Help with the Tour Guides

Greetings, All!

Over the next few weeks, I will be creating the Tour Guide to accompany the IB school visits that you all agreed to do.

I would very much appreciate your help and feedback before I begin this project.

Please consider: what should the Tour Guide include that would make your visit most beneficial to you in learning about IB? What background information should be included? What kinds of things do you think you should look for? What questions should you be asking? Would a guided reflection help you synthesize your thought after you visit?

Just jot down your ideas in the comments. Thank you very much for taking time to help make the Tour beneficial for you and your classrooms.

Essential Agreement #2

All early childhood programs will use the ECIP form provided by the Coordinators as parent conference forms.

We revised this to read that all early childhood programs will
use the ECIP form provided by the Coordinators as an
assessment tool. Teachers are encouraged to share the
ECIP form with parents at conferences but do not need to use
the ECIP as a parent conference form.

Parents will understand what is being assessed through the ECIP and how they can support this work at home.

Please see the blog about the ECIP and parents.
This should be ongoing.
How have you already shared this information with parents?
What are you seeing that demonstrates parents are supporting their
children's work at home?

"The walls talk..." All Early Childhood Programs will document and display the documentation of the children's work at least once a week.

We revised this to indicate display of documentation changing
at least monthly rather than weekly.
And boy oh boy, are these walls talking!!!
Parents, staff, custodians--everyone is noticing what the children are doing.
I'm wondering how that work can be spread and shared
throughout the Central community.
Fabulous work everyone. Keep it up!!!
I'm wondering what you're learning from
each other's documentation in the halls.
I hope you're taking an opportunity to visit upstairs
if you live downstairs and vice versa.
Perhaps this wall talking and wall walking would be
a good topic for a lunch bunch or study circle.
Also, in the Innovations publication that is circulating among
teachers, there is an excellent article on documentation.
Finally, at Central, we have a brand spanking new
IMAC computer which is hooked up to a brand
spanking new laser printer. You can hook up your
not so brand spanking new cameras to the IMAC and
print out pictures on the laser printer--easy as pie!
What you need to do this is to have your SLP user name
and password. If you don't have one, check with Mary O'.

"How do you know what you know?" is a question that will be answered in the documentation.

Again, I'm seeing lots of this on the talking walls.
I'm wondering if the parents know what you know...

Powerschool!

As I write, Marilyn is entering all early childhood classes
into Powerschool. Your ECIP data will go in there
and you can enter it yourself, if you would like.
Marilyn is also pleased to train anyone interested.
If you have been trained on Powerschool, there is a
possibility I can obtain a laptop for you to use
in your classroom while you are entering ECIP data.

I want to read your comments on how you are honoring this essential agreement!

A reminder of Essential Agreement #1

This year, we will all adopt an Inquiry Stance.

Open

--Welcome ideas, even conflicting ones

--Prepare to change our positions and opinions

Wondering

--Be playful with ideas and words

Committed

--Actively involved with ideas, both verbally and nonverbally

Engaging of others

--Building on each other’s utterances

--Agreeing/disagreeing with others and our own ideas

Supportive of own and others’ ideas

--Offering evidence and opinions

--Encouraging risk taking

Please post a comment to tell us all how you are honoring this essential agreement in your work so far this year.

Travel Guide on Central Field Trips/Staff Exchanges/Visiting IB

The final piece from the early childhood workshop!

With all good intentions, I hope to have these ready to rock and roll no later than January 1, 2008. Just wanted to let you know that this hasn't fallen off the radar screen and next steps will be taken.

Thank you!

Study circles/lunch bunch on inquiry

Yet another topic that came up at the early childhood workshop was the idea of organizing a study circle and/or lunch bunch for staff to get together and talk about the use of inquiry in your classrooms.

Such conversations and discussions around the documentation of children's work is a critically important component of inquiry.

At this point I can offer you continuing education hours for any work you do together on this--no $$ (sorry :( )

To move this forward: please post a comment to this blog within the next week if you are interested in being part of a study circle and/or lunch bunch inquiry group. Once we see who is interested, we can move forward to make it happen!

Curriculum Night on Inquiry and the ECIP

Another topic that came up at the early childhood workshop was how to talk with parents about inquiry and the ECIP.

If I remember correctly, we sort of volunteered the ECFE parent educators to provide other program staff with a 'cheat sheet' on relevant points and conversation starters.

