Saturday, September 29, 2012

A Day with Dr. Jean!!


"Oldies but Goodies"
   Living in the foothills of North Carolina, we usually have to travel a couple hours to a big city to go to a really good workshop.  But this was our lucky day, because today Dr. Jean Feldman came to little ol' Hickory -- just one county away!!  We sing Dr. Jean's songs nearly every day in my kindergarten class, so I was really excited to have the opportunity to see her in person.  And I was not disappointed -- I took away so many ideas and songs that I will be able to use right away -- it was one of the best workshops for simple, practical -- and effective -- ideas I have even attended.
   She reminded us to use the songs we grew up with -- with a twist that supports the Common Core teaching that we do today. So the songs I avoided because they didn't teach a reading or math concept can still be used just for fun -- but at the same time they really are developing oral language, self confidence, problem solving, sequencing and patterns and more.  So we will be singing "Farmer in the Dell" ( or "The Ghost in the Dark") and Nursery Rhymes, kickboxing the ABC's,  and I might even break down and do "Tootie Ta" more than once a year.
    So, I am throwing a kiss to YOUR brain, Dr. Jean -- for reminding me again that kindergarten is more than drilling flash card and doing assessments.  My lesson plans this week will include more FUN (-- but supporting Common Core objectives, of course!) 



1 comment:

  1. She came to our system before school started this year. I too felt that she gave us very practical ideas to use. No point in reinventing the wheel! The wheel just needed to be sanded and smoothed to work with today's standards. That's all! Glad you took so much away from her workshop.

    ReplyDelete

I love it when you comment!!