Songs

In Mike's family group I rarely hear Mike yell or raise his voice. Instead Mike sings a lot of songs, plays the hermonica, rings bells, and says peoms or rhyms. Some that I have noticed include:

1. I've been workin' on the railroad,

All the live long day.
I've been workin' on the railroad,
Just to pass the time away.
Don't you hear the whistle blowing?
Rise up so early in the morn.
Don't you hear the captain shouting
"Dinah, blow your horn?"

Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah.
Someone's in the kitchen, I know.
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strumming on the old banjo.

Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o-o-o-o.
Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o.
Strumming on the old banjo.

2. Row, row, row your boat

Gently Down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream

3.In a cabin in the woods

Little man by the window stood
Saw a rabbit hopping by
Knocking at his door [Alternate: Frightened as can be]
"Help me, help me, help", he said
Or the hunter will shoot me dead
Little rabbit come inside
Safely you'll abide

Second verse:
Ittybitty cabin in the woods
Ittybitty man by the window stood
Saw an ittybitty rabbit hopping by
Frightened as can be
"Help me, help me, help!" he said
'Fore the hunter shoots me dead
Ittybitty rabbit come inside
Safely to abide

Third verse:
Great big cabin in the woods
Great big man by the window stood
Saw a great big rabbit hopping by,
Frightened as can be
"Help me, help me, help!" he said
'Fore the hunter shoots me dead
Great big rabbit come inside
Safely to abide

Hand motions for the song: For the first verse, sing it in a normal voice and make a cabin shape with your fingers, then a bunny hopping (index and second finger form the ears over your fist), then hug your chest and shake (for the frightened part), throw up arms for each "help me!", then make a gun with your hands for the hunter, then pet your hand for the safely to abide part. On the second verse use a squeaky voice and the same motions, except make them much smaller...such as, instead of petting your hand, use one finger to pet another finger. On the third verse use your deepest, loudest voice and make all the motions bigger; i.e. instead of making the bunny with your fingers, pretend you're actually a giant rabbit hopping around, etc.

4. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,

Knees and Toes
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,
Knees and Toes

And Eyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

5. It’s time

It’s time to do

It’s time to do

Something new

I’ll try not to worry

I’ll be coming back to this again

Sometimes I need to hurry

So we can go together when

It’s time

It’s time to do

It’s time to do

Something new

First we go to the gym

Then we come back to the classroom again

It’s time

It’s time to do

It’s time to do

Something new

6.

6.

7. Everybody have a seat, have a seat, have a seat,

Everybody have a seat on the floor.

Not on the ceiling, not on the door...

Everybody have a seat on the floor.

Everybody have a seat, have a seat, have a seat,

Everybody have a seat on your chair.

Not on the ceiling, not on the stair...

Everybody have a seat on your chair.

8.

Here is the beehive. Where are the bees? (hold up fist) Hidden away where nobody sees. (move other hand around fist) Watch and you’ll see them come out of the hive (bend head close to fist) One, two, three, four, five. (hold fingers up one at a time) Bzzzzzzzz… all fly away! (wave fingers) 9. Good Morning Song Good Morning Dear Earth (hands as if holding earth on abdomen) Good Morning Dear Sun (stretch arms above head in a circular arc) Good Morning Dear Trees (stretch arms to side, like tree branches) And the Flowers Everywhere (hands holding flowers on ground) Good Morning Dear Beasts (hands as if petting a dog,etc..) And the Birds in the Trees (hands "fly" away like birds flying away) Good Morning Dear You and Good Morning Dear Me. (hands reaching to each other, then hands cross over our chest) 10. Story Time Song Fairies of the storytime Come and share your stories with me I am listening with my ears And Im sitting quietly

Mural

Today in K1 we created a mural based on our poem from last week. The poem is: Rickety tickety bumblebee, will you say your name for me? We had the children tear paper to create a meadow with grass, flowers, bugs, bumblebees, clouds, sun, and butterflies. The children did such a nice job and we even had them write the poem themselves to post on the mural. Alexis and I took students to seperate tables and asked them to sound out the words and use their best handwriting to write the letter themselves on the paper. When the children would make a mistake such as a capital letter in the middle of a sentence or a backwards "S" we would use "Mike's magic tape." I found that the children were very proud of their work and they were eager to write in their very best handwriting. I was so proud of all of them and their work. We hung the mural outside the classroom and we will show it off tomorrow night for the open house. We are having so much fun in our classroom and I am really looking forward to implementing the skills and projects that I learn about in my college courses

Read Aloud Experience Reflection

Read Aloud Reflection:

