teaching from the empty swing

Have you ever NOT been in the classroom during a normal school year? Put a giant PAUSE button on your teaching life?

Without children in my days, it is like lacking a food source.

I am afforded the opportunity for reflection on my blogging life and my teaching life.
This opportunity comes in the form of some recovery time at home after having wrist surgery last week. I will be out of my classroom position for at least one month, and we'll see from there how I am doing and when I can return.

The irony in this break from teaching is that I get unbroken time to appreciate the journey of this blog.

I actually started Zella over 3 years ago on a recommendation from the director of my former school who knew I was home recovering from - then - ankle surgery. She offered the idea of a blog, that maybe while I lay at home with my leg elevated, I would maybe give myself something to do with my photographs and learning stories of young children.
Hmm. Interesting idea.

As it turns out, it was an idea that literally changed my professional life.

My blog has connected me with amazing people from around the world, from
Teacher Tom to
Jenny at Let The Children Play to
Anna at The Imagination Tree to
Rachelle at Tinkerlab,
and around the world a few more times.

The blog has given me a voice to share the authentic learning of young children as they engage in their own choices of play:
Following Emily 

The blog has given me a voice to say Teachers, you are the force of change and for knowing what is the healthiest learning for young children. Teachers, tell your families that choices and time and natural materials are right, absolutely right : 
Be That Teacher

The blog has given me connections in real life to uplift and encourage social networking for schools as a real, valuable form of communication. Real. Valuable.
This was my most wide spread post on how to be inspired by pedagogy yet how to be grounded enough to commit to the school and culture where you truly teach:
My Break-up Letter With The Reggio Approach

Currently, I am formatting a blog for my school and doing some social networking for them. It is exciting work to be at the beginning of something. To know an amazing school will soon share about their amazing [simple] work of dedicated play with young children.

So, the swing is empty for now yet the stories runneth over.

100,000 views for clay, paint and dirt

Cheers to 2014.
With it, a landmark milestone was passed for Zella Said Purple: over 100,000 page views over the last three years. 

1.CLAY: My Break-up Letter with the Reggio Approach

I must say, while I had a small grin across my face when I discovered this number rolled over my page, I am a blogger with a different intention.

I started my blog as a way to have a reflective voice while I was out of the classroom for a year recuperating from ankle surgery. My public narrative of children's learning processes was a joy to write and actually changed my life as an educator.

2. PAINT: Be That Teacher

The weaving of these stories are the fabric of my teaching life.
I am lucky enough to blog when it strikes me, sometimes quiet for a length of time, sometimes writing in bursts.

With that said, it is cool to see what posts have been the Big Reads that resonated with or were shared by the masses. I don't write with that hope in mind, so it is a surprise when a topic or photo captures the attention of readers.

3. DIRT: For the Love of Dirt

When reviewing my most read posts, I had another grin on my face because surely only in early childhood could these three focuses be The Top 3 Posts: Clay, Paint and Dirt. The lead photos for these posts were absolutely highlighting young children's engagement with these elements. 
Please click on the photos or captions to go to the full post!

gotta love clay paint dirt.

my break-up letter with the Reggio Approach

 "do nothing without joy." - Loris Malaguzzi, founder of REA

Dear Reggio Emilia Approach,

I will start by saying: "It's not you, it's me".

Yet, that really wouldn't be the truth. It IS you. That is why this letter is so difficult to write.

[I really never thought I would write this letter because, like other long term relationships, one never thinks of them ending or changing. This pang to break-up came suddenly to me last week and I have thought deeply about whether or not to write these words. Like any other break-up, I stand strong in what I have to say yet it does not mean that my heart is not breaking.]

We have known each other - well, I have tried to know you - for over 20 years. You altered my teaching life in the most dramatic way when I was a brand new teacher. In turn, you have changed my actual life - the Who I Am and What I Consider Beautiful and How I Respect Children. I am a better, more thoughtful and patient educator. I am a better narrator. I am a better photographer. You changed me and I will always be indebted to you for the gift of loving being an early learning educator.

[When I was a younger teacher, I thought perhaps I should study the Italian language, I should always use mirrors, I should use black slender ink pens, and - without question - I should have a giant slab of clay just there in the center of the table for children to explore everyday]

However, over all these years, the you that I understand has become something else to millions of others from around the world. You are misinterpreted and misrepresented. You are THE Approach to early education that nearly all who get a glimpse of you begin to introduce themselves by saying: "I am a teacher inspired by the values of Reggio Emilia". Who wouldn't be inspired by you? It is inconceivable to not be inspired by you. The Rights of Children, the Environment as Third Teacher, the Teacher as Researcher, the documentation, photography, natural materials, clay, community, food, light, dialogues...it is all so inspirational. And, we cannot forget The City. The city itself is so inspirational.