Are you still interested in having this resource? Please post your reply so I know how to move forward on this.

Second, if I remember correctly, you were discussing offering some sort of parent night where inquiry and the ECIP could be explained.

Lisa, Peggy and I chatted about the possibility of doing this as an all early childhood programs/classrooms event. We looked at the nature of the different programs, interactions with parents, parent involvement and decided that doing an all programs event really wouldn't meet the needs of parents in various programs.

So, your beloved program coordinator will be talking with you about ways to make sure that there is conversation with parents about inquiry and the ECIP. If you have some ideas or suggestions you want to share, please post a comment to this blog!

Moving Forward from the Workshop

Did you think Provocation Station had fallen off my radar screen? Au contraire! However, my radar screen has been jammed by multiple meetings!

But thanks to Lisa and Peggy, Provocation Station is back on line with information we promised you at the Early Childhood Workshop.

First, we agreed that we would organize a study circle on developing a rubric for filling out the ECIP. Here's what we're suggesting to get this accomplished.

-- two (and only two) study circle meetings on Thursday, Nov. 1 and Thursday, Nov. 15, 1-3 p.m. in the Central Office Lounge
-- one staff member from each program should volunteer (or risk being appointed!) to be part of the study circle
--Lisa, Peggy and/or Mary O' will facilitate the study circle
--all staff members will be responsible for providing your program representative with developmental checklists, Work Sampling rubrics, Creative Curriculum rubrics that they can use during the study circle to develop the rubric

I realize that many of you have already started or even finished filling out the fall ECIP so this rubric will be coming after the fact. But I also saw that you were very supportive of developing this rubric so I think we should go ahead with it and I wonder what it will end up looking like!

Please let us all know in your comments to this blog who from Creative Play; ECFE/PALS; First Steps; Kids' Place; PALS+ will join the study circle! (Programs will pay for substitutes if necessary for a representative to attend but I can't speak for ECSE :( )

Lisa, Peggy and I have it on our calendars and we're looking forward to this work.

Lisa, Peggy and I are also going to combine your wonderful ideas for the Early Childhood Plan curriculum template to build one template. We anticipate it will be used for a "broad brush" view of your curriculum work in the major topic areas of the ECIP: SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT; APPROACHES TO LEARNING; LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT; CREATIVITY AND THE ARTS; COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT; SCIENTIFIC THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING; SOCIAL SYSTEMS UNDERSTANDING; PHYSICAL AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT.
This is work to come and we will keep you informed as to timelines when they are developed.

Living and Learning in '06-'07

At the ECFE/FL/RSK staff development meeting May 29, the staff was asked to reflect on what they had learned from their school year. The following were their responses:
1. Don't be afraid to ask parents for 'stuff.'
2. Everyone needs ECFE classes. Everyone.
3. The early childhood programs help parents of young children build community with one another, community that carries over to the K-12 years and throughout St. Louis Park.
4. Teachers don't have to have all the answers. Be appreciative of the value of children and parents learning from each other.
5. It's okay to work outside your comfort zone.
6. There is much to be learned from working with other teachers and in other classrooms. While field trips to other classrooms was a good idea, it was hard to implement by yourself. Next fall we (coordinators) will organize this across all programs.
7. It's okay to hit a wall--the learning is what do you do when you hit the wall. If an activity doesn't go the way you planned, there is still very valuable learning in the experience.
8. Pursuing the question sparks energy.
9. Trust the learners.
10. You are on a journey together in your classrooms (the Reggio co-construction of knowledge).
11. Stay open minded when working with parents. It takes time to build relationships with them.

We finished with this provocation:

How are you going to work out of your comfort zone next year?

This is something everyone should think about during the summer.

Questions, Questions, Questions!

Recently I put a handout from the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance in your mailboxes. The subject of the handout is Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Reggio Emilia Educational Philosophy. Hopefully this can serve as an additional resource to you while you continue to question your certainties about the work going on every day in your classrooms.

My April provocation to you is this:

You already have the "techniques" of teaching.

This month, focus on deepening your knowledge to find new ways
of helping children learn on their own.


How do you frame your own questions about your children's work?


How do you look at what your children are doing and then do something else with their work?


Revisit.

I really look forward to hearing what you've learned about your work.
Happy Spring!

