Winterfest 2014

'Twas the day of the Fest and all through the center

decorations and children's art were displayed for all who would enter.

Parents and guardians were poised in the gym

Waiting patiently and expectantly for the children to march in. 

At least one teacher wore fuzzy antlers, one brought an instrument

It was a guitar, and not surprisingly, it added greatly to the merriment.

Microphone in hand, Ms. Rose got the festivities under way

It was hard to tell who was more excited when the songs began to play. 

One classroom at a time the children took to performing

The audience watched on with big smiles forming.

Winter Fest marks mid-year and is a source of great joy

All are proud of the accomplishments of each girl and boy. 

The event went smoothly and quickly with more than a little laughter

Teachers took the children back to the classrooms and loved ones followed after. 

I am told there were cookies and punch before all went home for Winter Break

Here is hoping that the time off is filled with the best memories one can make. 
 

 

Personally, I wish you a Merry Christmas. I hope this season of giving and receiving keeps you safe and in the company of those who are important to you. May all the that gives you joy and brings you peace be with you this holiday season. 

Leaps in Learning

Hopkins-Locke Center, Room 10

Miss Leslie, AA-ECE, Hired 09-2014

Miss Devon, BA-ECE, Hired 08-2014

This week I was joined by our Head Start Director, Shauna Matelski. Together we went into Room 10. We stepped in while the teachers were doing a group teaching. As we listened in, I could not miss the big smile on Shauna's face; then she leaned in and whispered “concept development.” Three-, four- and five-year-olds can and do master abstract ideas. Children, like adults, constantly take in new information and process it in ways that allow them to better understand the world we live in.

The children were examining antlers from a show-and-tell item one of the children brought to share. They practiced saying the word “antlers” by sounding out the syllables. Free play followed and there was more creative thought in the form of seashells and moldable play sand. The water table was a popular learning center with toys that promote learning about mass, movement and density. Talk about big concepts! Yet, young children reason through why some objects float and others sink. They know full from empty. By the time they get to Kindergarten they will have successfully taken in concepts such as time, space and quantity. That is pretty amazing when you think about it.

The room had a table with natural objects found in the woods, including leaves, twigs and seed heads. One can easily imagine how conversations went when those items were examined. There was also a fish tank. Well, all our classrooms have a fish tank.

Miss Devon showed a couple of the children a round, hollow shell and the children talked about how snails live in such shells. Shauna asked the children what other items could be found on beaches. The children were almost speaking over each other sharing their beach stories. One student even became the questioner. She wanted to know if anyone had ever seen a whale. I shared that I would like to, but have not had the pleasure.

What I Learned from Ms. Leslie

There is an English-as-a-second language student who is from an African country in Room 10. Miss Leslie spent time during free play with her at the vocabulary station. There are audio games at the station which the children enjoy. Miss Leslie was keyed into each child's needs. She is a teacher who makes sure the quiet ones are doing okay. She supports them in ways that bring them out of their shell, so to speak.

What I Learned from Ms. Devon

Ms. Devon has an enthusiasm for sharing knowledge. When the children bring ideas to her they are excited about, Ms. Devon gets equally excited. It is not something you can fake, at least not in the long run. Children know. So, ideas flow freely in Room 10. What I saw was her asking questions to find out more and sharing observations that prompted the children to think deeper. The children carry out ongoing dialogues with her. It makes for a very vocal group of children who are unafraid of sharing their ideas.

 

Memorable Moment

I watched Shauna carefully get on the floor and equally carefully get off the floor after circle time. She has a knee injury that has to be considered. Here's the thing, Shauna has impressed upon me that educating young children means everything, people included, have to shift closer to children’s eye level. So I was not surprised to see her getting down on the floor and at their level. I watch Shauna do what is in the best interest of children every day.

Linking It Together

Our annual report comes out next week. In it the agency's commitment to developing a learning culture is featured. We are committed to getting every position in the agency filled with staff members that have the experience, knowledge, and skills for each job. We provide training and support that allow employees to continue to grow. We are working to make sure that staff routinely know how appreciated they are for judiciously using their abilities on behalf of those we serve. 

That is all big picture stuff that, in practice, comes down to thoughtful questions about seashells and being sensitive to student needs. Each time we help a child grow more comfortable with speaking English and each time we act as a spring board for young minds to share their ideas,we are creating that learning culture. It was equally evident last week when a young charge was encouraged to crawl. It was evident in the first classroom I went into at Hamilton Center when every child’s ideas about the story being read were incorporated into the lesson. 