[Sigh. I am thinking of the Lions in the Piazza, the Amusement Park for the Birds, the study of Crowds and the phenomenal world-renowned traveling Exhibit.]

 Of course, nearly all who are inspired by you are not from Your city. Nearly all who are inspired by you only see the the hard work you have already done for over 50 years to offer these beautiful, respectful schools to your families. The people from around the world who say "I am inspired by Reggio Emilia" are often trying to "DO" Reggio. Isn't that sort of funny? And a bit sad? That the highest quality early learning center in the world - you, Reggio Emilia - that prides itself on representing its own community, art, language, and culture is being REPLICATED by schools around the world? What happened here? What is missing in the RE message that most believers in you allow their own Culture, their own Children, their own City to not be represented in their School? Isn't it leaning towards crazy that each educator that is replicating you has completely lost the true beauty of their own footprint, their own mountains, their own curvy streets that surely lead to wondrously glorious places?

[I am remembering my first workshop with RE educators in 1992 in Boston. It was their first official lengthy workshop in the US, they spoke entirely in Italian, then their lecture was read aloud again in its entirety in English. One of the most amazing 4 days of my teaching life.]

Within the blogging world, when I asked educators what they value about RE, they shared that the open sense of Time, the Respect for children, the Environment as teacher, the 100 Languages, the teacher and child as Co-Constructors were the keys. I believe in these educators. They do see the richest ideals of RE. Yet I also wonder how many other educators are forgetting to examine what is important to THEM. Rarely, if ever, have I seen or read educators flat out adding - stating for fact - their own ideals from their own school culture that they have weaved seamlessly into their mission. I feel like we - including me - are so dazzled by the inspiration of REA that we don't even consider incorporating our own beliefs or values. THAT is why I am breaking up with REA. I cannot teach in the beautiful school that I teach and keep seeing what is missing from the RE value set.

[I am setting down the glasses that I have worn for over 20 years that kept me seeing schools and spaces only from the RE perspective.]

I want to be committed to where I teach, what our school believes in, and fold in what our own educators choose are the values of our City and Community. This doesn't mean others should do the same, that's the point. Follow what makes sense to you. It's just that, for me, I realize being inspired by you, Reggio, does not let me see anything else.

[I am a member of NAREA. I have traveled to Boston, St. Louis, Boulder, Calgary, and many cities in California to learn from Amelia Gambetti, Leila Gandini, George Forman and others. I have traveled to Italy. I have seen the Exhibit perhaps 10 times. I own nearly every quality book published about Reggio. My first edition 100 Languages yellow book, dog-eared and highlighted, is my educator bible.]

I hope we can still be friends.

three words: Uncover Their Story

I was inspired by Scott at Brick by Brick and his 'One Word: Listen' post this week.
I reflected back on my own post from last year with MY One Word: Brilliant post and do feel like I lived fairly brilliantly for 2012.

Uncovering Jack's story of his straw and stick flying aircraft.

My new word for 2013 is not one word but three...
My focus is to Uncover Their Story when working with children. 
To do this, it requires
Stillness
Listening
Questioning
Respecting
Reflecting

I am fascinated by Process - and the Diversity of Process - by which individual children embrace their play.
I am fascinated by Use of Materials and how attaching, connecting, layering and technique come together to create some sort of collage or aircraft or kite.

I am fascinated by the life of children.
I am eager to Uncover Their Story and share those stories with you.

Do YOU have a word for 2013?
cheers!

respecting children's learning

ZEBRA by PAPER MACHE AND RECYCLABLES.

Most of you know I am a dedicated constructivist educator. I believe in ensuring that children have the time and materials to investigate, explore, problem solve and invent. I truly believe it is a child's right to have - not to be given, but to have - the time and materials to make meaning of their world.

I had the privilege of visiting my colleague Pam's school in Marin, California. Stretch the Imagination offers a "Reggio inspired" program for 3-5s that is filled with discussion, exploration, natural materials, and field experiences to local [incredible] venues for research by the children. Click here to read more about Stretch and founder Michelle Lawton.

