I bet you all thought I would forget about this week's prompt, right? Since I am up here in the woods, far away from civilization, where I have opened my laptop exactly twice in one week?
No such luck.
The last 2 weeks topics, while perhaps not EASY, have been, maybe, pretty comfortable for most of you, I think. This week, it's time to shake it up a little.
Your one-word prompt:
Fear.
Okay, there you go. Chew on that one for a while. I can't wait to read what you have to say!
Lots of love from the back of beyond;
Amy
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
#Kinderblog13, Assignment 4: Dream
Whoa, we are already up to week 4? Where did the time go?
I bet you all thought that I would not get this post up on time because I am roadtripping, but NO SUCH LUCK!
Your one word prompt for this week:
Dream.
As always, please share your link in the comments, and tweet it out using #kinderblog13.
(Also: wow, you guys are so awesome. I am so impressed with the caliber of the posts you all are writing, ON YOUR SUMMER VACATION.#Awesomesauce.)
Hope your travels are as happy as mine have been so far!
Amy
I bet you all thought that I would not get this post up on time because I am roadtripping, but NO SUCH LUCK!
Your one word prompt for this week:
Dream.
As always, please share your link in the comments, and tweet it out using #kinderblog13.
(Also: wow, you guys are so awesome. I am so impressed with the caliber of the posts you all are writing, ON YOUR SUMMER VACATION.#Awesomesauce.)
Hope your travels are as happy as mine have been so far!
Amy
Saturday, July 20, 2013
#Kinderblog13, Assignment 3: Change
Ok, folks, it's week 3 of the #kinderblog13 challenge. Your one-word prompt for this week:
Change.
As always, once you write your post, please link to it in the comments here, and tweet it out using the #kinderblog13 hashtag.
Just joining us now? The full instructions on how to do the challenge can be found here. Welcome aboard!
Change.
As always, once you write your post, please link to it in the comments here, and tweet it out using the #kinderblog13 hashtag.
Just joining us now? The full instructions on how to do the challenge can be found here. Welcome aboard!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
#Kinderblog13, Assignment 2: Brag
Wow, the response to the first #kinderblog2013 topic -- Confess -- was nothing short of amazing. If you haven't had a chance to read everyone's posts, please check out the comments for all the links. How great is to know that we are not alone with our quirks and flaws?
This weeks challenge is something teachers are notoriously BAD at doing:
Brag.
Go ahead, do it.
As always, when your post is done, please tweet it out using the #kinderblo2013 tag, and post a link in the comments right here.
(If you are new to the challenge, and missed the instructions from early this week, you can check them out here. Join us! You are welcome to jump in any time!)
Smiles & Sunshine;
Amy
This weeks challenge is something teachers are notoriously BAD at doing:
Brag.
Go ahead, do it.
As always, when your post is done, please tweet it out using the #kinderblo2013 tag, and post a link in the comments right here.
(If you are new to the challenge, and missed the instructions from early this week, you can check them out here. Join us! You are welcome to jump in any time!)
Smiles & Sunshine;
Amy
Saturday, July 6, 2013
#Kinderblog13, Assignment #1: Confessions
Ok, friends: #Kinderblog2013 officially begins TODAY. (If you missed the instructions from early this week, you can check them out here.) Huge thanks and kudos to those of you who jumpstarted things by writing the warm-up assignment. If you are just joining us now, you can go back and do the warm up first, or just dive right in with this first assignment.
As a challenge to myself this year, I'm going to try and give each assignment as a single word, which you can then interpret in a way that works for you. That said, the first assignment is:
Come on, tell us all your secrets (but not anything that might get you fired, okay?)
Don't forget, when your post is done, please come back and link to it in the comments, and tweet it out using #kinderblog13.
As a challenge to myself this year, I'm going to try and give each assignment as a single word, which you can then interpret in a way that works for you. That said, the first assignment is:
Confess.
Come on, tell us all your secrets (but not anything that might get you fired, okay?)
Don't forget, when your post is done, please come back and link to it in the comments, and tweet it out using #kinderblog13.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
#Kinderblog13: Pre-race packet and warm up exercise!
(Ok, this not really anything like a race, but it worked well with the warm-up metaphor, so stay with me, ok?)
HI!
