Aladdin on Broadway!

"You ain't never had a friend like me!"

A few weeks ago I sat in Broadway's beautiful New Amsterdam Theater surrounded by my former students watching an ASL interpreted performance of Disney's ALADDIN. As the show unfolded on the stage, my gaze often fell upon the smiling, rapturous faces of the children enveloped in theater magic. Each child sitting comfortably beside Mom or Dad with expressions of open-mouthed awe or playful giggles as they bopped along in their seats to the thump, thump, thump of the orchestra.

For most of them - children and adults - this was the first time experiencing the color, energy, and razzle-dazzle that is the "spectacular spectacular" of Broadway. At intermission the children ran up to give me hugs and thanks because the evening would never have happened without Broadway Books First Class. We all gathered for this performance as an extension of Jonathan Freeman's guest artist visit back in October 2017.

Students gather around Jonathan Freeman in October 2017

Jonathan plays Jafar in the Broadway musical. He also voiced the role in Disney's 1992 animated blockbuster. He worked with me to help realize one of my dreams for the program, which was getting the children to a Broadway theater to fully make the connection between the classroom visits and the work our guests do. The children watched in wonder at Jonathan's transformation as Jafar and felt great pride when he shot us a smile and a wave during the curtain call. We all are indebted to this thoughtful man for making the evening possible.

Students gather in front of the stage curtain at ALADDIN in December 2018

My teaching philosophy has always begun with the belief that my first priority is ensuring that my students look forward to coming to school every day. From that starting point we can create a positive learning environment that incorporates mutual respect and trust. It is from there that lasting memories are made. I have no doubt that this experience will live on in the minds of these children and I cannot wait to see where the program takes us all in 2019.

Becoming...

Sketching young Heracles with the pelt of the Nemean Lion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Something quietly blossomed this afternoon and it was beautiful - my first graders became a family.

I've noticed this week that the seeds of cooperation, respect, kindness and "oneness" started bearing fruit. One by one and then seemingly all at once this amazing group of children started to move away from their little egocentric tendencies and operate as a unit.

It was evident during reading workshop yesterday when they were scattered around the room quietly reading. A palpable sense of determination and collective joy hung in the air.

Each child applauded the achievements of his or her classmates whose reading assessments indicated they had moved up a level. There were discussions about books. Incredible insights into the author's message being shared on strips of paper and placed into books. Children recommending titles to one another. A sense of purpose prevailed.

These interactions appear to be the cumulation of our time together, which includes lessons in being mindful and taking mind breaks 3 times a day to center our thoughts.

But today we took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see sculptures of the Greek heroes we've been studying and the kids impressed the shit out of me.

Sketching Andromeda and the Sea Monster

I think they impressed everyone around us too.

As we gathered around a statue of Andromeda I asked them several questions such as, "Why is she looking up?" and "How is this artist's depiction different from the one you had visualized?  How is it the same?" Their answers prompted onlookers to ask disbelievingly, "How old are these students? What grade is this?" They carried themselves like college students on a museum trip.

Then they sat down to sketch and became fully immersed in the activity. So much so that I was ready to move on long before they were.

On the sidelines two artists sat sketching. Their drawings were not only of the artwork but included my little masterpieces as well. They kindly agreed to share their work with the students and offered tips on how to utilize the paper to maximize the drawing space.

Two kind artists share their sketches

Later, they sat on the ground with a group of children who had questions or who were becoming frustrated with their artistic skills. Role models are everywhere if you keep your eyes open. New York City is a wonderful teacher.

Next, we moved slightly to the left to study Perseus with the head of Medusa. If a bare-breasted Andromeda was cause for giggles and fascination, a naked Perseus seemed even more so.

But that quieted as they set to sketch. We had discussed nudity in art prior to the visit so establishing an openness and artistic viewpoint on the human body beforehand helped minimize - somewhat - the gasps, stares and pointing.

Sketching Perseus with the head of Medusa

However, they captured it all in their sketches.

A child's sketch of an older Heracles cloaked in the skin of the Nemean Lion

We ended the trip with a visit to the rooftop for some very interesting art and an exquisite view of the Manhattan skyline.

Adrián Villar Rojas, The Theater of Disappearance

What a day! The little ones are growing up and I feel like my mom when she says, "I wish I could keep you kids little forever". It always seems like just when things start running smoothly and a class becomes everything a teacher could wish for, they move on.

