2012 Summer Reflections and What's New:

Well, Howdy-ho #Kinderchat-ters! It's been a long and wonderfully winding summer. I've managed to not think about school as much as humanly possible- even to the point of listening and quoting dramatic poetry to rage against the end of summer. Having this time to let go of the last year's and get ready for the this year's is such an invaluable gift for the mind and spirit.

Don't get me wrong, #Kinderchat was busy this summer! Things kicked off with #ISTE12 in San Diego! There I had the chance to meet up with @mpowers3 @MlleKathleen @teach1tech and @mrsmaley as well as met and made a ton of new friends!

Then we were all off to #EdcampKinder in Glitter-Town, aka Las Vegas, Nevada. You can read all about it here, thanks to the handiwork of @Matt_Gomez making it all official-like on the #edcamp wiki and to all of the teachers who blogged about their experiences! Highlight? Small group time w #Kinderfriend @OoeyGooeyLady

#EdCampKinder set several other tweet-ups into motion. From Vegas, we jet set over to NYC and several of us met up for a really wonderful dinner together. Such an amazing group of educators were gathered around that table! Great laughs were had w @Fr_Immersion98 @tori1074 @MissRalston @alexisvorhaus @ncingiser @hechternacht and @jyc_nyc 

#Phew!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch the high-flying @happycampergirl worked our blogging fingers to the bone :D with the awesome #Kinderblog2012 Challenge! This challenge is such a welcome opportunity for us all to learn more about each other, reflect on our practices and to focus on writing and networking through our blogs. I can't brag this feature up enough to do it justice!

We also enjoyed enthusiastic Olympic updates from @davidweldridge! It was such a treat to have some host country enthusiasm spilling over into the #Kinderchat hashtag. Global connection, good sport and fair play, fun and stories of love and life are never in any way off-topic at #Kinderchat!

So that was some of the Summer fun! And now for the "What's-New's!

1. We are very proud to announce a new structure for our regular chats. So proud, in fact, we made a giant website to help you figure it out so you won't get lost! Before the big reveal, let me just pull out the soapbox real quick....

First off, we are so honored to even be in the position in the first place to have a need to grow and scale more efficiently. I know I can speak for Amy when I say we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into in the summer of 2010 when this whole crazy journey began. As we enter our third year together (THREE YEARS!?) it's time to launch some new features for YOU and about YOU.  

Yes, that's right, #Kinderchat it's ABOUT YOU. It's about working together, being a friend, a community and helping one another. In just two short years, many if not most of us have undergone some degree of transformation right before your very eyes. New blogs, speaking engagements, presenting opportunities, global connections, friendships, networks and projects have come into each one of our lives and changed us both personally and our teaching in some fundamental way. 

So, all that said, it's time for us all to make an investment. Yes, our current currency is the play money in the classroom cash register- we have plenty of that! :D No, this investment is in you. Love is something when you give it away, give it away, give it away, love is something that when you give it away, you end up having more! So:

Follow the Rainbow to the Pot of Gold!

Yes, this year we will "Follow the Rainbow" structure of chats with teachers specializing in each color subject. More on the Rainbow Topics structure here. This means that instead of Amy and I moderating each topic every week, we will instead "pass the baton" to the next set of moderators. It is all here for you to reference as you need and anytime you see the rainbow, just click it and it will hyper link you to the site. 

We are so excited about the scale and uniqueness of this new feature and we are in awe of the pool of teachers available out there! A HUGE Thanks to all who offered their expertise, time and energy for this exciting new venture! We are so looking forward to your amplified voices, your choices of topics and your general wonderful-ness as you represent the community of #Kinderchat.

2. We are adding a second chat time so David Weldridge over in England doesn't have to wake up at 2AM anymore.  

We will start small and wo Rainbow moderators to see if we can find more Early Childhood peeps in this normally sleeping-during-Kinderchat time zone. Am both excited and nervous to launch this second time and to have the opportunity to connect with a new batch of educators!

The second #Kinderchat will be Mondays at 3:30 New York time, which is 8:30PM London time. The Time Buddy is here.

Well, there's more to come, but that's enough for today's mega-post! :D

Good Luck to all who are ready to begin the new year! Here's hoping summer has refreshed and readied you for what's to come.
Love,
Heidi

#Kinderblog2012: A new challenge!

Hello friends!

