the point of view of a child with VERY limited language, communication and understanding of the world around them!  With no language to tell anyone that they are scared, worried and upset that their routine is disrupted, they feel a bit lost!  Their equilibrium is clearly off.  They rely on all those very subtle cues throughout the day...that change when someone new is in the room.

To top that off, they are not sure WHO this person is or why I am gone, or why their routine is interrupted, or why their world feels a bit off, or IF this person will KNOW that they need assistance with certain things!  And, good grief, this person isn't able to understand their unspoken communication!  As much as we work on communication in all forms (communication books, sign, voice output etc.) it is so much more difficult when it is someone you don't know well!

Yep, it's tough to trust...especially when you have very limited ways to communicate.  Before assuming that a child's reaction is a BEHAVIOR...remember, that they may simply be attempting to communicate that they are scared, worried, unsure, confused.  They may need reassurance and understanding and lots and lots of patience!

The Power of Music!

So, I thought I'd share with you an example of the power of music for children who are non-verbal or with very limited language/communication (And, of course, music is wonderful for everyone else as well! :) 

I was working with a little guy on stringing large beads on tubing the other day.  I often make up simple songs describing what he is doing since it helps him stay focused and reminds him of how to do something.  However, I have been fading out some of the songs for small group time at this point to see if he is able to continue the task on his own.

Well, apparently, HE was not quite ready for this!  He began singing a song I made up and sing to help the children wait for their friends to get up from nap and get ready to get on the bus and go home. 

He sang..."Jeremiah, please get up, please get up, please get up.  Jeremiah, please get up, it's time to go on the bus."  (Usually when I sing it I leave off the word "bus" and the kids say it.)

Well, I laughed and told him that the song didn't really work since Jeremiah was already up and it wasn't time to go to the bus yet.  He stopped singing for a minute then started again with the same song:  "Jeremiah, please get up, please get up, please get up.  Jeremiah, please get up, it's time stringing beads!"

Now, of course, his friend was already up, so this part still didn't work, but he had replaced the original words to MATCH WHAT HE WAS DOING!!!!  (can you tell I was excited about this!?)

I had to keep myself from laughing as he sang this another three times since it was SO darn cute...AND smart! 

And to think, this little guy started in my room just over a year ago and was non-verbal!  He receives music therapy once a week and we do non-stop music in my classroom!  Another awesome anecdotal note I thought I'd share with you!

"Greatest Anecdotal Note of the Day"

Wow!  Today, a little guy in my room simply blew me away!  I decided during small group time to casually introduce a few letters with the wood pieces from Handwriting without Tears to him. 

I wasn't really expecting him to show much interest.  I figured we'd just explore the wood pieces, introduce the letter E and then make a few shapes with the wood pieces. 

Well, he did seem interested and engaged and said "my name".  Now, his name doesn't start with an "E", but I was encouraged by the fact that he associated the letter making with letters in general and his name!

He then, spontaneously, turned around and pointed to the labels on the shelf behind him and said "letter E"..."letter E", to each word. 

Well, I just about fell over the first time; since he actually HAD pointed to a letter E!  I think that was probably random since after that he was clearly pointing to the words. 

How impressive is that though!  He knew that all of those words had letters in them...just like the letter E is a letter!  And he generalized this knowledge and could verbalize that these were letters!

So, I introduced some paper and showed him how I wrote the letter J (which is the first letter of his name) with a highlighter.  I handed him a crayon and with some help he traced over the letter.  He was ecstatic!!  He kept saying "my name", "my name"!   We repeated this several times.  Each time he was more excited than the first!

I think we have another pre-writer on our hands!  Definitely going under:  "Greatest anecdotal note of the day!" :)

"Well, Hello...Here's a Toy for You to Admire!"

What do you do when you are very friendly and want to play with a new friend, but don't yet have language to use with your friend? 

You find a toy and put it in your friend's lap!  Then you run off and find another toy and put this toy in your friend's lap.  Then you hurry off to find yet another toy and present this to your friend!

This never grows old!  Who wouldn't smile if you are receiving toy after toy after toy!?  Yes, THIS is the extent of the game; but what a game it is! 

Receiving a present from a friend, over and over and over!  Just like it's your birthday...each and every day!  Now, seriously, who wouldn't love this game?!