Amy here, friends, blogging from my little corner of The Canada. I am a little late getting the summer blog challenge going this year, and I blame this on having the World's Weirdest End-Of-Year. Seriously. Because of catastrophic flooding in my beautiful city, we did not have a last day of school. That's right. We just sent the kids home, business-as-usual, at the end of one day, and then... schools were closed and there were no more days. I'm still getting over it.
BUT! It is starting to feel like summer (847 degree temperatures help with that) and so THE TIME HAS COME...
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, take your seats, because:
THE 2013 #KINDERCHAT SUMMER BLOGGING CHALLENGE BEGINS NOW!
This is an annual tradition around these here parts, but if you are new to our happy little #kinderchat family, here is how it works:
What I love very best about this challenge is how simple it is. You can do all 6 questions, or just the ones that float your boat. You can join in mid-way, or start from the beginning. You can miss a week and no one will reprimand you. It is SUMMER VACATION, so nothing should be stressful.
HI!
Amy here, friends, blogging from my little corner of The Canada. I am a little late getting the summer blog challenge going this year, and I blame this on having the World's Weirdest End-Of-Year. Seriously. Because of catastrophic flooding in my beautiful city, we did not have a last day of school. That's right. We just sent the kids home, business-as-usual, at the end of one day, and then... schools were closed and there were no more days. I'm still getting over it.
BUT! It is starting to feel like summer (847 degree temperatures help with that) and so THE TIME HAS COME...
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, take your seats, because:
THE 2013 #KINDERCHAT SUMMER BLOGGING CHALLENGE BEGINS NOW!
This is an annual tradition around these here parts, but if you are new to our happy little #kinderchat family, here is how it works:
- Who can join? The challenge is open to anyone. Most participants are teachers, but all are welcome. The questions/assignments usually relate to teaching and/or kids, but if you are a quantum physicist and can write a relevant post, you are welcome here.
- What happens? Every Saturday for 6 weeks, beginning this Saturday (July 6th), I will post a new blogging assignment right here. I'll probably tweet it, too, so make sure you are following me (@happycampergirl) as well as the kinderchat account (@kinderchat123).
- What do I need to do? Once the topic is posted:
- Write your response and post it on your own blog
- Leave the link to your response in the comments of the assignment.
- Tweet out the link, using the #kinderblog13 hashtag.
- Visit at least one other blogger's response, AND LEAVE THEM A COMMENT. (This is important, bloggers love comments. It's like having your glitter-covered clip moved to purple so you get to pick a coupon to exchange a sticker redeemable for treasure from the prize box. #snark.)
What I love very best about this challenge is how simple it is. You can do all 6 questions, or just the ones that float your boat. You can join in mid-way, or start from the beginning. You can miss a week and no one will reprimand you. It is SUMMER VACATION, so nothing should be stressful.
If you have never blogged before, this is a great reason to start. If your blog has been neglected due to the insanity of school, this is an opportunity to refresh it. If you are an avid blogger who is not sure what to write about when you do not have munchkins in your classroom, this will provide you with some inspiration. If you are not a blogger, but an avid blog reader, keep a twitter search running for #kinderblog12, because you are bound to make some awesome discoveries.
AND NOW, because I know some of you can't wait to get started, here is a (completely optional, but short and fun) warm up assignment (this is the ONLY assignment with a word count limit, I promise!):
In 250 words or less, tell us YOUR story. What do you do, why do you do it, how do you do it, for how long have you been doing it, where do you do it? What do you BELIEVE about what you do? How do you FEEL about what you do? You only have 250 words, so use them well.
Remember: it doesn't have to be prose. It can be a poem, a song, a series of pictures, even a video clip of you talking, but: ONLY TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY WORDS.
Ok, that's it. If you write a warm up post, don't forget to link to it in the comments. If you have questions about how this whole thing works, you can post them as comments, too.
Aaannnnndddd..... we're off and running! The first official question gets posted on Saturday; don't forget to come back and check it out.
Smiles and sunshine;
Amy
Monday, June 17, 2013
Our Year in Review
Hello Friends!
Wow! Well years fly by and this one has been no different! Though online years somehow seem much longer than IRL years somehow- how is that exactly? Anyway, lets take some time to think back and reflect on all that we have done this year.....
Our two biggest points of new business on Kinderchat this year were launching the rotating Rainbow Moderators and starting a second chat time for our European/African time zone friends. Both were huge structural endeavors we undertook to help us grow both in reach and in developing leadership.