Another fun literary experience that I enjoyed today was doing my first read aloud to the class. I sat on the wooden stump next to the circle carpet and read the book Bark, George by Jules Feiffer. The children loved the story and I enjoyed reading to them. In order to keep them quiet I read in a very soft voice and did not talk over them. I changed my voice for the different characters and I made the animal sounds seem as real as I could. I felt like the read aloud was a great success because everyone sat quietly and was engaged in the story. I would let the children guess which animal was going to come next and I would slow my voice down and speed it back up again. In order to prepare for my read aloud I asked Mike to help me choose a book and I made sure to read Bark, George at least three times before reading it aloud to the children. I also made sure not to talk over the children but to wait for them to become quiet. I allowed them to ask questions at the end and I prompted some questions such as, “what do you think the vet could pull out of George now?” I was careful to hold the book in a position so that everyone could see the pictures. In addition I would point to some specific words and pause so that the children could read and say the word as a group. I am glad that I am in a classroom with not only the children but also Mike and Alexis because they are able to give me feedback and help me become a better teacher. After my reading I encouraged the children to find a book and read quietly with a friend. One of the girls wanted to read Bark, George, which I thought was a great idea so I handed the book to her and her friends. I am looking forward to my next read aloud and to observe Mike and Alexis in order to get more ideas.

Library Time

Today the children spent an hour in the library with the librarian. We recommended that the librarian might want to take them outside for a bit considering that a whole hour is a long time to keep 22 five and six-year-olds sitting still in a quiet space. However, the librarian assured us that she would be fine and would keep them inside. Needless to say, we picked the wired children up right on time and took them out for a necessary afternoon recess before beginning math. Today we explored calculators and when the children would type a really large number and say “this is how old I am!” I would reply by saying that they are older than the Sleeping Lady’s (a mountain in Anchorage) great grandmother. They thought that was very silly and they continued to explore numbers. Even the use of calculators is one way that literacy is integrated into our class because the children write and talk with one another about their findings. Today we played jump-roping games and we sang songs. We ran around outside and we used bug catchers to catch slugs, worms, and spiders. We ran through the wet grass and drew pictures displaying respect, being friendly, walking in the halls, and sticking with the group. We read funny stories about dinosaurs going to school and getting stuck under the little desks. We learned how to make the letter F and what to do if there were a fire in the building. We cried a little and laughed a whole lot more. The best part about leaving school is that we get to come back. Today I had to tell a student that if they never left, they would never be able to come back! I am looking forward to tomorrow, the next day, and of course Saturday!

First Day Reading

Kindergarten Rocks! Is the book that we used to start our day. Followed by a book about first grade, considering that the class was split with 11 first graders and 10 kinders. We started off with choice time which is such a brilliant idea because rather than forcing children to sit still and be quiet at the start of their day, they can roam the room, talk to their friends, and explore the toys and supplies in order to be ready to sit and be quiet. I believe this is an important literacy activity because the children are encouraged to write, draw, and communicate with one another. They are also encouraged to look at books and every morning we set out books of a certain theme that might strike the interest of some students. So during choice time we got to know each other a little bit while playing in a sand box filled with rice and beans, painting, and reading. We explored the habitat, caught slugs and frogs, went on a tour of the school, read some stories, played some games, wrote on the board, and even visited the principal’s office! Everyone had a lot of fun and I think I had more fun than the kids. Working with Mike and Alexis is such a pleasure and I am learning a lot about letting children explore their own learning and creativity rather than piling rules, regulations, and “the right way” on top of them. Mike is always bringing out the positive actions and words that students do or say instead of bringing attention to the negative.

Teaching a kinder to read

1. Today I had a major break through. Or at least, I feel like I had a major break through. The class was instructed to practice some silent reading in the classroom. In our room, silent reading does not mean that you cannot talk. In fact the students are encouraged to talk amongst each other about what they are reading or to help each other sounds out some words. One of the little girls in my class was looking at the clipboards and when I told her that clipboards did not have any words on them and that you could not read them she replied, “but I don’t know how to read!” This nearly broke my heart so I told her that I would show her a little trick. We started reading a book called My Dad and I taught her how to look at the pictures and interpret the story. We talked about what clues might help us learn what is going on and how to use our mind and really think about the story. When we got through that book I felt like she kind of understood but that I was still “reading” the story to her. I asked her to pick out a book of her choice and read the pictures to me. She picked out The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This was a book that was familiar to her so she went right into it. She was able to tell me about all the different kinds of food that the caterpillar ate and how he got a stomachache. She told me that the caterpillar ate through a leaf and then he became huge. He wrapped himself up and just like a magic trick, he turned into a butterfly. I was so proud of her that I could honestly feel my heart growing larger and glowing inside. She did it! I was so amazed that within just 10 minutes a little girl went from “not knowing how to read” to reading me a book by herself. Granted, she did not read the words, but she pointed to them and was able to tell the story to me through the illustrations. We talked about how sometimes pictures can give us clues to what is going on. I asked her why she liked books and she told me in multiple words that she enjoys learning about the funny things that happen to the animals. I informed her that now she can learn about the funny things that happen to the animals in books by reading the pictures.

Literacy Experiences

So far in the first week of teaching I have found that I experience literacy in the classroom on multiple accounts. I would like to share some of these experiences with you: