While I was a bit disappointed when the snow turned to rain on Tuesday, forming a thick crust on top of the powder, it turns out this crust is quite good for building.  We spent an extra long recess time on Thursday creating a class fort with pieces of crust.  This was truly a team effort, with everyone contributing in some way (we talked about this teamwork and kindness being the main reason I let our recess run extra long).  We finally had to stop building to go inside for gym.  As we were lining up someone noticed the next group coming for recess and a big cheer went up as kindergarteners realized third and fourth graders were going to continue the building. Later we saw first and second graders and fifth and sixth graders adding to it as well, making it a whole school effort!

 I never fully appreciated Valentine's Day until I started teaching kindergarten.  There is such anticipation and joy in giving and receiving valentines.  I thought perhaps it was because these are often accompanied by sweet treats, but there was as much excitement as ever this year, even without candy! Kindergarteners love every part of the day from matching valentines to the correct bag (some of the names in our class are very similar) to spending time poring over each individual valentine, it is truly a celebration!

Perhaps the most anticipated time of day for children is choice time, a time of day I always make sure we fit in, partly because it is almost everyone's favorite time of day, but mostly because so much learning takes place during this unstructured, self-directed time.

Recently a popular option has been making tube creations.  Initially this was inspired by the books "I am Not a Toilet Paper Roll" and "Fun Things To Do With Cardboard Tubes." More recently, children have run with the concept and are thinking of their own ideas for tube creations: castles, bats, owls, unicorns, alligators, sharks, monsters... the possibilities are endless! Thanks to Joe Robinson, our custodian for graciously collecting paper towel tubes for us.  We use them as fast as he delivers them to the room! We have also discovered we can just make our tubes using colored paper. 

Another favorite choice is building with big blocks, where a wide array of things are constructed, from castles to cars and recently a pirate ship complete with flags.  Some other popular choices include magnet tiles and puzzles. Ask your children what their favorite choice is!

For the past couple of weeks we have been exploring similarities and differences among people around the world, particularly children. We have used several books as entry points for discussion about what makes a person who they are and what shapes someone's identity.  While our physical traits are very much a part of us, physical characteristics such as height, eye color, hair texture, and skin color don't really tell us much about a person.

The Colors of Us, by Karen Katz and Shades of People, by Sheila M. Kelly both highlight the vast diversity and beauty in one of our most noticeable physical traits, our skin color.  We really aren't just black or white, but rather we come in many, many shades including cinnamon, honey, french toast, creamy peach, caramel mocha, and warm beach sand. Most importantly these books point out that our skin is just a covering, and tells us nothing about the person we are on the inside. We have likened skin color to eye color, neither of which tells us if someone is funny, kind, quiet, loud, silly, helpful, or a good friend.  To understand that, you need to get to know a person.

Several other books we have read focus on children around the world, exploring simple routines that are common to many, such as eating breakfast, going to school, playing with friends, and getting ready for bed.  While these children can have noticably different lives depending on what part of the world they live in, emphasis is placed on their commonalities. One World, One Day, by Barbara Kenley, is a photo book that follows the course of children's lives through one day around the world.  To Be a Kid, by Maya Ajmara adn John D. Ivanko, carries the message that children all over the world have much in common, with the repeating phrase "To be a kid means..."  After we read this book children were invited to create their own illustrations of what it means to be a kid.