Still, I have them until June 28 so I'll be practicing mindful appreciation until I have to say farewell.

The Velveteen Rabbit

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you.  When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

We attended a gentle staging of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams at The New Victory Theater on Friday. There was a great deal of excitement and anticipation as we waited for the curtain to rise.

One student asked, "Is Joanna Glushak in the show?"

"No, she isn't" I responded.

Ever hopeful he came back with, "Gregory Jbara?"

One of these days it would be incredible to bring the class to see one of our Broadway Books First Class performers in action.  Alas, that day was not Friday.

The Velveteen Rabbit in this production is a man in a jacket.  The whiskers and ears live in the imagination of the children.  The actor portrayed the Velveteen Rabbit with quiet amazement, blinking slowly to adjust to his surroundings or contemplate concepts rather difficult for a stuffed rabbit to comprehend. The effect was very charming.

At one point the character of the little boy is getting ready for bed and asks for his rabbit.  The floppy rabbit lies beside the boy, shoved to the foot of the bed sometimes or squished beneath the covers at others.  At one point during the night the boy puts his arm around his beloved rabbit and it was disheartening to hear a few children behind me calling out, "Ewww, boys don't sleep with boys!"

Obviously the magic of theater with its willing suspension of disbelief didn't hold sway over them (it was a little boy and his stuffed animal!) but more importantly, it provided sad commentary on some larger issues.  Society may have progressed in accepting diversity and promoting tolerance but these young boys didn't seem to know that.  If I were their teacher I would have brought this conversation back into the classroom.  I wonder if that happened.

I guess the words of the Skin Horse apply in relation to societal change as well...

It doesn't happen all at once.  You become.  It takes a long time.  That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.  

Les enfants à Paris

"Paris Plages" transforming Paris
into a series of themed beaches

New York City encourages children to take a cultural bite out of The Big Apple but offerings in The City of Lights (La Ville-Lumiére) shine just as brightly. 

I was first struck by this as I strolled along the right bank of the Seine River and stumbled upon the inviting golden sand and blue umbrellas of the annual summer event, Paris Plages (Paris Beach). 

Children can frolic in the floating pool while enjoying live music or lounge on a beach chair with a book from the mobile library. We also witnessed bike safety lessons for the wee ones, pet stations/stops and booths selling food, beverages and trinkets.  

Later, I entered the Place du Carrousel located near the open end of the courtyard of the Musée du Louvre.  Nestled within the covered arches before the Rue de Rivoli were framed posters promoting "Les Ateliers Enfants".

This program resembles those of my beloved Met Museum with tours and activities to spark an interest in French culture, art and history.

La Petite Academie, Paris

At every turn I saw child-centered activities peeking out from windows and doorways (La Petite Academie, P'tit Vélib') or advertised on billboards (Les Minions!, Vice-Versa - the French title for Pixar's Inside Out - and the newly released Le Petit Prince).

It made me think that early childhood educators in Paris had it pretty good too.

When I returned home I discovered a blog posting about taking a group of children to visit museums and landmarks in Paris.  The photographs of children eating lunch and posing in front of The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre is reminiscent of the class pictures I took of my students outside The Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The post even includes some children's drawings.

I may have found my Parisian counterpart and definitely see new experiences unfolding in my future. There must be openings at the Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris.

New York City is our Classroom

New York City!

I cannot imagine a better place to teach.  The Big Apple offers school children culture, history and a sense of wonder.

It breaths life into the words we read in books and helps children connect to the lessons in tangible ways through visual, tactile and kinesthetic modalities.

NYC lets kids get their hands dirty.  She encourages them to question and explore and offers a great many oohs and ahhs.

New York City is a great teacher.

This year we expanded the walls of our classroom with trips to Liberty Island and The Statue of Liberty, Governor's Island Learning Garden, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock, The Fire Zone, The New Victory Theater, Children's Museum of the Arts, Central Park, The Staten Island Ferry,  Green Meadow Farm Festival of Cultures and Lincoln Center.

Students gathering greens at Governor's Island Learning Garden

During our travels the children learned about nutrition, gardening, healthy habits, history, art, design, color, shape, geography, world cultures, perspective, transportation modes, performance styles, mythology, respect, rules, cooperation, fire safety, creativity, plants, life cycles and themselves.