Legislative Alert!!

This is a little different provocation but I hope you will take action.

This session I have had the opportunity to testify at the legislature on the 2 bills relating to an increase in the general community education levy and a bill introduced last week by Rep. Nora Slawik to increase the ECFE levy beyond what the Minnesota Community Education Association has requested. (Wow!!)

We are quickly approaching the deadlines for the budget bills. It is imperative that your legislator hears from you about the issues and concerns that impact ECFE and School Readiness. Below are the key messages for you to deliver to your legislators. I also want to encourage you to ask friends and family members who not only live in SLP but other communities to contact their legislators and ask for their support on these issues.

(It really is true--legislators pay attention to what their constituents tell them. If you have never contact a legislator before, now is the time to do it!)

General Community Education
* Community Education provides learning opportunities for the entire population of the District Community.
* Community Education opens the school facilities to residents for use during non-school hours and days.
* Community Education supports the community to identify and meet local needs by utilizing school and community resources.

HF138 & SF203 seeks to restore the 2003 budget cuts, bringing the per capita formula back to their 1987 level of $5.95.
* This increase would allow school districts and community education departments to increase programming and citizen involvement efforts for every district resident.

Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE)
* ECFE engages and supports parents as their child's first teacher.
* ECFE is a nationally recognized model that provides access to all families.
* ECFE is a school based program that offers a sliding fee and fee waivers based on family income.

HF178 & SF 803 seek to restore ECFE funding to its 2001 level of $120 per 0-4 aged resident, increase the minimum amount a small district can receive and increase the money set appropriated for home visiting families with unique needs.
HF 1232 seeks to increase ECFE funding to $135 per 0-4 aged resident.
* This funding increase will help restore cuts to programs and allow more families to participate, including families on limited incomes, and will offer more support to smaller districts assuring that ECFE is deliverable state wide.

School Readiness
* School Readiness is funding to increase the school readiness of children of low income or at risk of starting kindergarten behind their peers through community collaborations.
* School Readiness involves parents in their child's learning and success.
* School Readiness uses the Indicators of Progress to assure program quality and the Work Sampling Tool, to evaluate early learning and family outcomes.

HF 327 & SF 803 seek to increase the state appropriations from the $9 M
annually set in 1991 to $20 M annually.
* This increased funding allows districts to offer greater intensity and duration of programming to children and families most in need.

MCEA's Position on Early Education Allowance, Scholarship, or Voucher
Bills? (This is SF3)

We are pleased to see the Legislative interest in providing quality early education programs that all learners can access to close the achievement gap. However, we have some concerns that need to be addressed.

* Many families who would benefit the most from scholarships do not file income taxes, some are not English speaking, and many are intimidated by government systems. How would they access these financial awards?
* Who would insure that quality learning environments will exist in programs that can help close the achievement gap?
* How will the scholarships work for school based programs that are required by law to offer our services for free to families who are low income?
* Why create a new early education system when programs like School Readiness exist in statute already? Why not invest in this school-based program designed to achieve the outcomes of the new programs but it has not seen an increased state investment since 1992?

If you have any questions, please either email or call me (obrien.mary@slpschools.org) or 952/928-6778.

Thank you for your help!

Math-ness

At a recent district meeting, we spent quite a bit of time looking at the district's math scores (I know, you're all jealous you weren't there!)

What I took away from that meeting, besides sore eyes from squinting at the little tiny numbers in narrow columns, was that there are a few things we can begin doing with our youngest learners that will contribute toward their proficiency in mathematics.

So here are your end of February provocations dealing with math-ness.

Both third and fifth graders have trouble
(according to standardized test scores) with numeric sense.

For example, how much is 4? Not just counting to 4
but the 1 to 1 correspondence that constitutes 4.

(remember, I'm an English major who got a 6 on her ACT in
math and had to beg her statistics prof to pass her
so I hope this makes sense to you!)

Can your children count to 10 if the prompt is
to begin counting at 3 rather than 1? At 7?

Third graders have some trouble understanding
(of all things) charts and graphs.

They can identify a chart or a graph but they
don't understand WHY you would use a chart or graph.
In other words, they don't get graph-ness or chart-ness.


When you make a chart or a graph, do you
ask the children what the chart or graph tells you?
What it doesn't tell you?
Do they have opportunities to decide THEY want to
chart or graph some information or does it
always come from you?

