Saturday, September 26, 2020
Michelle
Friday, September 25, 2020
SAFE
The Word Cloth
What can I DO to feel safe?
The Process:
Photographs by NAE ©2020
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Perhaps the World Ends Here
Today was a day for looking through and deleting old 'bookmarks' on my computer There's a lot! It seems that my early days online, held enough excitement, that I wanted to hold onto it all!
Things I thought I'd never want to forget, but really never much returned to. Teaching ideas, cloth worlds, writing activities and more all right there, just where I'd left them.
I found this jewel.
Perhaps the World Ends Here
Friday, September 18, 2020
Adding Wordless on the Word Cloth
Wishes, Reading
This poem, discovered in an old bookmarked page
posted here in honor of Michelle's recent wishes and dances
These old rain photos, from March 2020, reminded what has been,
and may come again...some day.
Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head
With silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song
On our roof at night
And I love the rain.
--- Langston Hughes
Rain on my commute and at my
workplace, how far away those
days
seem.
〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰
I thought perhaps today I could step out for a very short walk, but this was not to be. Even though the air quality is reported as moderate, my breathing is not good. So I wait.
Photographs by NAE ©2020
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Happy Mail!
Photographs by NAE ©2020
The Good - The Bad - And The Whistling
a true California Treasure.
(in the California Golden Parks series).
listening to the living room TV as I fall asleep.
“In 1917 a resolution by the Nevada State Legislature stated that in all Nevada cities, with Gardnerville in parenthesis, the local Indians had to be out of town by 6:30. Here again the sirens were used as a friendly tool, hopefully helping everyone to know what time of the day it was.”
(unlike me back then).
PS On a completely different, hopefully fun note,
I keep seeing this commercial and am impressed with the editing
(me and my movie making! lol)
and charmed bay the dancing child, who reminds me of my friend's grandson.
But, I warn you, it's an earworm!!
Bored in the House
xo
Sunday, September 13, 2020
KISS
Teacher Mom, 1980 |
My Nana, maternal, mid-1970's |
Auntie Grandma - Mom, reading to my children |
Mom-Grandma-Teacher |
She brought the gift of a book and read it to them.
A book about little treasures,
which she could appreciate with childlike enthusiasm.
Books |
Following is a something I casually sent a while back to a new grandma and to a now credentialed K-12 teacher, whom I've mentored for ages.
It involves my own values and ideas regarding children's books.
It is from many layers of my life with books,
from my mother's introduction through my teaching days.
I'd sent it with a slew of favorite titles, all linked to amazon so the recipients could read more about each book. I talk about why I like each title and what children may gain from each particular book. There was even more included, but I'll leave it at this for today.
- Beautiful or fun illustrations (not cutesy) and photographs (love the real!)
- Lyrical language
- Values I can believe in, books with deep meaning
- Books that can be sung and/or used with finger plays etc. (don't get me started on the importance of music and song for young children! haha)
- Books that become their favorites (even if they are not mine!) or my favorites that I can share with them.
- Books that teach in subtle, non-preachy ways (we don't have to beat it into them!)
- Books which grow naturally into a group of books, in which the characters become friends!
- Books that provide strong and interesting learning tools for children (i.e. repetition of words, phrases or cadence in the text).
- Books, for the most part, are age-less, and they can be a pathway to ideas, subjects, or themes that capture or support children's interests for years!
- Libraries are amazing!
- Quality counts, quantity is not too bad either :) Spoken like a true book lover!
- Very young children love feel and touch and flap books!
- Books are a great way to share your own passions and values or sense of humor! Your favorites can become theirs! What did you love as a child?
- Series of books that take one idea and blast out a dozen of them (i.e. Hands Are Not for Hitting - so negative and a book done for every 'bad' thing a child could do - let's talk about how we'd like them to behave or be, not what Not to do!)
- Series of books that take one idea and blast out a dozen of them (i.e. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, which was a great preschool book when it came out. But, then the author did several more...different animal, same basic story line - Moose/Muffin, Pig/Pancake...you get the idea). Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing 'wrong' with either of these series and children do love the Mouse/Moose/Pig etc books. It is just that I seem to have adopted my mom's feelings on this! The lack of creativity and fact that livelihood income can be earned by just reworking one idea. Dang, I can do that! I just need one good idea! haha
- Obnoxious illustrations that seem to talk down to children (I feel the same about cutsey sing-song children's music!)
- I do not need books that do more than flaps or textures...so: press a button -hear a cow. I'd rather make those sounds myself and send the child the message that they are the interactive aspect - they can moo etc. Empower them!
- I don't believe that every good book should be made into a board book. Some are not appropriate for younger ages or the book needs to be shortened to fit the younger child - board book format. I don't think that is wise or necessary. My example today would be Caps for Sale, because normally I would not think it is a toddler book (too long), but because it is in our classroom, I have found ways to use it (shorten the repeating verses as needed) and I've discovered that the toddlers really love the sound the monkeys make and monkeys in general. So take everything I say with a grain of salt I guess!
- I also am not crazy about books with well-known characters (i.e. Superheros, Winnie-the-Pooh (except the originals of course - these were my favorites growing up!), Cartoon characters etc.). I like originality and quality in books.
Two Books, in progress |
but its been calling to me again, so yes I think I will.
I'm three quarters of the way through The Bluest Eye.
It's not an easy, fluffy book, especially these days.
However, it is very good and I'm learning from it.
Photographs by NAE ©2020