Thankfully our principal is very supportive of field trips for the elementary grades and recognizes their value. For many of our students class trips are the only opportunity they have to experience first-hand the treasures that NYC has to offer.  That is true for me as well.  I had never visited Liberty Island before this year!

Next year we will continue to open our doors to venture out while continuing to invite New York into our classrooms through children's book author visits, theatrical performances and Broadway Books First Class.

With all this it is easy to sing out, "I love New York!"

Top Ten 2014 - 2015

A sample Top Ten list from a First Grade student

The Top Ten posts are my favorite to write because they serve as a time capsule showcasing the uniqueness of a particular class.  The books and the children's writing bring back memories of our time together and the dynamic moments we shared.

This year, as in years past, our students created individual top ten lists (see above) from the many books we read together.  Each book was then voted on by the whole class until we settled on just ten.

Number One

Number One: Washington Irving's The Headless Horseman (adapted by Natalie Standiford) topped the list this year.

Our class was so enraptured by the dark mystery of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that they created their own version.

It is a testament to the staying power of the story that it survived in the children's minds and hearts throughout the year.

It was as popular in June as it was in October and remained the number one selection for independent reading.  Luckily, this year I bought an extra copy so it cut down on the quarreling.

Marilyn wrote, "I think my favorite book is The Headless Horseman because the character Icabod is funny.  And I like scary stories. That's why I like The Headless Horseman".

Number Two

Number Two: Otto Has a Birthday Party by Todd Parr.

This book was read at every single birthday celebration this year.  Over time the boys and girls began to substitute their names for Otto's as in "Today is Gabriel's birthday, and he is going to make his cake all by himself" (That conceit became a little more complicated when a girl read the book and had to remember to change all the pronouns).

Speaking of Gabriel, he wrote...

"My favorite book is Otto has a birthday party because it was funny when Otto put a cootie bug and mud for frosting. I hope you loved my opinion writing." 

Number Three

Number Three: I used to take issue with Teachers Pay Teachers. I was of the opinion that teachers should share ideas freely and the thought of making a buck off of one another just did not sit right with me.

My feelings about the site changed this year when I discovered that there are many fantastic free resources.  Plus, the items that require payment are absolutely worth the small fee.

It was on Teachers Pay Teachers that I found a free reader's theater script for The Stinky Cheese Man.  I used it during small group work with children who needed to develop fluency. What fun!

They happily performed the "fairly stupid tale" for the rest of the class and learned some interesting vocabulary along the way.

Number Four

Number Four: Usually when we do a read aloud I sit next to Oni (my co-teacher) and voice while she signs.  However, we changed things up a bit when we read A Night in Santa's Great Big Bag by Kristin Kladstrup and Tim Jessell.

Oni projected the story onto our large SMART Board and stood in the front of the class to sign the book while I sat in the back and quietly voiced for those who needed it.  The large visual display made an impact on the students who interacted with the text in a way we hadn't seen before.  It drew them in and they didn't forget it.

Number Five

Number Five: This was a new one for me.  I had never heard of My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett until Oni introduced it to me with fond reminiscence of her childhood.

It turns out there are three books in the trilogy (My Father's Dragon, Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland).

We read all of the chapter books to a rapt audience over several weeks.  I don't think the children were ever so attentive as they were during those readings.

Number Six

Number Six: Greek Mythology makes its first appearance on the list at Number Six.

Let's Go, Pegasus! by Jean Marzollo retells one version of the story of Perseus and Medusa (we highlight that these are old stories and as it gets passed down through the generations some details change).

This is the myth that launches us into an in-depth study of Greek mythology because the story is chock full of intrigue and action.

Variations of Medusa's head by Elyssa

Elyssa wrote, "My favorite book is Let's Go, Pegasus! because I like the colorful pictures.  And the story. And it's interesting."

This knowledge is put to good use when we visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art to view and sketch the exquisite Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Antonio Canova and the equally stunning Andromeda and the Sea Monster by Domenico Guidi.

Andromeda and the Sea Monster at The Met

Number Seven

Number Seven: Oinky! Oink! Oink!

That means Happy Pig Day!

