On Thursday, Meghan and I read two books to our combined classrooms. The Dot by Peter Reynolds is about a girl named Vashti who insists she “just CAN’T draw.” Her teacher encourages her to “make a mark and see where it takes you.” From there, Vashti realizes that the dots she draws are in fact…
Point of View
The books my students are reading now in their book groups are all chosen to reflect a theme of two cultures meeting, and either valuing one another or devaluing one another. In King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, a prized Arabian stallion is sent as a gift to the King of France — but…
The Power of a Deadline
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the students’ progress on their all-about books was moving along much more slowly than I expected. I took a day or two to closely observe their progress and thought about strategies that might encourage them to try to get more down on the page during independent writing…
Reflecting on Integrity
Integrity is definitely the most difficult of the Quaker values to discuss with children. This is partly because while it’s about being good and doing the right thing, it’s particularly about trustworthiness and inner honesty, so that’s complex. It’s also, in some ways, more about intent than actions, which is likewise complicated to talk about…