Miss Margie, AA-ECE; hired 1994 (pictured below)
Miss Dawn, BA-ECE; hired 2014
I had a special morning stop at the Hamilton Center to wish Nancy Harper a happy retirement. After 45 years in Head Start, Nancy returned to see another group of children come into the program. That she came back and used her knowledge and experience one more time, even this briefly, is greatly appreciated. She will be missed.
I got to Room 12 in time for the last hour of the morning
session. In the first five minutes I was greeted by a self-appointed welcome
wagon of three children. There was a brief inquisition of my name, clothing
choices and favorite playtime activities before I became old news. I did learn
that one planned to be Spider-Man for Halloween. My Spidey-sense is that he
will not change his mind. He sounded very definite.
When I walked in, Miss Dawn was helping the children take turns drawing on the Smart Board. Miss Margie was working the room. Based on the displacement of storage containers and number of dirty paint brushes, the only stations more popular than drawing with Miss Dawn were the paint table and kitchen center. With a five-minute warning it did not seem like long before both teachers started singing a cleanup song. Many hands do lighten the load, but you still have to leave plenty of time. Lighter is in no way quicker when three- and four-year-olds are involved. After a group trip to the restrooms, it was back to the room for lunch with freshly washed hands.
Lunch was Mandarin oranges, vegetable medley, homemade beef stew and corn muffins. Between the carrots in the stew, broccoli in the medley and the yellow cornmeal in the muffins, the children were eating a good portion of the rainbow. They eyed the stew with suspicion, but most tried at least a bite. Plenty of bowls were emptied. I liked that it had pearl onions in it like my mom's Irish stew. My table mate did not share my enthusiasm for onions. She handled it well and quietly returned the uneaten half of her onion to her bowl. She liked the carrots much better.
The children ate their fill and knew the cleanup routine. Parents began arriving and the room cleared of the children's hubbub one youngster at a time. Parent greetings to children were equal parts behavior check-ins, whether the morning had been fun and what was learned that day. Few children left the room without hugs for both teachers and reassurances that everyone would be back together on Tuesday.
I have not square-danced since 5th grade gym class and Room 12 does not have anything remotely related to a square dance caller, but how things move in the classroom has the same well-orchestrated feel.
The children not picked up by noon are walked down to the office so that teachers can go to lunch. Even as Miss Dawn was escorting two or three children up the hall, Miss Margie had the greeting activity for afternoon children in place.
Memorable Moment
I walked past an appliance box at least five times before I noticed it. One side was cut open to the room. A children's-sized, upholstered chair just fit inside. I had heard about Miss Margie’s and Miss Dawn’s inventive use of cardboard. I asked if it was a reading space. It turns out it is something even better for children still adjusting to classroom life. It is the "be by myself box." The teachers explained how it means different things to different children. There is just something wonderfully creative about a really big box.
What I Learned from Miss Dawn and Miss Margie
These two teachers are very much team teaching. While each is her own person, they share one another's deep respect for the individuality of children. It was one of the first things I noticed as they jointly managed their room. I started keeping count of the number of times they adjusted their tone of voice, use of personal space, eye level, and voice inflection to meet the needs of a child. Some children they playfully teased. Some they quietly coaxed. Others they spoke to with authority and let the pause that followed take as long as necessary to get acknowledgement from a child reluctant to take direction. I lost count of the examples somewhere around 34. That was well before the first pair of hands were washed.
Linking It Together
A challenge I face in getting to know staff is that as soon as they know I am there, they become much more conscious of their behavior. It comes with the job and is simple human nature. But that heightened awareness, I am finding, takes a distant second place to leading their classrooms.
I watch how connected the children are with their teachers. I look to see if the children become confused or unsure. If things were being done differently for my benefit, the children would be thrown off a bit. That is not happening.
With Miss Dawn and Miss Margie and the children effortlessly recite the classroom rules. The children moved seamlessly through transitions. Not quietly or without the normal, barely restrained energy levels of the pre-K crowd; but the children clearly knew what was expected of them. The teacher’s build learning into every aspect of the day; but I did missed circle time and group learning. I am confident that those moments went well, too. The children's actions and reactions say it all. Especially the one's enjoying their time inside Room 12's creative use of an everyday box.
