Handwriting- What is it good for?

 Handwriting -Huh! What is it good for?

More than you may think! 

I know, I know, I’m a play based educator. It’s kind of my “thing”. And, to be honest, handwriting instruction has always been NOT my thing. I find it frustrating. I mean, if the students would just form their letters the way I tell them, we’d all be happier! But that’s not how it goes.

As a play based educator, there is always the tension between giving the students autonomy in their learning and direct teaching. I will just say here, there must be time for both in a kindergarten class. There are concepts that do need to be taught directly, though the learning becomes ingrained through the play. The whole day should never consist of direct instruction, but there should be time within your schedule for learning letters, both formation and phonics.

We’ve gone through phases in education, as we do. Many of us Gen X and older teachers can remember spending time in class making lines up and down, across, circles, etc. over and over. We were told how to hold the pencil, and how not to hold the pencil. Some of us have horror stories of being smacked with a ruler if we didn’t do it properly. We never were told why, just that this was how you do it.

Many millennials (particularly on the younger end) and younger don’t have those memories. They learned what the letters looked like, how to write them, but never in nearly as formal ways as older generations. My own children (31, 28, 26) have atrocious handwriting and “interesting” pencil grips.

So, why is it important? We have keyboards now! We don’t need to print, we can just type! 

Ah, but it isn’t as simple as that.

In the past 15 years, though, thanks to the Occupational Therapists working with my particular school board, I have re-learned the importance of proper letter formation and proper pencil grip. 

I like to think of it this way: there is a direct connection from the fingers to the brain, so when we learn to form letters properly, we are also learning to recognize that letter. Couple that with learning the letter sound, and you are getting more bang for your buck! 

Proper letter formation builds fine motor muscles, which are sorely lacking in our children. Learning to sit properly while working builds our core muscles, another area we are lacking in this modern society. Learning letter formation helps with learning our letters, learning our concepts of a word, and our concepts of print.

“Correct letter formation and writing forms the foundation for creating neural pathways that are essential for reading, memory, visual skills and higher neural efficiency.” So says this article from The Play Projects: 

https://theplayprojects.com/why-learning-correct-letter-formation-matters/#:~:text=Correct%20letter%20formation%20and%20writing,skills%20and%20higher%20neural%20efficiency.

Your Therapy Source digs even deeper into the importance of letter formation here:

https://www.yourtherapysource.com/blog1/2019/09/20/letter-formation/

Both of these are respected sources. 

Proper letter formation builds stamina in writing. When we know our letters and have automaticity printing them, we are able to write our thoughts out more efficiently and effectively. We can build our stories from simple sentences to books. On a personal level, I wouldn’t worry too much about letter formation during independent writing time, as I wouldn’t want to weigh them down with that expectation and stifle their creativity. However, in group writing, and in letter practice, I can be a stickler that we form those letters the way we have learned.

Something I have noticed this year, particularly, is a correlation between letter formation and the concepts of the printed word. My students who consistently struggle with proper letter formation, also struggle with the idea that we write from left to right, and that letter order matters for words. I am not saying that improper formation leads to struggles in our reading and writing (beyond legibility), because I have not done research in this area, but I do wonder if there is a correlation between the two. This wondering has made me focus more on the formation and emphasizing proper formation and pencil grip this year. It is a routine we have daily when learning our letters, and now weekly in order to solidify it.

How about you? What are your thoughts on letter formation? Important? Not? Do you use a particular program or do you have your own sequence you follow? Let’s talk about some of these more mundane tasks from our day! We may find what we view as mundane is actually the bedrock of our education!

2024 Word of the Year: FLOW

The stream that flows by my house.

I actually don't choose a word of the year. It's more like my word of the year chooses me. I then go about my year and realize all of the ways my Word shows up for me. Last year it was the word Freedom. I was feeling like my life was happening to me rather than being in control. In December 2022, that word Freedom showed itself to me in a variety of ways. It was like, "OK, OK! I get it! Freedom!" That's how my word came to be.