The rotating Rainbow Moderators worked beautifully. Everyone stepped up to the plate and brought more to the table than Amy and I ever could each week. Your topics were fresh, relevant, exciting and always showcased the profession and expertise of teaching and learning. If you could, please take a minute to add a word of personal Thanks to the many who offered their time this year to lead us through topics, greet everyone at the chat and prepare questions, links and references throughout the chat.
Next year, we will be freshening up the topics, so be on the lookout this summer for the updates along with the application form to be a Moderator! Shy? Don't be! It's a great way to build skills and make friends!
The next point of business was launching the Kinderchat 2: Electric Avenue! :D We still don't have a catchy name to distinguish the additional chat, but we are working on it! I have to say starting a whole second chat time was more than I bargained for, but well worth the hard work. We decided to start this chat time as we had one dedicated Kinderchat-ter who would wake up at 2AM in England to talk with us at our regular chat time. As we have always had a global perspective and outreach on Kinderchat, we decided to start a second chat time so that friends wouldn't have to set alarm clocks in the middle of the night to know us! Kinderchat 2 launched in September of 2012.
The time difference proved tricky right from the start as it had me racing back from car duty to get to the 8:30PM London time start time- which is 3:30 in the afternoon for me! I've since found my mojo in thinking it's actually the perfect time- tea time!
I never expected such a large learning curve with the second chat offering. First off, it was a little lonely. All the "regular" Kinderchat-ters were in school. In the very beginning, I think there were one or two times I was filling plenty of "dead-air" and ever so grateful when @TeacherMeg and @Fr_Immersion98 popped in. Finding "Early Years and Reception Teachers" was hard. And then I had to learn to speak not only French, but Portugese, Swedish and Bulgarian. Realizing I had to learn 400 languages made me feel better about my Americanism of only knowing one, and we soon were learning to weave google translate into the chat.
I say "we" because at some point @blamehound found us, or we found her, I'm not sure! :D She was lovely, FAB and fun and quickly became my partner in crime. She has rallied Reception and Early Years teachers from all over England to come to the #Kinderchat. I am ever so grateful for her hard work, her laughter and her spirit of "knowing" what the Kinderchat is all about. Our classes quickly became buddies online as well, as Nicola quickly got us trading "Bertie Bear" among England, US and Canadian classrooms.
Other big news was the launching of "The Campfire" Webinar Series with Mardelle aka @learningmurd as a way to showcase our guests. We featured a wonderful array of speakers and experts in the field of teaching and early learning, namely: Katie Keier on Writing, Jonathan Mugan on Early Learning, Karen Wohlwend on Play Based Learning, Kathy Cassidy on Global Learning and Integrating Technology, and everyone's favorite, Lisa Murphy aka OoeyGooeyLady, fielded questions on Early Childhood and had everyone just busting out laughing around the Campfire. Congratulations to Mardelle Sauerborn on this fantastic project! We can't wait to see you at the Campfire again in September!
Back in January, Amy had us blogging like crazy as we faced the NaBlaPoMo Blog Challenge. I'm still tired from that- I'm not sure how she did it! (I promise I will finish pinning everyone who blogged on our Blog Challenge Pinterest board yet this summer!) It was a fantastic experience as we heard from so many incredible folks who work with Young Children. The experience of writing about our work is such a critical piece of reflection and practice, it must stay central to the job of teaching and learning with Young Children. Amy's leadership and focus on writing is simply put, inspiring. Congratulations to her as she moves out of the classroom full-time and into a full-time leadership position at her school.
We can't leave out talking about MATT! Wow! He sure skyrocketed this year! He hosted PBS Kids on the hashtag and led a massive team of fabulous moderators for our Tech topics. Congratulations to him on his speaking gigs and the launch of his blog and be sure to CHECK OUT THE AMAZING SYMBALOO MIXES! Over 45+K! that's THOUSAND! 45+ THOUSAND downloads. He and Michelle Hiebert aka @MauiMickey and @Fr_Immersion98 had classrooms all over the world dancing, reading, doing math, playing and speaking French with the wonderful array of Symbaloo mixes they made for #Kinderchat. The children LOVED them and it is an INVALUABLE tool for any and EVERY classroom.