First of all, a huge thanks to everyone who has participated (and is still participating in) the #kinderblog2012 summer blogging challenge. I know I still have a few questions to answer over on my own blog (did you SEE my new blog? www.missnightmutters.com. I migrated from blogger, and it was kind of a pain-in-the-place-where-the-sun-don't-shine to get it all moved and working, but Holy Jazzy Journals, Batman, do I EVER like the new setup. Head on over and visit if you haven't already!), and I don't want anyone else to feel pressured or rushed about finishing, either.

THAT SAID: It seems like lots of you would like to continue the challenge throughout the school year, and I think that is a scrumptious idea. I would love to hang out and write with you all, all the time. AND, in a happy stroke of serendipity, earlier today, I was hanging out over at AskMoxie. (If you don't read Moxie already, you should, even if you are not a parent. It is truly one of my favourite sites for general thoughts and reflections about kids and families, and the community over there is lovely.) There is quite a stream of comments about what parents worry about as the start of a new school year approaches. If you read through the comments, you will see that I chimed in with the fact that every August, I start to worry about WHAT IF I HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO TEACH??

So, that inspired me to do an impromptu mid-week assignment for you all: what are the secrets you wish parents knew at the start of a new school year? What things might help parents feel better about their child entering your classroom in a few days or weeks?

Don't forget to tweet your responses using #kinderblog (I'm thinking we should drop the '2012', since it looks like we will go on indefinitely), and to link to your response here in the comments. Also, I'll probably add a comment over at AskMoxie, to let parents know we are doing this - it's good to build bridges, especially at this time of year.

Ok, let those typing fingers fly!

Smiles and Sunshine;
Amy

#Kinderblog2012: Question numero six!

Ok, folks, I think* this is our final assignment for this summer, so let's go out with a bang.

If we're honest, we all have days when, for any number of reasons (lack of sleep, family issues, minor illness, idiopathic crankiness...) we are just not at our best. There are days when, in any other line of work, we would probably call in sick, but we don't because we know the impact of our absence is so great. What are your survival tips and tricks to get yourself and your students through those days in one piece? Special supplies to keep on hand? Treats that get you through? Lifesaving lessons or activities? 


This month, thousands of brand new teachers will enter their first classrooms and face their very first class of students (some of them within just a few days.)  Share the tricks you wish someone had told you (or maybe the tricks you are grateful someone shared!).

Please post a link to your response in the comments here, and don't forget to tweet it out using the #kinderblog2012 hashtag.

*I said "I think" because, if any of you are interested in continuing the challenge, I would be happy to do so. Anyone want to keep going? Should we change to monthly assignments for the school year? Or twice-monthly?

Lots of love, and if you are headed back to your classroom this week - good luck!

xo
Amy

#Kinderblog2012: Question numero cinq!

Hello friends! I love that you are all still with me, and that more people are slowly joining this challenge.

I thought it was time for a change of pace this week, so here's a little something different, and his week's "question" is actually a photo blogging assignment:

Choose 5 objects from around your home (NOT your classroom!) that tell us something about you: as a teacher or as a person. Take pictures of the objects and post them with captions. The real challenge here: the captions should be no longer than a regular tweet-- that is, 140 characters.

Fun, right?! Don't forget to post a link to your response here in the comments. Now, go get your cameras and get going!

Smiles and sunshine;
Amy

#Kinderchat is hiring!!!

Ok, if we HAD a "Help Wanted" sign, imagine it was hanging right here, because #kinderchat is hiring! This amazing community has grown so much in just 2 short years, and the fact is: it's time to grow.  So many of you know so much more than we do, about so many things, and it seems a little silly to NOT be taking advantage of all the genius of our community.

I know what you're thinking: "But really, what does it pay?" Let's get that out of the way right now: we don't have any money to throw at you. You will get the same compensation we get: involvement with something fresh and exciting, input into our ideas and projects, practice with tech tools that may be new to you, and stronger connections to the entire #kinderchat network. Plus, you get to hang out more with us and the rest of the #kinderhood. Being a part of "behind the scenes at #kinderchat" is FUN, we promise. On a more serious note, these tasks could also be added to your professional growth plans/reports, and may possibly count as PD hours, depending on how your district or school feels about these things.

The first open positions are for chat moderators, with other positions to come in the next few weeks.

If you want to know more about being a moderator, click here for the job description.

If you already know us well enough to just dive right in, click here for the application.

Looking forward to adding some friends to the backstage party!

Amy & Heidi

#Kinderblog2012: Question numero quatre!