2023 gave me a new vision for the word Freedom. Freedom wasn't found in anything outside of myself. It was found inside. In the way I thought, in the way I reacted, in the way I experienced life. It was a year of being free from others opinions, others expectations, others beliefs. I felt free from the constraints I believe were put on me. But, like Glinda told Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz, "You've always had the power, my Dear. You just had to learn it for yourself." 

I am thankful for a year of lessons on true Freedom.

As 2023 approached its close, I was keenly aware of a few words that kept popping up over and over. Wonder, Awe, were two of them. But there was one word that really stuck out the most. FLOW. It seemed everywhere I turned, every book I read, every video I watched, the word flow appeared to me. As I said before, it isn't I who choose the word, but it is the word that chooses me. And Flow has chosen itself to be my word of the year.

I don't know what it will bring, I have ideas, but who knows? It's all very personal anyway, right? I just know that there will be lessons along the way. Many, many years ago, I wrote in a little journal I had something along the lines of, "I will live in a small house with a stream running beside it." About 25 years ago, we moved into just such a home. Small, but perfect for our family, with a small stream that runs beside it. This year, I intend to see what lessons this little stream can teach me about flow. 

There is a book I love to read to my students when we are learning about patterns, called, "Flow, Spin, Grow: Looking for patterns in nature". This year, as I was reading it to my students this quote stood out, "Wherever there is flow, there is branching." From rivers, to the blood pumping in our bodies, to the roots and branches of a tree, flow is there. Life has flow, it meanders and moves. It branches into new growth. But, like a stream, it is never the same thing twice. Water flows from stream to river to ocean. No river is the same from one moment to the next, just like one life isn't the same. There is always movement.

So, here's to 2024 and Flow. To the lessons I can learn, and the wisdom of the stream.

I'm So Glad I'm Here

This post was originally published on Substack. This is also just the beginning of something more- not sure what, but something! Thought I might share it here as well:

 I'm so glad I'm here

So glad I'm here

So glad I'm here, here today!

So glad I'm here,

So glad I'm here,

So glad I'm here, here today

This is the song that calls us as we gather on the carpet each day in my kindergarten class. It's a joyous time, one of song, conversation, dance, and (I hope what my students feel), love. The ukulele comes out, the rhythm sticks tap out the timing of a song. We’re learning about patterns, though we don't realize it. We are expanding our phonological skills, though we can barely pronounce that word, let alone know what it means. This is the joy of learning that should infuse all of our lessons, but especially the lessons of play in kindergarten.

Because many parents and new teachers were raised under “No Child Left Behind”, our culture has forgotten the value in play. Play has become a devalued word in our “rush and do” culture. But, at its purest sense, play is the ultimate goal for learning. Consider the fox pups as they wrestle each other, or the kittens as they roll around, the birds as they learn their unique song. The animal world is steeped in play as they learn to survive in a wild creation. We humans are no different. Play is how we have learned not only to survive, but thrive. Play is how we got to outer space, and how we came back from the moon. Play is how we learned to speed across the earth faster and faster. Curiosity followed by play- that's the sum of the evolution of the world.

There are concepts we must directly teach- mathematical procedures, letter sounds, letter and number formation, and the like. Of course there is information that must be directly passed on. But I theorize that in order for us to fully understand these concepts, we need to be immersed in them through play, stories, and song first.  We sing the ABC song before we ever talk about what a letter is. We read rhyming books to our students and children before we ever define what rhyme is. We play counting games before we attempt to teach addition and subtraction. Play immerses us in the world, and it's only when we’ve been immersed in the concepts that we learn and comprehend them.

How are you playing in your classroom? Is your room a place of joy? Are you emphasizing co-learning over direct teaching? Do you feel that there is more you could be doing but you aren't sure what? Reach out! Let me help you! I am convinced that the more we play, the deeper we learn. Let's figure it out together.