This charming book by Mo Willems was another reader's theater script I downloaded from Teachers Pay Teachers.  Honestly, I do not know what could make someone smile more than a bunch of pigs together celebrating the joy of simply being a pig.

The Elephant & Piggie books are a great resource for teaching about character and the use of speech bubbles. With a limited range of words they are easily accessible and non-intimidating for beginning readers.

Number Eight

Number Eight: Exclamation Mark! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld is a bright, happy book centering on the journey of self acceptance.


Although it certainly works on that deeper level, it is also perfect for teaching young children the proper usage of an exclamation point...and a question mark.

The authors make their point in simple, clear terms that are extremely engaging.  A touch of humor is never a bad idea in a children's book!

Number Nine: The Chef and the Baker by Clayton Suttles with art by Nate Suttles and Christy Sexton is an as-of-yet unpublished children's book that I was fortunate enough to get my hands on this year.

Number Nine

This is the story of a chef and a baker (naturally) who are angsting over the imminent arrival of an intimidating food critic.  The conflict arises when they must decide whether to bake or to "chef".  Which delicious delicacy will the food critic prefer?

With humor and dazzling illustrations the message becomes clear - it is best to work together even though it can sometimes get messy.

It is a perfect lesson for children in First Grade to learn and that message carried over into our dramatic play area where they created a menu I simply couldn't resist.

Why was I cast as the flamboyant food critic?  Hmmm....

Anny wrote, "My favorite part of the story is when the chef and the baker  try to make the best food in the whole world!

Number Ten

Number Ten: I have a friend - and former college professor - who always tells me, "Don't forget about the goddesses!"

Well, Marilyn will be happy to see that Aphrodite: Goddess of Love by George O'Connor has made the Top Ten.  This is the first year that a goddess from the Olympians series has made the list but the gods weren't far behind.

Boys and girls were equally attracted to the story of Aphrodite but one little girl had more questions for the talented Mr. O'Connor.

Cydney wrote, "I like Aphrodite because she is beautiful.  And it is cool that she was born in the sea.  Is Zeus her father? Why does Ares love Aphrodite?"

I adore when they want to know more!

Congratulations to the authors and illustrators who worked to create the wonderful books in our Top Ten this year.  We appreciate all of you!

Greek Mythology at the Met!

Sarcophagus with garlands and the myth of Theseus and Ariadne

I couldn't wait to bring my first grade students to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to explore Greek Mythology through art.  

I knew it would be an amazing experience because we have been studying the stories for a while and I secured an incredibly patient and knowledgeable docent, Patrizia, to usher us through the morning. 

 We weren't disappointed. 

It turns out that the museum has created an art adventure entitled Percy Jackson & The Olympians based on the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.  Each child was given a treasure map with keepsake cards containing pictures and facts about the Greek, Roman and European art as well as quotes from the book.  

It was fun to watch slightly surprised and impressed tourists gather around our students as they expertly answered Patrizia's questions and retold the stories with confidence and excitement.  

Patrizia gave us a wonderful Mythology Fandex to take back to the classroom and a free Family Pass for each child.  

When we returned to school the exhausted children wrote beautiful narratives about the experience.  

There is nothing quite like the thrill of experiencing New York City with a bunch of 6-year-olds!  

Gung Hay Fat Choy

I am totally enamored with Chinese New Year. It is a time of celebration and renewal wrapped around a fantastic tradition steeped in imaginative, magical mythology.

What's not to love?

This year, for the first time, I brought my first grade students to visit the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) for  a guided tour led by a museum educator which provided a small taste of the incredible Chinese culture.

The program included an "exploration of the exhibit and hands-on activities to allow students to experience history from primary sources".

Our experience began with an explanation of the lunar calendar upon which the celebration is based.  Oh, that old devil moon keeps us on our toes.  The calendar is ever shifting according to the cycle of the new moon.  This can make it difficult for the uninitiated (like me) to figure out if I am rabbit or a tiger.  The description of the tiger fits better but I think I am actually a rabbit.

We spent the 75 minutes learning about the significance and symbolism of lanterns, dragons, lions, colors (red, gold), food (Mandarin oranges, apples, fish), flowers, red envelopes, fireworks, Chinese astrology, the zodiac, decorations, music, dance and family.

Students taking notes and making observational drawings.