On a sad and scary note, our community faced challenges as we cried together after the Newton shootings. I know each one of us looked at our classrooms and kids differently after that. We found support and strength from each other. We continue to offer that support and strength to our own @MegUnger as she needs us as she leads her child through cancer and @HulseAnnMarie as she leads her daughter through diabetes. Meg found out this news shortly after she and @MauiMickey ran a wonderfully successful #EdCampKinder in Abbotsford for teachers in their local district. #TeamLiam and #TeamTeagan are in our hearts and minds Meg and Ann-Marie, as you make this journey.
Wow- It's strange at how you think you aren't doing enough and then you look and say "WOW!" that's actually a ton for one year! So Kinderchat, hold onto your hats, or toques or whatever ya got- we are flying high! :D
Have a fantastic summer and see you all in September! Be on the lookout for blogging challenges throughout the summer! Our second chat time will continue though mid-July as their school year is longer, so join us if you like! As always, the hashtag will be hoppin'!
Wow! Well years fly by and this one has been no different! Though online years somehow seem much longer than IRL years somehow- how is that exactly? Anyway, lets take some time to think back and reflect on all that we have done this year.....
Our two biggest points of new business on Kinderchat this year were launching the rotating Rainbow Moderators and starting a second chat time for our European/African time zone friends. Both were huge structural endeavors we undertook to help us grow both in reach and in developing leadership.
The rotating Rainbow Moderators worked beautifully. Everyone stepped up to the plate and brought more to the table than Amy and I ever could each week. Your topics were fresh, relevant, exciting and always showcased the profession and expertise of teaching and learning. If you could, please take a minute to add a word of personal Thanks to the many who offered their time this year to lead us through topics, greet everyone at the chat and prepare questions, links and references throughout the chat.
Next year, we will be freshening up the topics, so be on the lookout this summer for the updates along with the application form to be a Moderator! Shy? Don't be! It's a great way to build skills and make friends!
The next point of business was launching the Kinderchat 2: Electric Avenue! :D We still don't have a catchy name to distinguish the additional chat, but we are working on it! I have to say starting a whole second chat time was more than I bargained for, but well worth the hard work. We decided to start this chat time as we had one dedicated Kinderchat-ter who would wake up at 2AM in England to talk with us at our regular chat time. As we have always had a global perspective and outreach on Kinderchat, we decided to start a second chat time so that friends wouldn't have to set alarm clocks in the middle of the night to know us! Kinderchat 2 launched in September of 2012.
The time difference proved tricky right from the start as it had me racing back from car duty to get to the 8:30PM London time start time- which is 3:30 in the afternoon for me! I've since found my mojo in thinking it's actually the perfect time- tea time!
I never expected such a large learning curve with the second chat offering. First off, it was a little lonely. All the "regular" Kinderchat-ters were in school. In the very beginning, I think there were one or two times I was filling plenty of "dead-air" and ever so grateful when @TeacherMeg and @Fr_Immersion98 popped in. Finding "Early Years and Reception Teachers" was hard. And then I had to learn to speak not only French, but Portugese, Swedish and Bulgarian. Realizing I had to learn 400 languages made me feel better about my Americanism of only knowing one, and we soon were learning to weave google translate into the chat.
I say "we" because at some point @blamehound found us, or we found her, I'm not sure! :D She was lovely, FAB and fun and quickly became my partner in crime. She has rallied Reception and Early Years teachers from all over England to come to the #Kinderchat. I am ever so grateful for her hard work, her laughter and her spirit of "knowing" what the Kinderchat is all about. Our classes quickly became buddies online as well, as Nicola quickly got us trading "Bertie Bear" among England, US and Canadian classrooms.
Other big news was the launching of "The Campfire" Webinar Series with Mardelle aka @learningmurd as a way to showcase our guests. We featured a wonderful array of speakers and experts in the field of teaching and early learning, namely: Katie Keier on Writing, Jonathan Mugan on Early Learning, Karen Wohlwend on Play Based Learning, Kathy Cassidy on Global Learning and Integrating Technology, and everyone's favorite, Lisa Murphy aka OoeyGooeyLady, fielded questions on Early Childhood and had everyone just busting out laughing around the Campfire. Congratulations to Mardelle Sauerborn on this fantastic project! We can't wait to see you at the Campfire again in September!