Our "Sand-Pie Kitchen"! :)

I realized the other day that I have fallen hopelessly behind on writing anything at all on our outdoor learning!  This isn't because we haven't added new items to our space.  It isn't because we haven't gone outside!  It's simply a matter of managing a camera and numerous small hands holding on to mine...a clipboard, keys and a first aide backpack!

Well, I did it people!  I balanced all of those things and am here to tell about it!  Today was the first day we added our "Sand-Pie kitchen" :)  We decided since it has been raining a great deal of the time here, we would take advantage of the wonderful wet, packed sand in the sand pit!  

 We simply added a few small frying pans, a few cake and pie tins, some wooden bowls,  some tree cookies as the burners and baskets filled with rocks and other natural objects!  We have a bench that sits next to our sand pit, so this became the stove top!

 The children didn't need any prompting to begin scooping and filling the tins and pans with wet sand, packing it down and then adding "toppings" like stones to the top of the pies and cakes!

While some of us were busy cooking and baking in the kitchen, several children were busy looking for bugs in the wood chips.  The children love overturning the tree stumps and digging through the wood chips and dirt to see what is beneath! 

Of course, they were successful!  Here is the poor "pet" caterpillar (really an inchworm, I think) that was lovingly carried around for a good 20 minutes before he was "lost" in the wood chips again!  (I'm sure he was thankful for this!)

Another exciting discovery today was the children's discovery that our bean plants that we thought had died, have not died at all!  The children called us all over to show us that they found full size BEANS on the plants!  We were as surprised as the children were over this discovery!

(Thanks to Meaghan L. for the photos used in this post, as mine seem to be lost forever on my camera phone!)

"Magic Beans"

Several weeks ago we planted various herbs and some bean plants in planters.  The hope was that we could put the bean plants outside against our trellis and allow them to climb to the top!  Apparently, we were lucky enough to buy some "magic beans" because these things just took off and have been growing like crazy!

And, of course, all would have worked as planned, IF spring would just arrive and STAY HERE!  Lately, we've had wonderfully warm spring days mixed in with very cold nights and days.  We even saw frost one morning. 

So, you can see my dilemma!  If I put these poor bean plants outside, one cold night will kill them for sure!  However, if I leave them on our windowsill much longer, I'm afraid they will seriously climb to our classroom ceiling!  And, as cool as this would be, I really think they would prefer to be outside!  So, here's to welcoming spring!

  Happy Earth Day...a bit late!             Happy Easter...a bit early! 

A Big Thanks...and Bill Martin reads Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

A BIG thanks to all of those people who follow our "walk down the long hall" each day!

40 people now follow our walk on the blog and 52 people have "liked" How Long is this Hall on facebook! The blog has seen just over 9,000 page views (although, admitedly, some of those are my own!).

I know many have found How Long is this Hall through a link- thanks to all who have posted links to our adventures!

If you enjoy reading and following our adventures in the classroom, feel free to "like" us on facebook and join us on the blog! On the facebook page, I do try to post some information, ideas and activities about and for children that I happen across on the internet as well.

Thanks to everyone who provides me with activities, ideas and information through your own blogs! I'm not sure what I did before I found some of these blogs! I have been inspired to try new things in the classroom and have been able to get feedback on things I have tried! This is invaluable!  Of course, this isn't the ONLY place I receive feedback on my teaching, but still helpful!

I'll leave you with a video clip of Bill Martin Jr. reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear...just because I love the book!

(True...true...I had no idea what to write about today...which is how this post started! But, I do enjoy knowing that at least someone is reading what I write...at least sometimes...ok, if not many, at least maybe my mom! "Hi Mom")

Did I MISS Something?!

I think I must have MISSED something this week!  I think a little guy in my room was swapped out for a braver, happier, more comfortable and playful version of himself! 

This little guy in my classroom is beyond shy.  He has been in my classroom for months now.  We have a total of 5 children in the classroom.  It generally takes him until Friday before he feels comfortable enough to even move around without looking like a version of the tin man from The Wizard of Oz!   When he spoke it was single words only and so quietly you needed to put your ear right next to him to even hear what he was saying!  If he needed help with something he would simply sit, looking terrified, until an adult noticed him struggling!  If another child took something from him, he said nothing!   