I attended an evening event held by the school where teachers were presenting to parents their interpretations regarding their class's discoveries and growth for the year. The presentations were not recounting the calendar experiences of the children. The presentations were an overarching, deeper and wider perspective on the children as a class group from more of a teacher-researcher lens. 

[huge side note: I strongly believe that these are the teachers that should become leaders in our field because Respecting Children's Learning should be modeled, modeled, modeled, exactly as they have done.]

I bring a few photos to afford you a peek into the classroom's documentation and the stunning work by the children. In the classroom, all the children are represented, yet not all the children are represented in every project. This concept allows for a room to breathe, and it allows for educators to be intentional in what they choose to document or display to uplift the overall learning that occurred.

Cheers to the teachers' efforts. Bravo to the children's words and works.

The following images travel from
Self to Artist,
from Words to Photo Memory to Sculpture,
from Sensory to Still Life.

SELF PORTRAIT

THIS IS ME.

THE WORK OF FRIDA KAHLO.

BLACK & WHITE.

HAVE YOU EVER DONE A SELF-PORTRAIT? What colors would YOU use?

COLLAGE WORK with WORDS.

HAPPINESS.

MOON.

ART GALLERY PHOTO MEMORIES.

BOBCAT from PHOTO to BLACK PEN to WATERCOLORS.

PAINTING MOVEMENT OF A WAVE. STUNNING GORGEOUS.

DETAILS OF A TREE OWL. FASCINATING.

BIRD HOUSE.

ELEPHANT by PAPER MACHE AND RECYCLABLES

SHARK by PAPER MACHE AND RECYCLABLES

Sculpture
Work.

"Sculpture has been a large part of our artistic endeavor, both at the Audubon Center with natural materials and in the classroom with found objects."

SENSORY EXPLORATIONS represented in PAINT.

STILL LIFE with an EYE FOR COLOR.

BEGINNING ART APPRECIATION WITH YOUNG CHILDREN.

Take yourself to another school.

Bring a fresh teacher lens to really SEE the learning that teachers make visible.

Look UP, look low, yet especially, look INTENTIONALLY for the children to be the most vital part of the school.

Thanks to Pam and Michelle for inviting me for such a rich visit to a true school for children.

the quiet classroom

End of the school year always brings such mixed feelings for me.

The last two years I have been an instructor at a state university in California and even closing the grades with college age students stills brings the same feelings for me.

The investment, relationships, personalities, understandings, discussions, 'aha' moments, struggles, joys...they are all bundled into the final days at a school and the days afterward when the classroom is so quiet. So very quiet.

how could you NOT miss these faces, these personalities, these people?

For now, though, it is the bittersweet tug-of-war of emotions of being glad for a summer break and also being sad that the group I just finished working with will never form together the same again. I tell people that I can compare it to a business model of work  - it is like every year my entire "department" of colleagues leaves, it just happens that my colleagues are five-years-old. Sigh.

Here is the my favorite, all time favorite, poem that I use when I work with young children and their families. This poem is usually the end paper in the children's individual portfolio books. The poem is the most lovely, quirky, exact compilation of how I feel, what I wish, how I have joy, how I have sorrow.

Here is the incomparable wordsmith talents of Jack Prelutsky:

Today I'm going yesterday as quickly as I can,

I'm confident I'll do it, I've devised a clever plan,

it involves my running backward at a constant rate of speed,

if I'm mindful of my timing I'll undoubtedly succeed.

Today I'm going yesterday I'm moving very fast,

as I'm putting off the future for the rather recent past,

I can feel the pressure fading as I hastily depart,

and look forward to arriving on the day before I start.

Today I'm going yesterday I'm slipping out of sight,

and anticipate I'll vanish just a bit before tonight,

when I reach my destination, I'll compose a note to say,

that I'll see you all tomorrow, which of course will be today.

So, maybe your classroom is Oh So Very Quiet. Yet, you can keep 'going yesterday' and you will hear the joyful noise coming from the walls.

sugar butter flour: 3 ingredients for best practice in ece

what is your recipe for an enriched, engaged and energetic day at school?

This post was inspired by two things:

One is a delicious local bakery with said name Sugar Butter Flour which I try to not frequent for obvious reasons; Two is the Walker's shortbread that I snacked on yesterday with likely those ingredients in larger quantities than I should eat at one time.

Both got me thinking about the simplicity of ingredients to make good things, just like SUGAR BUTTER FLOUR.