In class, we read wonderful stories about the great race the animals competed in at the emperor's request to earn a place in the zodiac.

A particular favorite is Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac by Ed Young.  The children also enjoyed The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year Tale by Ying Chang Compestine and Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin.

It was a day to honor the past and welcome the future.

And it gave us an opportunity to sweep our classroom clean of the old year and prepare for happy times.  On a day where your actions set the stage for the coming year, I was happy to witness a group of kindhearted, loving children.

Their actions let me know that it's going to be a good year.

Sneezy

 

I braved those "awful allergies that made me sneeze" and ventured off with the first and second graders to the Learning Garden at Randall's Island Park.

Our outdoor adventure took an unexpected twist due to the capricious humor of Mother Nature but our tenacious guides remained undaunted by the storm.

Instead of frolicking in the rain-soaked outdoor garden, our hosts created an intimate bucolic experience in one of the stadiums. We divided our students into small groups and assigned them to one of the four stations.

1. Painting signs labeling the various fruits and vegetables in the garden.  
2. Planting Forget Me Nots in small pots, which we got to bring home! 
3. Learning about the parts of a plant (root, stem, seed, flower, leaf) and then tasting some delicious examples of each.  
4. Visiting with the baby chicks.  This was perhaps the biggest thrill for the children (although I'm not sure the chicks felt the same way).  

They spent about 20 minutes at each station before rotating to the next. It was a pleasure to watch them engaging in each activity, asking questions, working together and having fun.

The Learning Garden provides an incredible opportunity for city kids to engage in a hands-on sensory exploration of garden activities such as planting, watering, weeding, mulching, composting, recycling and harvesting.  

We have a small school garden with a greenhouse--our class is growing basil, rosemary, lavender and marigolds--so these skills are put to the test on a daily basis.  Our goal is to provide food for our cafeteria so there are healthy food choices but at the moment the scope is limited.  Perhaps experiences like the one we had at the Learning Garden will motivate and inspire our students to grow the school garden into a larger program.  

A huge Thank You to the urban farmers who shared their expertise with us!  

Performance Tasks

As the Common Core State Standards continue to roll out in NYC, teachers have begun to assess student progress through a series of performance tasks.

In first grade we created a performance task for a unit on narrative writing centered on our recent trip to the FDNY Fire Zone.  We reasoned that writing about a shared experience would "level the playing field" allowing us to compare/contrast student work fairly.

At the Fire Zone students learned about fire safety, played in a real fire truck, dressed as firemen and practiced what to do in case of a fire.  This educational trip was exciting and a bit frighting at times for the students.  It was also something they all wanted to write about which provided excellent motivation to complete the performance task.

The task, as told to our students,  was to "write about our trip to the FDNY Fire Safety Learning Center and include some details about what happened at the beginning, middle and end of our trip.  I expect you to go through the writing process to revise, edit and publish your work".

We set a flexible timeline allowing for students to work at their own pace. The first four stages of the writing process (pre-write, write, revise & edit) were done independently with only minimal support but we intervened at the publishing stage to ensure that the finished piece was generally free of grammatical errors.

Once a published piece was completed we asked our students to fill out a self-assessment rubric on the writing they just finished.

Although performance tasks are new to me, I did enjoy the process (this is the third performance task in writing this year, others included persuasive writing and opinion writing pieces).

Below is a sample of one student's work including pre-writing, writing, revising, editing and reflection.

PRE-WRITING

WRITING, REVISING & EDITING

PUBLISHING

REFLECTION

At this stage, we evaluate their performance using a rubric based on our expectations.  A score of 3 in any domain indicates the student is meeting expectations while a score of 4 is exceeding expectations.  Scores of 2 and 1 indicate a student is approaching expectations or is far below grade level expectations respectively.

Our rubric is below...

Call out to teachers - How do you utilize performance tasks in your classrooms?

Deaf-Friendly School Trips

Planning a school trip is a very involved process that requires finely-tuned organizational skills.

In addition to coordinating dates, times and subject matter with each specific venue there are forms for parental permission, a "statement of purpose" to be submitted to the principal for his or her approval, paperwork for transportation (school bus or subway),  lunch forms (are we eating there or when we return?) and arrangements for payment (collecting money from parents or submitting a request for payment to the school's office manager).