I really can't wait to hear your responses to this!

It got me thinking about...

Most definitely the highlight of last week for me was being invited into the Yellow Room to participate in the Kids vs. Adults SPACE KNOWLEDGE CHALLENGE.

It is most humbling to be soundly defeated but very rewarding to be soundly defeated by an extremely bright, extraordinarily exhuberant--not to mention really, really smart--group of preschoolers.

One of the hallmarks of Reggio Emilia is the creation of community, involving others in the acquisition and sharing of knowledge. Aren't there many opportunities you see in your classrooms to help create this kind of community?

So here's your provocation for Valentine's Day week:
what are your children interested in knowing more about in your building and who would you include in that learning?
OR
who from your building community--or the greater SLP community--might you invite into your classroom to provide your children a chance to teach what they've learned?

If you haven't had a chance to read the comments to the last post about the cubbies, give yourself a Valentine's Day present and do it right now!

Short and sweet

Here's your provocation for early February...

Take a look at your children's cubbies or lockers or any space in the classroom where they store their things. Probably you labelled the space, chose where it should be. This is a space that your children could take ownership over.

Let the children personalize their cubbies.
"How would you like to change your cubby so that you'll know it's yours?"

Then communicate with the kids using their cubbies.
Just like adults check the mailbox every day, perhaps the children could check in their cubbies for occasional messages from you.
They also could communicate with their friends via the cubbies.

Sort of like getting ready for Valentine's Day!


I would love to hear if any of you try this and what the kids' reactions were. In fact, we all would love to hear it!

Winter Wonderings

Greetings to all!

I want to invite you to take a look at the blog about the playground again, especially the comments that are posted. Think about the playground not in terms of the "stuff" but rather as an outdoor classroom environment. (I know, sounds like splitting hairs but remember, that's one purpose of this blog--to encourage you to examine your work a little differently.) Now, how can you and your children vision this space through that lens? What would it take to make our outdoor space reflect that vision? Then post your comments for all of us to see and reflect back on.

And, as I mentioned, no ideas, no grant writing!!

Thank you for all your hard work in making our early childhood open house a successful event. Lots of good questions and comments from families.

Finally, here's your provocation for the rest of January...

Listen...listen some more...listen again

Then reflect back to the children

"What were you thinking?"

"What did you mean?"

"I'd like to understand that better."

"Tell me about that. Tell me more."

In your work the rest of this month, try for deeper understanding of what is going on through the children's work. Please post your reflections so we all know what you've heard. It's a great way to work collaboratively!

Playground Provocations

It has been brought to my attention that our east playground at Central could use updating and remodeling.

There are, of course, a couple different ways to go about doing this.

The first is to generate ideas as to what those updates, remodels, revamps, etc. should/could look like.

My question to you is: what do the children think they should be able to do on the playground? What could the playground look like? In other words, let's approach this from an inquiry perspective rather than "How much stuff could we buy with $5,000" standpoint.

Before moving forward on anything playground-related, I think it's important that we ask the children what they think about the playground.

So in the comments that you can post to this blog, would you suggest ways that teachers can engage their classrooms in conversations about the playground? If you would do that before January 17, it would give everyone ideas on talking with the children about the playground.

There is a $5,000 Lowe's grant that I'd like to apply for to be used toward revamping the playground. But I want to use the children's ideas and suggestions in writing the grant, which is due Feb. 15. Also, we can request money from capital for the playground.

Looking forward to hearing from you on this!

Post Holiday Presents for All!

Welcome to 2007!

This fall, Peggy Rick agreed that a good way to spend some of the cookie dough fund raising money would be to purchase digital cameras and docking printers for each classroom. All the coordinators feel that this will help as you document the children's a work. Documenting is a critical part of inquiry since it allows you to show others what the children are doing and collaborate with other teachers in thinking about your classroom work. It also allows you to visually "tell" parents what you did each day.

Over winter break, the cameras and printers were ordered. They should be here this week!!

But before you can take your camera and printer to your classroom, you need to post a comment on a way you will use this technology in your work. Once you've done that, the equipment is yours and then we will be waiting and watching to see what you're doing with it!

To paraphrase Garrison Keillor, go out and do good work.

Here's your provocation for this week...and we'd love to see some posted comments back on this and last week's provocation, too!

Question your certainties.