Professional Development: By You, For You

 This post was originally posted on Substack. I thought I would share it here:

Imagine this. You are ready for a new school year, you’re excited to meet your students, it is going to be awesome! But then you get to school and your orientation days are filled with professional development that is cookie cutter bland. It doesn’t challenge you, nor does it meet the needs of your students. What is a teacher to do? Whatever you need to!

Everything I’ve ever needed to know about teaching came from a lifetime of curiosity. I love to learn. I am interested in others and in their perspectives. I care about nature and I want to pass on what I love to the next generation. I also know that I don’t know it all, that I can’t possibly know it all, but living in the 21st Century provides me with the opportunity to find out!

There are so many opportunities to look into learning on our own, if we have the time and the inclination. I am a huge proponent of continuing education. We cannot take what we’ve learned through our schooling and use it year after year. If we aren’t growing as educators, we are going to struggle to pass on meaningful learning to our students.

What, then, can we do? Look into organizations that interest you, and see if they provide any free learning or information. Use the internet and social media for professional development. Places like #kinderchat where we share our knowledge with each other, National Geographic has free, online learning. I just finished a wonderful Free to Play Summit with FairyDust Teaching! There are Facebook groups, and Instagram accounts, all dedicated to learning.

The main thing it will cost is time. And, it doesn’t have to take up all of your time, but it may take some effort. But, be forewarned! You may come away inspired, energized, and ready to rearrange your classroom! (I am speaking from personal experience here, btw).

So, as we finish off one calendar year, and look forward to the next, let me encourage you to look into some personal professional learning. And let me encourage you to pass that learning on to your colleagues and other professionals! You will not be disappointed!

Harold and the Purple Crayon

 

I have been in the field of early childhood education/kindergarten for over 30 years. I have seen things come, and I have seen things go. I used to teach in ways I don't teach anymore. And sometimes I have gone back to teaching the way I used to teach. If you are a good teacher, you are always questioning your practice, you are always trying to do what is best for your students. Some years you may need to be more direct in your teaching, and other years you may be able to loosen up. This is why we call teaching an Art- because it's a process.

I was sitting with a colleague today while the children were out at recess. She was so excited about a book she had, one that talks about using proper colours for our illustrations. I thought to myself, "I really don't care about that anymore. I used to, but I don't care anymore." It was a full circle moment for me. Because a long time ago, I wouldn't have cared what colour one of my students used to draw a tree. A few years later, because began to teach kindergarten, I fell into the trap of caring about "proper" illustrations. Now, I am back to not caring. I call this my Harold and the Purple Crayon moment.

Do you know this book? It's about a boy who is going to sleep, and he draws a picture of his dreams with a purple crayon. That's the only colour he uses. And, guess what? We know exactly what he's doing. Does it matter that the moon is purple? Nope. All that matters is that Harold knows it's a moon. That's what we need to be focusing on. Not what we want, but what they, the artist and author wants.

Like most things, I think the notion of "proper colours and drawings" is more of an experiential/developmental thing. If we, as educators, provide proper modeling, and leave it at that, I believe most children will ultimately figure it all out on their own. And if they don't? Does it really matter? I'm not so sure anymore. What I am sure of is, we tell children how to do things way too much and don't allow them to express themselves nearly enough. 

So, let them make a purple tree. Let them colour their whole face blue. Let's let them be who they are. There's an old poem, I'm not even sure who wrote it, but I remember it being at the beginning of a textbook I had in university. The course was The Role of Play and them poem said, 

    Many the times we teach

    Many the times we are taught

    But only once, a child.

We have taken away too much of our children's lives. Let's give some things back to them.

Word of the Year: 2023 edition

January 1 is a time for reflection for many. Yes, I know time is a construct, that nothing is really different today than yesterday, but there are certain moments in time that lead one to become more introspective and reflective. As a teacher, I usually have three times in the year where I spend time contemplating:

June because it's the end of a school year and I begin to think about what worked, what didn't, what to keep for the next year, and what to put on a shelf for another time.