To the cooks in our kitchen, Barb and Lillian, thank you for the delicious, cooked-with-care beef stew. No disrespect to the folks that make canned and frozen foods, but there is no substitute for wholesome, straight-from-the-stove food. Your efforts were well appreciated by the children and adults in Room 12 and everywhere else in the program.
When I walked in, Miss Dawn was helping the children take turns drawing on the Smart Board. Miss Margie was working the room. Based on the displacement of storage containers and number of dirty paint brushes, the only stations more popular than drawing with Miss Dawn were the paint table and kitchen center. With a five-minute warning it did not seem like long before both teachers started singing a cleanup song. Many hands do lighten the load, but you still have to leave plenty of time. Lighter is in no way quicker when three- and four-year-olds are involved. After a group trip to the restrooms, it was back to the room for lunch with freshly washed hands.
Lunch was Mandarin oranges, vegetable medley, homemade beef stew and corn muffins. Between the carrots in the stew, broccoli in the medley and the yellow cornmeal in the muffins, the children were eating a good portion of the rainbow. They eyed the stew with suspicion, but most tried at least a bite. Plenty of bowls were emptied. I liked that it had pearl onions in it like my mom's Irish stew. My table mate did not share my enthusiasm for onions. She handled it well and quietly returned the uneaten half of her onion to her bowl. She liked the carrots much better.
The children ate their fill and knew the cleanup routine. Parents began arriving and the room cleared of the children's hubbub one youngster at a time. Parent greetings to children were equal parts behavior check-ins, whether the morning had been fun and what was learned that day. Few children left the room without hugs for both teachers and reassurances that everyone would be back together on Tuesday.
I have not square-danced since 5th grade gym class and Room 12 does not have anything remotely related to a square dance caller, but how things move in the classroom has the same well-orchestrated feel.
The children not picked up by noon are walked down to the office so that teachers can go to lunch. Even as Miss Dawn was escorting two or three children up the hall, Miss Margie had the greeting activity for afternoon children in place.
Memorable Moment
I walked past an appliance box at least five times before I noticed it. One side was cut open to the room. A children's-sized, upholstered chair just fit inside. I had heard about Miss Margie’s and Miss Dawn’s inventive use of cardboard. I asked if it was a reading space. It turns out it is something even better for children still adjusting to classroom life. It is the "be by myself box." The teachers explained how it means different things to different children. There is just something wonderfully creative about a really big box.
What I Learned from Miss Dawn and Miss Margie
These two teachers are very much team teaching. While each is her own person, they share one another's deep respect for the individuality of children. It was one of the first things I noticed as they jointly managed their room. I started keeping count of the number of times they adjusted their tone of voice, use of personal space, eye level, and voice inflection to meet the needs of a child. Some children they playfully teased. Some they quietly coaxed. Others they spoke to with authority and let the pause that followed take as long as necessary to get acknowledgement from a child reluctant to take direction. I lost count of the examples somewhere around 34. That was well before the first pair of hands were washed.
Linking It Together
A challenge I face in getting to know staff is that as soon as they know I am there, they become much more conscious of their behavior. It comes with the job and is simple human nature. But that heightened awareness, I am finding, takes a distant second place to leading their classrooms.
I watch how connected the children are with their teachers. I look to see if the children become confused or unsure. If things were being done differently for my benefit, the children would be thrown off a bit. That is not happening.
With Miss Dawn and Miss Margie and the children effortlessly recite the classroom rules. The children moved seamlessly through transitions. Not quietly or without the normal, barely restrained energy levels of the pre-K crowd; but the children clearly knew what was expected of them. The teacher’s build learning into every aspect of the day; but I did missed circle time and group learning. I am confident that those moments went well, too. The children's actions and reactions say it all. Especially the one's enjoying their time inside Room 12's creative use of an everyday box.
To the cooks in our kitchen, Barb and Lillian, thank you for the delicious, cooked-with-care beef stew. No disrespect to the folks that make canned and frozen foods, but there is no substitute for wholesome, straight-from-the-stove food. Your efforts were well appreciated by the children and adults in Room 12 and everywhere else in the program.
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