So, imagine my surprise when he came up behind me at center time the other day and said in a nice LOUD normal indoor voice, "I can hear a noise!"  I nearly fainted!  But, I quickly recovered and asked him what he thought he might have heard.  It seemed as if he may be trying to initiate play, not necessarily actually wanting to find the source of an actual sound; so I suggested we go try to find what was making the noise (keep in mind, this is a child who has never participated in any simple pretend play in the classroom...ever!). 

We walked around the room, pretending to sneak around.  We looked for bears, we pretended there was a bear in the hall; we ran back to the book area and "hid".  Throughout this, this little guy kept up a running commentary, saying things like: "I hear something."  "I see something." 

When he started mentioning seeing something, I suggested we look through our binoculars and put my hands up to my eyes peering through pretend binoculars.  He did as well.  We named the children we saw through the binoculars.

Then we hid behind the table until another child (who had come to visit from the other classroom) came over to wash her hands at the sink.  (By this time, we were pretending to look for a monster!)  I said, "Oh, look, there's the monster!" and pointed to the child.  She laughed and came up to us and made a big monster sound.  This little guy laughed!  He laughed! 

The previous day, this would have made him stand stock still and stare at her as if she was trying to hurt him!  This is the same child who looked terrified the first time I gave him a "high five"! 

Well, not this day!  Apparently, he's decided we're OK!  Apparently, he's decided we may even be a bit of fun!  Well, I was certainly happy to meet this new version of himself!  I hope he sticks around!   

Success!

Well, picture day was as much of a success as anyone could expect!  We managed to see true smiles from every single child in my classroom!  We threw a koosh ball, played musical instruments, gave kisses with a puppet, made silly noises, silly faces, said "ready, set, go" and ran around the camera area and came back to 'catch' that smile and basically made complete fools of ourselves!   

How DO you make an experience such as picture day at preschool meaningful to a child who is three or four years old?  Well, in our case, we make complete fools of ourselves and allow the children to giggle and laugh at us!  Hopefully, all our silliness today will be noticeable on the actual photos when they are printed!  (They did look awful darn cute on the preview screen!)

Here are my tips for making picture day as stress free for the children and adults as possible:

1. Bring props...lots and lots of the most loved props in the classroom (we packed a small backpack with small items from the classroom).
2. Look at things from the child's point of view.  That large screen or great big lights may not scare you, you know what the purpose is.  It probably will worry the little ones.  Explain what things are and what they are used for if you know the children will understand the concepts.  If not, simply try to make the experience quick and painless!  Allow the children to touch as much as is allowed.  Give them time to warm up to the room and equipment.  If the children need to wait, try to make sure they have a hand of someone they know, in order to feel safe. 
3. It's never a failure to say, "We'll come back later when it's a little quieter in here!"
4. Insist that someone the child KNOWS will help the child.  ONLY if the child seems comfortable with the photographers should you allow them to assist the child.  (It's stressful enough, the child doesn't need new people combing their hair, adjusting their shirt or "kissing" them with stuffed animals!  The people who know the children should do these things.  Of course, if the child is smiling and seems comfortable, take advantage of the extra assistance!)
5. Bring a great BIG bag of patience!  You'll need it!
6. Take what you can get.  Don't expect the child to sit there for multiple attempts at a picture unless they are happy and having fun! 
7. Finally, join forces with the photographer.  If at least ONE photographer seems sensitive to the fact that a child may do better in a different position (in his or her wheelchair, or sitting rather than standing) or with things done in a bit of a different way, talk to that person about how things may work better for the child.  Then make adjustments immediately! 

"People" Progress!

Lately, we have been enjoying using markers, crayons and adapted scissors to create and color!  I have one little guy who has made remarkable progress in his ability to create a recognizable person while drawing! 

Completed January 7, 2011. 

Completed January 10, 2011

This is completely child-initiated.  His drawings began with mostly faces and lots and lots of circles!  Since then, his people are more defined and he has added many body parts: a nose, ears, body, arms, legs and feet.   

Completed February 1, 2011  Hey, we see some arms and legs...and a nose and some ears!