August/September because it is the start of the upcoming school year. I dust off all of my thoughts from June, compare them to the class I've been given, and I update and reassess. Until I no longer teach, September will be its own special "New Years". 

And January 1. This one is more personal. This one is more about me, as a human, than me, as a teacher. And, while, I am not a fan of resolutions, per se, I am a HUGE believer in choosing a Word of the Year.

I know many people practice this as well. Some spend time thinking about a Word. I understand this method, because, at my heart, I am a bit controlling. But, I have learned to allow the Word to come to me, instead of trying to make the Word fit into my life. And a Word always finds me. And, once that Word finds me, I don't spend all of the next year thinking about it. Many times I forget what it even was, but when I review my Word, I realize how important it actually became.

For 2022, my word was Focus. I know I struggled with focusing. I would flit from one idea to the next, only partially pay attention to conversations (confession: the word didn't help with this 😂. Menopause brain is REAL people!). What I learned this past year- find one thing and build on that. 

A friend and I tell each other, "You can do it all, you just can't do it all at once." Focus certainly helped me with this. Professionally, I made some huge shifts in my teaching practice, away from what others were telling me, and towards what I knew in my heart was right. But I also realized, I can't do every single shift all at once. I needed to Focus on one thing. And that was Story Workshop. Not only did Story Workshop help me focus my writing instruction, I found the process helped my students focus, as well. 

I also learned to focus on my own health and fitness. I learned to fine tune what I was doing, and I learned to seek out the opinions and ideas of people who knew what they were talking about. 

For 2022 Focus proved to be the perfect Word.

My Word for 2023 found me in December (as my Words do). I was listening to Janis Joplin, and the phrase, "Freedom's just another word for, nothing left to lose" struck me. Freedom. I can't tell you why because I don't know yet, but Freedom is what it is.

 

Bonus Content: Songs About Freedom

Parent Teacher Interviews: I'm On Your Side

We are just finishing up our first rounds of Parent/Teacher Interviews here on our gentle Island (that's parent teacher conferences for my friends who may use different terminology). These are such an important part of our teaching. I love being able to touch base with the families of my students. It's a 15 minute snapshot into their child's lives at school, and for me a peak into their home life. I always leave these weeks exhausted, and yet fulfilled. 

Each meeting is my chance to tell the adults in my students lives that I see their beloved. I see them and I notice them. I notice not only how they are doing, but who they are, what they like, who they love. I want parents to know that I, too, have their best interests at heart. This is a tougher concept for some.

Some of us have great school memories, it isn't a scary place for us. We are excited about being able to pass on that love of learning to others. But sometimes, we don't have such a positive experience- and when we become parents, we can unknowingly pass on that apprehension to our children. Or we view these meetings in a way that puts us on the defensive. My goal for every meeting is to be positive, show the parents I care for their child, and make sure they know we are on the same team- Teach "your child". That's why I wore my new favorite t-shirt today- "I'm on your side."

Our classroom is a community, dare I say we are a family! But we aren't a community in a vacuum. We all come from other places, and by luck, chance, or fate, ended up here- together, for this season. I love Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory. We all have circles of influence, and those circles impact and flow through each other. Each of us has our circles, and as we grow and age, we gain new circles. Maybe we even lose some along the way, but each circle is important in helping us grow and develop into fully formed human beings. In order for this circle to have it's greatest impact, we need to be working in conjunction with the families circles. 

Parents, I am on your side. I love your child and I want to see them grow and develop into the best version of themselves. I want to support you in any way I can, from offering a smile to suggesting books to read at night, to offering tips on helping behaviours grow and blossom in the best ways. Your child is my priority. 

I love working in conjunction with families to help my students be the best they can be. It is always my goal to make sure families know we are in this together. I hope my fellow teachers feel this same way, for it's only when we keep these circles woven together that we do what is best for the children. And that is our number one priority.