The 3 Ingredients got me thinking about Early Childhood and how complicated things seem to have become over time as to what preschools "should" be, what teachers "should" teach, and [the most brutal] what children "should" learn. [sigh].

Got me thinking about 3 Ingredients for Best Practice.

Wouldn't that be great? Three weighty ingredients that could anchor Early Childhood for new teachers and master teachers alike? [yes].

So, here's the thing. I am not saying I have the answers of what the 3 Key Ingredients for Early Childhood "should" be.
Just saying an anchor would be pretty cool so that - for example - when someone starts saying the 3 Ingredients, then people would automatically associate them with Early Childhood Education in a positive, weighty, anchor sort of way.

Here are my suggested KEYS in the early childhood field. 

1. Step Back. The more seasoned I become as a facilitator for young children, the more excited and comfortable I am to completely fade into the background of children's explorations to allow for Their Agenda to thrive instead of mine. Granted, this has been a style of mine since the beginning, but the lens by which I admire the children's work has become more refined. Documentation and photography are my absolute must-have tools.

2. Hands-On. The use of diverse, natural materials are rich (not expensive) resources to enhance your environment for inquiry, exploration and invention. Collections from nature (pinecones, stones, sticks) can go in the Block Area, Science, Art. Taking apart used machines (wires, buttons, nuts/bolts) can contribute to sculptures, block construction, art. Think outside the plastic box.

3. Reflective Teaching. Collaboration with colleagues, bloggers and brand new teachers is vital to keep the dialogue of Best Practice ongoing in your own daily, yearly, and lifelong work. Reflecting on your own work combined with networking can help you determine who you want to be as an educator, what you believe in, how to take risks, and how to best support children's learning.

Sugar Butter Flour.
Good things are so simple.

Do YOU have ingredients for an enriched, engaged and energetic classroom?
Do you include yourself, the environment AND the children in your ingredients?

year one for zella!

the enthusiasm I feel for my first year of blogging!

I started blogging one year ago today.

Click here to read my very first blog post 'Usually' from December 07, 2010.

I was encouraged to start blogging by a professional mentor who thought I might enjoy the creative aspects of writing along with incorporating my classroom photos and educational theory. It was a gift that I didn't know would be Such A Gift: Blogging has been the richest form of professional development and networking that I have ever experienced, and it only keeps getting richer and better.

Thanks to all the readers, bloggers, educators, and parents for offering support and comments over the year via this blog, twitter or FB. I am inspired daily reading so many fabulous blogs that inform my own teaching and enrich my lens on valuing childrens learning and development.

In celebration of Year One For Zella, here are my 5 favorite posts from the last year...

 

1.  The Mermaid, the Girl & the Book

My five-year-old friend Mimi loved to draw. That's all she really loved to do.
Hmmm, let me be more clear: Mimi really really loved drawing mermaids.

2. Word Bank Treasures

Using a Word Bank in your classroom is an exciting, hands-on way to offer words to children to USE without imposing direct teaching methods.

 



3. choices turn into "I Need to Do This"
During Choice Time, the children direct themselves in or out of the classroom, engaging with peers and materials and teachers. During Choice Time, teachers have the opportunity to listen and observe, photograph, document...

4. Moving at the Speed of Children

People have often asked me how I can work with young children. 

"Aren't they wild and busy and on-the-go all the time?

Don't they go in all different directions?

Aren't they moody and needy and unpredictable?" 

Ummmm, not really, no, not really.

5. Be That Teacher 

What IF... children could DO what they wanted with whatever materials they chose?
What IF...children could THINK of an idea then try it out with whatever materials they chose?
What IF... children could INVENT anything they wanted with whatever materials they chose?

Happy Reading.

Looking forward to writing Zella in Year Two...

today I'm going yesterday

where are YOU headed? summer? adventure? new, great things?

Some of you know that I have been on a sort of sabbatical this year. I had had surgery last year on my ankle and it was not up for the demands that working with young children requires - up, down, criss-cross, dash, squat, and sitting in 12 inch height chairs.

So, ironically, with a push from a colleague, I started Zella Said Purple to give me an outlet, a place to shove my brain and create and think and share about my journey thus far as an early childhood educator.

So, ironically, BECAUSE OF the blog, an opportunity came to me to teach a college level course on integrated curriculum at one of our state colleges. And, I am thrilled that they asked me to teach again this fall.