At our school, we must also consider the scheduling of Sign Language Interpreters.  This process involves calling the Office of Sign Language Interpreting Services to check availability, followed by yet more paperwork.

However, there are some organizations that make this process a bit easier because they regularly offer interpreters as part of their standard operating practices.

One of these is the outstanding New Victory Theater.  Every one of their amazing productions has a sign language interpreted performance built into the schedule.  I simply request that date through their education department and we're off.

This past week I took my first grade class to see their production of Miss Ophelia (a play based on Ophelias Schattentheater by Michael Ende) and was blown away! They consistently offer high-quality, dynamic and engaging shows and their equal access policy pushes them even further ahead of any other theater for young audiences in New York City.

Another deaf-friendly institution that I frequently visit with my students is The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Met offers educational talks and tours of its galleries and provides sign language interpreters upon request.

Finally,  I must also applaud the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Our school visits to the Whitney have been particularly enjoyable because there we had no need of an interpreter.  For our last several visits our guide has been a deaf woman who communicated directly with our students via American Sign Language.

Thanks to the New Vic, the Met and the Whitney for making my job a bit easier and for providing outstanding services to support the education of all children.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

The school year is winding down (our last day is June 28th) and with that comes the call of the great outdoors. Blue skies and sunshine beckon our restless students to play tag between the trees, search for flowers, sit in the grass and blissfully enjoy being young.

To indulge them in this pursuit and to strike a balance between work and play (although to borrow from cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget, "play is a child's work") the end of the school year usually includes some fun excursions.

This year Lauren was offered tickets to take the class to see the Mets play at Citi Field - which replaced Shea Stadium in 2009 - and we couldn't resist.  Taking a group of kindergarten children to a crowded ball park does not come without stress.  But, we were able to invite several parents to accompany us which alleviated some of the worry.

We all boarded the subway to Flushing and arrived early enough to eat our lunch outside before finding our seats.  And what amazing seats they were!

At one point I was busy counting heads when the crowd suddenly let out a thunderous roar. Turning to the student on my left, I asked "what happened?" She excitedly informed me that "the guy on second tried to steal third but they got him out.  Lucky for the guy on first that he stayed put".  Color me impressed.  That is when I sent a text to her mother stating that her daughter sure knew a lot about baseball.

Our stay was brief. We could only watch about an hour of the game before we had to gather ourselves for the trip back to school. When we left it was the New York Mets 0, the Pittsburgh Pirates 6.  Had we hung around a bit longer we would have seen the third inning play that allowed the Mets to win the game 9-8.

On the way back we had a pleasant surprise from a clown who was riding the subway with us.  He got off at our stop and made balloon animals, swords and wands for all of the kids. We finished the day with a read aloud of Horray for Snail! by John Stadler.

I kept thinking that this may have been the first time - and the only time - some of these children have been to a ball game.  As the year comes to a close I wonder what they will take away from their time with me, what will they remember.  Maybe eating an ice cream cone while watching the Mets will be one of those memories.  Whatever their recollections, I just hope they leave with the feeling that learning is fun and continue to score home runs throughout their lives.

Autumnal Bliss

Autumnal wonders never cease to amaze.

The colors, the crisp air, leaf piles, changes taking place that are seen and unseen, known and unknown.

I enjoy the anticipation of coming home to sit with a hot mug of mulled cider, warm pajamas, a comforting fire.

This is a time to slow down because nature demands we stop and pay attention.

Our students feel this as well.  On Monday we ventured out for a leaf walk to Madison Square Park. The task was to collect leaves of different shapes, sizes and colors.  It is wonderful that such a simple task can bring such happiness and excitement.

Especially pleasing was a particular assortment of leaves that had collected in one area just asking to be thrown in the air to gleeful giggles.  Leaves found their way into hoods, coats and Lauren's hair faster than a blink.

By the time we left, their little Ziploc bags were full of specimens to sort, graph and examine.

We have read some spectacular books to build knowledge about trees, leaves and the fall season (check out Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace for its information
and Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert  for its creativity).

Our classroom is beginning to look a lot like autumn - wreaths made of leaves decorate the walls and clementines covered with cloves hang from ribbons on our twinkle light wrapped palm tree.  It is a feast for the senses.

Who could ask for anything more?