    

Completed February 4, 2011 The oval shape under his head is supposed to be
his "body" I was told!

Completed February 11, 2011  He's actually focusing more on the first
3 letters of his name rather than the person!  But look at those fingers...and look at the
letters he wrote all by himself!  We have been working on those first three letters of his
name with the Handwriting without Tears wood pieces.  This child transfered this
learning from building the letters with the woodpieces to
writing them on paper himself! 

On a regular basis we sing the song Mat Man from our Handwriting without Tears curriculum.  We also build the Mat Man character as we sing along.  I am sure this song is probably going through his head as he draws since his people have all the body parts (and generally are the same shape) as Mat Man!   The children LOVE the Mat Man song and building Mat Man.  This particular child knows ALL the words and sings loudly each time we do this!

Mat Man

This child has made so much progress and absolutely LOVES coloring and creating people all over his paper!   At some point, we will probably find EVERY single piece of paper in the classroom covered with people!

Good Friends!

I just had to smile today when I saw this happen in the gym:  One of my little guys from my classroom was having a great time.  He was bouncing around in his gait trainer (walker) laughing and vocalizing.  A little girl from the other classroom came running up to him smiling and talking to him (we think she may have a bit of a crush on him...she LOVES talking to him!). 

She suddenly stopped and looked up at me, "But, when will he TALK to me?"  "Well," I said, "he IS talking to you!  Listen...see, he says he's happy you came over to play with him!  Look at his face, he's smiling at you!"  I was waiting for her to question how I knew all this or to question my translation skills, but, she just stopped.  She looked at him, looked back at me and smiled a huge smile, as if to say, "Oh, NOW I can hear him!  I just didn't understand!"

Just then another child ran up and overheard our conversation.  "HEY, he just said Wally!" he exclaimed!   "That's her brother's name!  How did he know that?"  And for the next few minutes they insisted that the little guy from my room KNEW the little girl's brother and was calling out his name!  

I love seeing the children develop friendships and love seeing them enjoy playing and talking with their friends!  These children just viewed the translation process as a fun part of the interaction!  They were quite sure that this little guy was speaking his own language, and all they had to do was figure out what words he was saying!  I'll just bet you that they will run back up to him next time they see him and ask him who else he knows.  And, I'll just bet that he knows SOMEONE from their family and, of course, he will tell them all kinds of cool things he has done and how he knows the person!   They, of course, will listen and translate and enjoy hanging out together with a good friend!  

"I'm Just a Little Bit Shy"

The children in my class have recently been more and more cooperative and excited to engage in some simple play with other children.  This is a big and very exciting step for many of them!  Rather than attempting to find an area furthest from other children and turning to avoid the activity, they have wanted to join in and find another child in the gym or in the classroom, take a hand and smile! 

If this is as far as the interaction went, I would be happy!  But lately, with a bit of adult assistance, it has gone even further!  While in the gym the other day, a very sweet little girl from the other classroom came up to one of the children in my room and handed him a bean bag.  I gently reminded her to let him know who had handed him the beanbag since he couldn't see her.  We then suggested that she could talk to him.  (She clearly wanted to interact with him, but wasn't sure what to do after handing him the beanbag).   After several minutes of silence and smiles, we suggested that she might want to the ask him to play row, row, row your boat. 

She smiled, and looked like she would say something to him several times, but then stopped.  She leaned over and said something to me.  I couldn't quite hear her.  Her teacher, who was sitting next to me, listened and then said, "She says...I'm just a little bit shy!"  Well, that would explain why she wasn't talking!  I suggested she could just whisper the question in his ear. 

Apparently, that was all it took to overcome shyness!  She whispered the question, he said "ya" and they happily sat on the floor holding hands and pretending to row back and forth singing "Row, row, row your boat."  And in OUR version we sing the regular verse one time, then sing "row, row, row your boat gently down the stream, if you see a crocodile, don't forget to scream!" And we scream loudly!

They played together for almost five minutes! Do you know how big this is?!  This is VERY big!  They played with no adult facilitating the play!  They sang together!  They held hands!  This reminded me that sometimes, as teachers, we become so busy we easily overlook these small moments!  So, I'll try to remember to slow down more often, because sometimes those small moments are a BIG deal for that one child!