Ok, so, I couldn't quite teach young children due to some of the physical demands, but I COULD teach college students. I was pleased to be in the classroom again this term, January to end of May, yet the classroom - of course - wasn't quite the same.

However, in the end, I had the same feelings (well, pretty close) that I have at the end of a "regular" school year with young children. That feeling you get of knowing you will miss these particular students and knowing that this group will never form the same again. A bittersweet feeling and one of the reasons that I love being part of SCHOOL, EDUCATION, TEACHING so much:
The butterflies in September as you take a deep breath to start yet another school year...the "this is the longest month ever" feeling in March...the melancholic feeling that hits you somewhere in May when you or the students start counting down the days til The Last Day of School.
Sigh. 

Usually, at the end of the school year, my class would have a big celebration with families to present the children their  large binder portfolios - full of their self-directed work - over-filled and over-flowing. They would also have a photo memory book (maybe via iPhoto or Shutterfly) of classroom events, routines, celebrations -  all photos, no captions. The portfolio binder and the photo book would contain one page from the teachers, this poem by Jack Prelutsky, because it says it all and so much better than I could ever articulate. Perhaps YOU would like to use it, also, as you wrap up your year...

 TODAY I'M GOING YESTERDAY

Today I'm going yesterday as quickly as I can,

I'm confident I'll do it, I've devised a clever plan,

it involves my running backward at a constant rate of speed,

if I'm mindful of my timing I'll undoubtedly succeed.

Today I'm going yesterday I'm moving very fast,

as I'm putting off the future for the rather recent past,

I can feel the pressure fading as I hastily depart,

and look forward to arriving on the day before I start.

Today I'm going yesterday I'm slipping out of sight,

and anticipate I'll vanish just a bit before tonight,

when I reach my destination, I'll compose a note to say,

that I'll see you all tomorrow, which of course will be today.

-jack prelutsky-

'yesterday' poem and others!

cheers to all for a wonderful end of school!

(you KNOW September will be here in a blink...)

virtual trip to reggio

(this post is dedicated to my friend Pam and colleagues from her school who are on the dream journey to visit the Reggio Schools right now - these exact days right now - amazing)

a boy in florence who dances amid the piazza puppets.

*note: most all of these photos are mine from a previous trip to Italy. a few are directly from Pam's RE trip and are credited as such in the caption.

Many early childhood educators have been inspired by the pedagogy of the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The competent image of the child, the documentation of short-and long-term studies, the collaboration between teachers and families, the uplifting of rights of all who enter the schools - families, children and teachers.

lions are everywhere throughout italy, like this one Rome.

To learn about the schools - the ideas and ideals of the schools, the environment as beautiful and child accessible, the materials that provoke thinking and inventing - is to learn how to be a different kind of teacher.

simple things can be so beautiful.

To learn about the schools and embrace the message changes who YOU are in your own school. Take the journey, read, read, read, and visit schools (local and far).
Start making changes that make sense to you and your school to allow for beauty, time and natural materials to be gifts to the young children in your care. 
Check out:
North America Reggio Emilia Alliance
Reggio Children
Innovative Teacher Project

birdcage on the outside window sill...how lovely.

colors amid incredible architecture.

Some colleagues of mine are THERE RIGHT NOW. They are in Reggio, studying and exploring and discussing and - ok - probably sharing a few bottles of wine! (refer to NAREA link above for details of their specific trip with the Canadien Study Group).

lion in venice.

This is my virtual trip to Reggio as I am following my colleagues on their journey, following their posts on FB or Twitter or via email.

stunning lion in florence.

I am virtually there as I think of my past visit to Italy - not Reggio, but other cities north and south of Italy - and the incredible architecture, history and beauty of the cities.

details of this lion in venice are incredible.

I am virtually there as I reflect on my own practice with children, my role as facilitator, the materials I offer to children, the time I ensure that children have to explore daily.

photo from colleague Pam in Reggio Emila!

photo from Pam: cobbled street in Reggio... PEACE.

my colleague Pam and her new lion friend in Reggio.

what direction will you take as a teacher? how do YOU want to spend your days?

What a treasure to have colleagues on a remarkable journey that they will, in turn, share and inspire those of us (ME, ME, ME!) who couldn't make the trip. 

Two highly recommended books, yet there are so many fabulous ones:
1. The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach Advanced Reflections, 2nd Ed. 1998. (Edwards, Gandini, Forman).
2. Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners. 2001. (Project Zero, Reggio Children).

Take your OWN journey...
the children are worth it.