We went to New Zealand We saw koalas and crocks
And kangaroos.
We sailed across the
Tazman Sea
And saw fijords and water
As blue as can be.
We walked and walked
And explored the land.
The people were friendly
And gave us a hand.
But I must say
At the end of the day…
It’s GREAT to be back
In the U S A!
Yeah! We are HOME! My mind is still halfway around the world, but my heart is happy to be home! I met with some educators in Sydney and they are struggling with philosophical issues just like us. It’s a question of BALANCE! How do we meet parents’ and decision makers’ expectations and still put children first? How do we balance technology and academics with play and independent learning? As much as I struggle with CCSS and the academic push, my main goal is to support teachers and children. I can’t do anything about your curriculum or assessment, but I can try and show you how to make it more FUN! Mary Poppins said, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” I think a song and a game will help the standards go down!
A Simple Song for the Day
(Tune: “Do You Know the Muffin Man?”)
Can you touch the color red, (Children quietly walk around the room
The color red, the color red? and touch something that is red.)
Can you touch the color red
In the room?
Adapt the song to letters, numbers, shapes, words, etc.
*Can you touch the letter H?
*Can you touch a sphere?
*Can you touch a noun?
Use this song to notice details in books. Give children a special pointer and sing:
*Can you find the author’s name, author’s name, author’s name? Can you find the author’s name in the book?
*Can you find the main character?
Did I take any pictures? Surprise! No, I didn’t! I was afraid to turn my phone on because it cost $2.50 a minute! I never realized how “addicted” I was to my phone. Seriously! It was like withdrawal for 3 weeks! I was so happy to turn on my phone when we landed in
in the USA!