Back in January, Amy had us blogging like crazy as we faced the NaBlaPoMo Blog Challenge. I'm still tired from that- I'm not sure how she did it! (I promise I will finish pinning everyone who blogged on our Blog Challenge Pinterest board yet this summer!) It was a fantastic experience as we heard from so many incredible folks who work with Young Children. The experience of writing about our work is such a critical piece of reflection and practice, it must stay central to the job of teaching and learning with Young Children. Amy's leadership and focus on writing is simply put, inspiring. Congratulations to her as she moves out of the classroom full-time and into a full-time leadership position at her school.
We can't leave out talking about MATT! Wow! He sure skyrocketed this year! He hosted PBS Kids on the hashtag and led a massive team of fabulous moderators for our Tech topics. Congratulations to him on his speaking gigs and the launch of his blog and be sure to CHECK OUT THE AMAZING SYMBALOO MIXES! Over 45+K! that's THOUSAND! 45+ THOUSAND downloads. He and Michelle Hiebert aka @MauiMickey and @Fr_Immersion98 had classrooms all over the world dancing, reading, doing math, playing and speaking French with the wonderful array of Symbaloo mixes they made for #Kinderchat. The children LOVED them and it is an INVALUABLE tool for any and EVERY classroom.
On a sad and scary note, our community faced challenges as we cried together after the Newton shootings. I know each one of us looked at our classrooms and kids differently after that. We found support and strength from each other. We continue to offer that support and strength to our own @MegUnger as she needs us as she leads her child through cancer and @HulseAnnMarie as she leads her daughter through diabetes. Meg found out this news shortly after she and @MauiMickey ran a wonderfully successful #EdCampKinder in Abbotsford for teachers in their local district. #TeamLiam and #TeamTeagan are in our hearts and minds Meg and Ann-Marie, as you make this journey.
Wow- It's strange at how you think you aren't doing enough and then you look and say "WOW!" that's actually a ton for one year! So Kinderchat, hold onto your hats, or toques or whatever ya got- we are flying high! :D
Have a fantastic summer and see you all in September! Be on the lookout for blogging challenges throughout the summer! Our second chat time will continue though mid-July as their school year is longer, so join us if you like! As always, the hashtag will be hoppin'!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Everything you ever wanted to know about Kindergarten...
Admit it. You do it, too.
You wonder:
You wonder:
- Do other teachers have to teach this?
- How much prep do other districts get?
- Have other kindergarten children had their recess time stolen away?
- Is anyone else teaching their own PE every week?
- Does ANYONE get art from an art specialist anymore?
- What is kindergarten like in other countries?
My friends, WE WONDER, TOO!
So, we did something about it. Our mission: to collect data points, about everything from class size to prep time to reading instruction, from as many teachers-of-five-year-olds as we can find, all over the world.
The survey is intended only for classroom teachers (not administrators, instructional aides, specialists, parents, or consultants) of children who are 5 (or very close to 5) years old at the beginning of the school year. If you are NOT a classroom teacher of children this age, you can still help by skipping directly to step 2, below.
Your job:
1: Click the link below, and answer the survey. We estimate it will take about 10-20 minutes, and there are NO essay questions! You may want a calculator, because we do ask things like: "How many minutes a week do you teach?"
2: Spread the word. Please tweet, facebook, pin, blog, e-mail, fax, snail-mail, skywrite, crayon, the link to EVERY SINGLE TEACHER YOU KNOW who teaches 5 year olds. They do not need to be on Twitter to participate. They do not need to share any information more specific than their country. They just need to spend 10 minutes answering the questions, and then continue to spread the word.
When you complete the form, you will get a link to see the results. Bookmark that page, because we have a feeling the results are going to get pretty darn interesting as we get more and more responses.
You need the link again? OK, HERE IT IS.
From the bottom of our geeky, curious, nosy little hearts: Thank you.
Oh, wait, if we want this to be Pinterest-friendly, we need an image, don't we?
Okay, here you go, It's like data, done with crayons. Perfect.
What's that, you need the link again? Ok, CLICK HERE.
With so much love;
Amy & Heidi
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Kinderchat Welcomes PBS Kids!!!
We are SO EXCITED to welcome
 |
to next week's |
Monday April 8th 9PM New York time!
Please join Matt Gomez and the "Team Tech" crew to talk technology and math with
WOW!
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