This week, it occurred to me as I experienced the high degree of chatter in Room 10 that I am hearing more and more from staff. In the months and years ahead, we will systematically bring employee wisdom and commitment into decision making and strategic planning. We already have plans in place to make that happen. There is so much knowledge and goodness in our agency and we need to use all the good ideas, abstract or otherwise, to get things done.  

Acting With Distinction

Hamilton Learning Center
Room 109 - Early Head Start
Leanna McGuire - Hired 10/2011, AA-ECE (pictured)
Trinity Bajaras - Hired 10/2012, AA-ECE

Morning meetings put me in the classroom in the afternoon. I had decided early in the week to go into Room 109. So it was truly coincidence that just prior to my leaving a management meeting to go spend time in an Early Head Start room our Early Head Start manager was gushing about her staff. She was also explaining the differences between teaching elementary, pre-K, and infants/toddlers. Her point was that acting on the distinctions makes for more effective programming.

Our Early Head Start program is fully enrolled with a waiting list. We are funded for 40 children in the Early program. Twenty-four children are center-based and 16 are home-based. Each center class has two teachers and eight children. There were five sleeping “friends” when I arrived, the others having already been picked up.

You know when you are in an Early room. The cribs and high chairs are your first clue. It looks a little like an old re-run of John and Kate Plus 8 with multiples of everything-only there wasn't any bickering going on and no film crew. The teachers in Room 109 know their “little friends” and “bigger friends” and adeptly tag-team everything to meet the children’s needs and foster their development.

By the time Leanna opened the curtains to let the children begin to rouse gently and quietly, I was apprised of the waking preferences of each child. We did get to have floor time with the room’s youngest friend as she woke up well before the others. She is nine months old. Floor time involved board books, rolling over and getting up on little knees to inch forward. Leanna is encouraging her to crawl by placing toys tantalizing close. Pushing forward resulted in a victorious fistful of something fun and colorful and a pretty big, self-satisfied grin. It was happiness as defined by a baby.

I was able to stay until all of the children were picked up. All the bedding had to be stripped for laundering. The teachers do the laundry on site. We sanitized the tables, high chairs and cribs. In between, they caught up with email and other computer work.

MEMORABLE MOMENT

I love watching children sleep. You appreciate them differently. All three little friends in cribs had partially kicked off their blankets, so their small hands and feet were free. Thankfully, the room was comfortably warm and there was no need to disturb them by fixing blankets. The two bigger friends on cots were on their stomachs and were clearly in deep, restful slumber.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM LEANNA:

Leanna is an anticipator. Much of what she said involved sharing her thoughts about what would likely happen with each child from whether diapers would be wet to which child would be hungry for snack upon waking. On a deeper level, she was clearly engaged in each child’s physical, social-emotional and cognitive development. Her actions were deliberate with each child in terms of reaching new milestones. Plus, she shared what she is doing and why it matters. It makes working with her super easy. I could see her vision and readily figure out how to be part of her plan.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM TRINITY:

I witnessed Trinity showing people how much she cares about them by doing for them. She checked a Frozen chapter book out of the library for a two-year old who knows and adores almost every character. In fact, that bigger friend identified most of them in the book while eating his snack. Clearly Sven and Olaf were two of his favorites. Trinity was always in motion making sure supplies were at the ready and that favored things were in the places the children liked to play with them. It is a different form of anticipation. Trinity seems to anticipate the joy she brings others with her acts of kindness.

LINKING IT TOGETHER

What Leanna and Trinity are doing is what management is focusing on, too. At that meeting the extended management team was reviewing quarterly and year-to-date outcomes. The quarterly meetings are also used for the professional development of the team. One theme that has been reoccurring in management training is “how are you setting your staff up to succeed?” Managers and supervisors are striving to be in front of needs and issues, anticipating as much as possible. They are also considering what is important to each staff member and working with staff to make changes that will be appreciated.

There is a welcoming vibe at Hamilton Center. It starts with Tammy at the front door and works its way through every office and classroom. For all the hustle and bustle that goes on, it is still a place you are glad to be. When I see staff working together as well as they do at the Hamilton Center, I take heart that managers and staff alike are overcoming challenges by drawing on each other’s abilities.

When you look at the sleeping face of a very young child, you are quickly reminded why we are here. If you are like me, you also feel gratitude to be able to make a difference and you get re-energized to keep doing more.