Ok, before I start this, can I just say how impressed I am with the calibre of last week's entries?

• @jasongraham99 made a comic strip!
• @mauimickey wrote a musical theatre number!
• @alvarztany made a voki!

Seriously, friends. You all are awesome, and this makes me suspect that you also allow your students to demonstrate their learning in a way that is interesting and engaging for them, and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Please continue with the creative entries - it is adding a whole other layer to this blogging challenge!

On to this week's question. It is pretty short and sweet, but I have worded it 2 different ways, so feel free to choose whichever one resonates more with you:

Version 1: If you had not become a teacher, what other field or line of work would you have pursued?
Version 2: If you had to quit teaching tomorrow, what would you do instead?

As always, feel free to adapt as necessary to fit your actual position, BUT (and I usually don't put constraints on your answers, but I feel like this is necessary, here): think BEYOND the field of teaching. Saying "if I didn't teach kindergarten, I would teach preschool" is NOT pursuing another field or line of work.

As always, please tweet your post as well as posting a link here in the comments.

Ok..... GO.

Smiles and sunshine;
Amy

#KInderblog2012: Question numero trois!

Ok, now that we are all back from #edcampkinder, it's time to get back to blogging, isn't it? (Sidebar: #edcampkinder was a 3-day face-to-face meet up in Las Vegas, attended by 10 amazing #kinderchat teachers. It was nothing but awesome. (Also, the hottest day in Vegas in FIVE YEARS occurred while we were all there. Coincidence?) We are already working on a similar plan of some sort for next year, and YOU SHOULD ALL COME, TOO. Finally, a shout-out to the great folks at SDE and I Teach K, who welcomed us so warmly and shared space so generously. End of sidebar.) And yes, you say that correctly, I just put parentheses inside parentheses. Where's my cookie?

BACK TO BLOGGING!!! Here is this week's question:

Tell us about your pet peeves. Do it however you want: write a list of 50 things that drive you crazy, or an essay about just one thing, or story combining several things, or write a song, or some limericks, or an epic poem. A photo essay! A slideshow! Video journalism! Stand up comedy! The sky is the limit, just tell us what grinds your teeth as a teacher (or an administrator, or a program director, or in whatever capacity you are joining this challenge.) (Yeah, parentheses again. I think I need an intervention.) Be careful: your blog is public, and you never know who is reading. Be positive and professional, but tell the truth. You can do it.

I believe in you.

And also, pretty please with sugar on top: please remember to post the link to your answer in the comments for this post. Thank you. You are all wonderful and adorable and I love you.

Smiles and sunshine from The Canada;
Amy

#Kinderblog2012: Question numero deux!

Ok, folks, here it is. Thanks for being patient with me while I was off playing. Yesterday started with a parade, ended with fireworks, with all sorts of fun and deliciousness  in between - a perfect day, but truly without a single moment to share the next #kinderblog2012 assignment. Without any further ado:

Tell us about one (or two, or a few) of the classrooms you have had over the years. Not the kids, the ROOMS. What have you  loved? What have you hated? How did you FEEL in the space? What did you DO with the space that, looking back, seems ridiculous? Or brilliant? We all spend so much time in our classrooms, we really do develop a relationship with the physical space. Tell us about that (those) relationship(s).

Also, a reminder: when your post is done, please post a link in the comments here, as well as tweeting it out using the #kinderblog2012 hashtag. We are desperately trying to get a sense of how many people are participating, and having everything rounded up in one place helps a lot.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far, and if you're just joining us: come on in, the water is fiiiiine!

Smiles and Sunshine;
Amy

A special #kinderblog request

Wow, I am so overwhelmed by the response to the blogging challenge; have we ever grown since this time last year! You guys are all amazing, and it is so nice to get a peek inside your classrooms and minds, and get to know you in more than 140 characters.

Heidi and I were chatting the other night about how cool this challenge is, and how much we are loving reading everyone's reflections, and we have a favour to ask:  to help us keep track of everyone, and to give us an idea of how many people are participating, can you take a moment to post a link to your response in the comments for each week's assignment? I know some of you have already done this for the first question, and if the rest of you could go back and do so, we would really appreciate it. This way, if anyone joins the challenge midway through, there is also an easy way for them to catch up with everyone.  It might also help drive a little more traffic to your blogs, and that is NEVER a bad thing!

Ok, new question comes up tomorrow - get your thinking caps warmed up.

Smiles and sunshine;
Amy